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RCGAction
The Monthly Newsletter
and Planning Calendar of the St. Louis RCGA
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165th Annual
Meeting Salutes Right Arm Award Winners Jack and Andy Taylor and
Spotlights Legislative and Economic Development Priorities
St. Louis regional business, civic and elected leaders, (including
Senator Kit Bond (R-MO), Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO),
Congressman John Shimkus (R-IL), and Mayor Francis Slay
and members of the Missouri and Illinois Legislatures), and RCGA
members, were among 800 people who gathered for the 165th RCGA Annual
Meeting and Dinner this past Tuesday evening at the Ritz-Carlton
Hotel.
John Bachmann, beginning his third year as Chairman of the
RCGA, noted that the RCGA has seen significant progress in 2001
on such key regional economic development investments, as the expansion
of the Lambert International hub, the doubling of the award-winning
MetroLink system, and the tangible prospects of revitalization of
the region’s central city through such ventures as the Ballpark
and Ballpark Village, and the mixed-use renovation of the Old Post
Office District, the heart of the Downtown Now! plan. While the
region, as well as the nation, still has significant challenges
ahead, the momentum going into this new year is positive. He stressed
the importance of the preservation of economic development tax credits
and programs that have leveraged billions of dollars of private
investment. He also outlined the RCGA’s other key legislative priorities,
including funding for life-sciences research, funding for transportation
projects and building of a ballpark village and new ballpark for
the Cardinals.
The RCGA’s top honor, the Right Arm of St. Louis Award, was presented
to Enterprise Rent-A-Car’s Jack and Andy Taylor. Jack
Taylor founded Enterprise in St. Louis in 1957; as Chairman and
CEO, his son Andy has continued to build the company into an international
industry leader. St. Louis-based Enterprise is now the nation’s
largest rental car company with fiscal revenue in 2001 of $6.3 billion.
The Taylors also have a long and distinguished history of civic
leadership and philanthropic commitment to St. Louis; including
the family’s recent gift to The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra—a
$40 million challenge grant, representing the largest single personal
contribution ever made to an orchestra in America, and the family’s
gift this past October of $25 million to Washington University to
endow scholarships for African-American and disadvantaged students.
In his acceptance speech, Andy Taylor said he was optimistic about
the future of business in St. Louis, stating that entrepreneurs
like his father are working to realize their dreams and create the
next great St. Louis companies.
The RCGA was especially pleased to have five former Right Arm awardees
in attendance, including: Clarence Barksdale, 1977; G.
Duncan Bauman, 1980; Edward Trusheim, 1992; Dr. William
Danforth, 1994; and E. Desmond Lee, 1996. Last year’s
Right Arm Award winner, Hall of Fame broadcaster Jack Buck
was unable to attend due to a recent surgery, but attendees sent
warm wishes of recovery by signing a 12-square-foot Get Well card.
The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra was a wonderful addition to this
year’s annual meeting. They provided not only outstanding music,
but their animated interchanges (with each other and the audience),
enthusiasm and wit was the highlight of the dinner. Special thanks
to David Halen, concertmaster, Amy Oshiro, first violinist,
Tage Larsen, trumpeter, Barb Liberman, pianist, and
Peter Otto, first violinist. Thanks also to the RCGA’s 55
sponsors and media partners who made the Annual Dinner and program
possible.
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