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CLICK ON THE RCGA
WWW.STLRCGA.ORG
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By William Poe
The RCGA’s web site is loaded with information and links to help grow your business.
At the RCGA’s web site—
www.stlrcga.org—you would expect to learn everything you ever wanted to know about the region’s
economic development organization.
But you might not expect to find:
> A monthly calendar heralding upcoming RCGA and other community events that you can attend.
> A link to resources about living in
St. Louis.
>
Invitations to business networking opportunities, such as the popular RCGA Business After Hours soirées or the rise-and-shine Breakfasts with the Gazelles.
> A detailed look at regional demographics, economic indicators, and other business data.
> The skinny on relocation.
> Discounts on products and services.
> The RCGA’s legislative agenda for Missouri, Illinois and federal
lawmakers.
> The latest infrastructure initiatives
to keep the region moving.
> Links to a variety of business and government contacts.
The RCGA web site each month receives more than 650,000
hits from computer users. The
average time per visit is over 11
minutes. The St. Louis Commerce Magazine link alone generates nearly 600,000 hits per month.
> Let’s take a tour:
The web site is the place to learn, “where’d they come up with that?” tidbits, that Forest Park outdoes New York’s Central Park in size; that the region’s hospitality industry employs more than 140,000 people; that Metro operates 450 buses, and that the area’s average ACT score for public high school students is 20.8.
While you may never need to know that the region has 130 school districts, the web site puts tons of information at your fingertips.
Go to www.stlrcga.org, and the RCGA “splash” page quickly loads and provides links to the files of St. Louis Commerce Magazine and to 11 RCGA areas of interest: RCGA background, St. Louis facts, a calendar of activities, RCGA membership information, member benefits, RCGA
and other programs and events, the Environmental Council, public policy, RCGA staff, economic development, and RCGA news. Details follow:
> About RCGA
Here you come face-to-face with the RCGA mission, who the RCGA serves and what the organization does on an ongoing basis. There are links to membership, upcoming programs and events, valuable networking opportunities, St. Louis information, and member discount offers.
> Calendar
Get details on upcoming events, not only those of the RCGA but also other happenings such as the thought-provoking St. Louis Speaker Series.
> About St. Louis
You can view a regional map, review our economic profile, learn interesting facts about our community and click on links to the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission and the Southwestern Illinois Tourism and Convention Bureau. As a bonus, you can drop in the “Information Store” which offers new resident guides, a relocation kit, the St. Louis Welcome Book, and even a document on how to select the right school for your child. Some of these resources are free, too.
> Membership
See a graphical breakdown of the types of RCGA members (80 percent are small businesses with fewer than 50 employees) and link to the RCGA membership department and to a roster of members, complete with company description, phone numbers and e-mail links. You can also obtain information on RCGA volunteer opportunities and ways to get involved with programs revolving around “Shaping a Greater St. Louis”, which is a bundled initiative that includes Forward St. Louis, the Regional Business Council and Revitalizing the Region’s Central City.
> Member Benefits
Here is an outline of discounted products and services available for members, including group insurance benefits and wireless service.
> Programs & Events
You can see that there is always something going on for RCGA members. There are annually more than 150 programs from speakers to legislative programs and business development opportunities, and the upcoming events are detailed here.
> Environment
Here’s the place for background on the RCGA’s Environmental Council, consisting of more than 200 member companies which are addressing a variety of regional environmental concerns, including air and water quality, waste management challenges, and cleanup and redevelopment of so-called brownfields.
> Public Policy
Get up close and personal with the Public Policy Council, a volunteer leadership group that helps shape RCGA positions on governmental and public policy issues that affect economic development of the region. You can familiarize yourself with the RCGA’s aggressive public policy agendas for Missouri, Illinois and the federal government and direct e-mails to RCGA public policy staff contacts, including Tom Irwin, senior vice president of public policy, and Eric Schneider, director of public policy research.
> Staff
If you want to get in touch with a senior RCGA staff member, including President and CEO Dick Fleming, this link makes it easy. You get phone numbers and e-mail links to staff members in RCGA membership, economic development, marketing, public policy, and other areas.
> Economic Development
Get the latest scoop on major development projects and link to everyone who is anybody in government, including Missouri and Illinois lawmakers, federal elected officials and federal government staff members.
> RCGA News
This final major web site hub transports you to recent news articles and news releases about the RCGA.
From the web site, you can also link to other business-related sites including Technology Gateway, the science and technology council of the RCGA; InvestMidwest, a venture capital enabling organization; St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative, a collaborative effort helping develop a more racially diverse workforce and supplier base, and Missouri Biotechnology Association, a group dedicated to developing biotechnology and biomedical industries.
Now, click on the RCGA and see what it can do for you and your business. |
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