Compiled by Lauri Johnson
OLIN CUP BUSINESS COMPETITION
ANNOUNCES WINNERS
Two student-owned startup businesses took home the top honors and received funding commitments at the annual Olin Cup Awards ceremony at Washington University's Olin Business School.
The $50,000 first-place award went to Is That One Good?, a Web site that allows users to generate relevant, accurate product recommendations and hold meaningful discussions about products. In addition to collecting the grand prize, company founder Richard Feldman, MBA 2008, won the $5,000 student cash prize.
The $20,000 second-place award went to MedExceed, a medical device company that facilitates the recovery process for people affected by temporomandibular (jaw) joint injury. MedExceed's inventor and chief executive officer is Arash Sabet, MBA 2009.
"The number of student submissions increased this year, and four of the five finalist teams were founded by students," stated Ken Harrington, managing director of the schoolÕs Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. "Programs like IdeaBounce¨ and Coffee with the Experts seem to be really helping the region's idea-stage entrepreneurs, including our students. We appreciate the support from our sponsors and the community in helping to grow the entrepreneurial environment in the region."
The Olin Cup competition was founded in 1988 as part of The Hatchery entrepreneurship course at the Olin School of Business. In 2001, the competition began awarding up to $70,000 in seed funding thanks to the support of the Skandalaris family. To date, more than 50 new businesses have been formed by business students and alumni as a result of the competition.
St. Louis Commerce Magazine is pleased to be the media sponsor for the Olin Cup.
PORT DISTRICT ANNOUNCES MAJOR NEW TENANT
The Tri-City Regional Port District
has signed a lease with Danbury, Connecticut-based Fairfield Processing Corporation for 130,000 square feet of warehouse space at the River's Edge Industrial Park. Fairfield is relocating its distribution facility from Utah to Granite City, providing a more central geographic location to its customers.
"We are so pleased to welcome
Fairfield Processing to Granite City and the Port District," stated Dr. Charles King Jr., chairman of the Tri-City Regional
Port District's board of commissioners. "This is another strong company for our community and one that will grow even more over time."
Fairfield Processing Corporation is a leading manufacturer of cotton and
polyester fiber products for home and industry. The company's products can be found at Wal-Mart, Michael's, JoAnn Fabrics, Hancock Fabrics and thousands of independent retail locations worldwide.
JUDGES SELECT 2008
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION
COMPETITION FINALISTS
Judges of the third annual Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition at Washington University have selected eight finalists who will continue on to the next phase of the competition and present their business plans. The following teams remain in the competition:
- BEGIN New Venture Center at St. Patrick Center is a community partnership of business incubation and training.
- CHADS Coalition for Mental Health advances the prevention and awareness of adolescent suicide and depression.
- EnTeam Games for Schools aims to
foster collaboration and cooperation.
- Habitat for Neighborhood Business develops retail and service business centers in economically distressed neighborhoods.
- Indego Africa seeks to alleviate poverty in Rwanda by expanding the employable skills of female artisans.
- Lemay Child and Family Center is a childcare worker training and mentoring program.
- LiveFeed provides a solution for collecting and donating food by working with the live music and entertainment scene.
- StudioSTL empowers youth by helping them discover, develop and celebrate their individual voices through writing.
Both LiveFeed and StudioSTL are student-owned or -supported ventures.
A description of their ideas is available at http://www.ideabounce.com/.
This is the third annual SEIC organized by the Skandalaris Center in partnership with the YouthBridge Association. The Incarnate Word Foundation returns as a sponsor for the third straight year, and this year the Lutheran Foundation has also joined as a sponsor. Over $120,000 will be awarded, including a $5,000 prize to the best student-founded or -supported venture.
STAGES ST. LOUIS HONORED WITH
EIGHT KEVIN KLINE AWARDS
After receiving 22 nominations in 12 categories, STAGES ST. LOUIS was honored with eight Kevin Kline Awards, making it the recipient of the most awards for any local theatre company during the 3rd Annual Kevin Kline Awards Ceremony held at the Loretto-Hilton Center in Webster Groves, Mo.
STAGES received awards for all four of its 2007 productions, with wins in six of the seven categories honoring musical theatre and highest honors for The Full Monty as "Outstanding Production of a Musical."
