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At the start
of this millennium, led by RCGA chair and chair-elect Dick Beumer
and John Bachmann, the RCGA board launched a year-long assessment
of the region’s strengths and weaknesses. The board then revised
the mission of the RCGA to extend beyond its historic, regional
chamber of commerce and regional economic development roles to also
include an important dimension that involves creating and nurturing
a regional community. The mission of the St. Louis RCGA became to
“unite the region’s business community, and to engage dynamic business
and civic leadership to develop and sustain a world-class economy
and community.”
To fulfill this mission, for the first part of this decade the RCGA
has focused its efforts on eight long-term initiatives to enhance
the region, while at the same time advancing “connectivity” throughout
the region by creating a stronger sense of community within the
business and civic sectors. It is within this context that this
special issue of St. Louis Commerce Magazine chronicles the
makeup of this regional community through its “Who’s Who, What’s
What in St. Louis.” Sections include the movers and shakers in the
business and political community. Other sections offer a “What’s
What” profile of the region with essential facts and figures on
this “perfectly centered, remarkably connected” bi-state region.
This month's issue also includes a five-year retrospective on the
progress of the eight original regional initiatives from 2000. Some
of the highlights include:
• The Forward Metro St. Louis
coalition of our region’s business leaders joined together to set
a proactive regional public policy agenda. It enables the business
community to speak with a unified regional voice on a targeted set
of region-wide issues.
• The Private Sector Infrastructure
Council, which conveys the business community’s priorities for surface
transportation, transit, airports, and river ports. It has identified
and outlined the region’s transportation needs for the next ten
years, and has led civic efforts to achieve them.
• Design, develop and eventual
spin off the Regional Business Council as an independent organization
that civically engages mid-cap businesses throughout the region.
• Revitalization of the region’s
central city by partnering with the City of St. Louis, the Downtown
Partnership, and others in a multi-year effort to revitalize downtown.
• Identified the region’s industry
clusters and developed strategies to develop these five distinct
clusters, which include plant and medical sciences, advanced manufacturing,
transportation and distribution, financial services and information
technology.
• Working to better understand
the relationship of the workforce and talent recruitment and retention
to keep and boost our region’s economic competitiveness.
• Finally, carrying forward our
region’s unified effort in economic development through the launch
of the new Greater St. Louis Inc. five-year campaign. The initial
focus has been the development of a research-based regional marketing
and branding effort to be the foundation for recruiting jobs, investors,
and talent to the region.
We hope you enjoy this special issue of St. Louis Commerce Magazine.
RICHARD C.D. FLEMING
President and Chief Executive Officer
St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association |
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