THE REGIONAL BUSINESS COUNCIL
INVESTING IN THE REGION
The Regional
Business Council, made up of executives from major large- to medium-size
regional companies, is dedicated to increasing the number of businesspersons
involved in and investing in regional growth.
Two
Regional Business Council Members Give Back to the Community
Ralph
Korte and Barrett
Toan Set
Example for Employees
Ralph
Korte's Employees "Do as He Does"
Ralph Korte
Ralph
Korte, chairman of the Korte Company, accepted the Urban League's
Award of Merit on March 28 for his many contributions to the Jackie
Joyner-Kersee Boys and Girls Club of East St. Louis.
Ralph
Korte and Jackie Joyner-Kersee think alike. The idea of building
a youth center in East St. Louis came to Korte about the same
time the dream of providing a "safe haven" for the boys and girls
of her home town came to Joyner-Kersee. Korte and Joyner-Kersee
met and agreed to merge both ideas -- to build a youth club that
was a "safe haven." The two raised $12 million for what was to
be named the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Boys and Girls Club.
The
Korte Company constructed the facility at no cost. When the building
was completed, the youth of East St. Louis had a 40,000-square-foot
club.
This
is not an isolated, community outreach effort for Korte. His employees,
have been inspired by his example--35 to 45 percent of Korte Company
employees volunteer in the community.
Barrett
A. Toan's Express Scripts Employees Volunteer
Barrett A. Toan
Barrett A.
Toan, president and CEO of Express Scripts, does more than run
a successful company. As a member of the Mentor St. Louis board
of directors, Toan encourages employees to volunteer as mentors.
Once a month, 28 employees at Express Scripts in Earth City board
a company bus in the early morning for a ride to Farragut Elementary
School in St. Louis City. Their goal is to help second graders
achieve a higher level of success. There, the mentors encourage
the children as they participate in enrichment activities. Relationships
are forged not only between the children and the mentors, but
also between the employees who come to know one another on the
long morning bus ride.
Toan
reports that "the employees have found the program personally
satisfying" and that they "return to work at Express Scripts from
Farragut Elementary School energized."
For
more information about volunteering in the St. Louis public schools,
contact Mentor St. Louis at 314/361-8804 or the St. Louis Public
Schools volunteer office at 314/652-0734.
For
more information contact Kathy Osborn, senior vice president RCGA,
at
314/444-1160 or E-mail her at kosborn@stlrcga.org.
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