STAGES recipients included:
- The Full Monty for "Outstanding Production of a Musical"
- Michael Hamilton as "Outstanding Director of a Musical" for The Full Monty
- Keith Tyrone as "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical" in The Full Monty
- David Elder as "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical" in Crazy For You
- Julie Tolivar as "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical" in Crazy For You
- The cast of Crazy For You as "Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical"
- Dorothy Marshall Englis for "Outstanding Costume Design" for A Little Night Music
- Snoopy!!! for "Outstanding Production for Young Audiences"
GSA RECEIVES APPROVAL FROM CONGRESS TO BUILD NATIONAL ARCHIVES FACILITY
The U.S. General Services Administration's plan to build a new 525,000-square-foot facility for the National Archives and Records Administration at 1829 Dunn Road has received its final signoff from Congress. The GSA has secured a 23.5-acre tract of land for the facility and will enter into an estimated 20-year lease once a developer has been selected.
"Support from the St. Louis Area Congressional Delegation, St. Louis County and the St. Louis County Economic Council has been a vital part of this project," stated Brad Scott, GSA's Regional Administrator. "We've had active and engaged representatives fighting to keep these jobs in St. Louis."
NARA's National Personnel Records Center is one of the agency's largest operations with a central repository of personnel-related records for both military and civil service employees.
The new facility will consolidate the majority of NARA operations from the Federal Records Center at 9700 Page Ave., a downtown facility on Winnebago Street, and the Dielman Avenue annex. The
move will keep an estimated 525 jobs in
St. Louis.
STORK FOKKER NAMES MIDCOAST AVIATION EXCLUSIVE REPAIR
CENTER IN NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA FOR FALCON 7X AIRCRAFT
Stork Fokker and Midcoast Aviation have signed an agreement for Midcoast to become the exclusive repair center in North and South America for the Falcon 7X aircraft.
Under the agreement, Midcoast Aviation is authorized to perform repairs for Stork Fokker-manufactured structures. Stork Fokker designs and builds wing movables for the Falcon 7X under contract to Dassault Aviation. Wing movables include all flight control surfaces: the aileron, flap, spoiler and related fairings.
Stork Fokker, part of the Stork Aerospace group, produces advanced components for the aviation and aerospace industry. Midcoast Aviation, an affiliate of Jet Aviation, performs aircraft maintenance, modifications and completions.
WEBSTER UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL UNVEILS NEW GLOBAL MBA
Webster University School of Business and Technology has introduced an MBA degree program that offers graduate students a truly global education. This fall, the multinational university will offer the MBA program to full-time graduate students who will study at Webster campuses in five international business capitals: Geneva, Leiden, London, Shanghai and Vienna.
"The Global MBA program will allow students to study at Webster University while living for nine weeks in each of these dynamic international locations," stated Benjamin Ola. Akande, dean of Webster's School of Business and Technology. He added, "Students will study inside and outside of the classroom in each of the five countries. After this 11-month immersion, the successful students will have earned their MBA graduate degree."
Len Even, director of Webster's campus in Leiden, the Netherlands, said theÊprogram enables students interested in an international business career to achieve a Webster MBA degree in one academic year while having a unique global experience.
"At my campus," he said, "students will visit The Hague, the Amsterdam Stock Exchange and the Social Economic Council, a major economic advisory group of the Dutch government, while taking courses in finance and marketing."
EDGEWOOD CHILDREN'S CENTER
RECEIVES $300,000 GRANT
The William R. Orthwein Jr. and Laura Rand Orthwein Foundation has awarded Edgewood Children's Center a $300,000 grant over a four-year period for the purchase and installation of a new roof for the school.
Since 1834, Edgewood Children's Center has provided compassionate care and treatment to restore children and strengthen families through intensive therapy, special education, case management and support services. As a result of the Orthwein Foundation's generosity, Edgewood will continue to offer high-quality special education classes to children most in need of assistance.
Today Edgewood serves up to 350 children and families daily through long- and short-term residential and day treatment programs, all managed from its 23-acre campus in Webster Groves.
ST. LOUIS PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION
DONATES $102,000 TO LIBRARY
The St. Louis Public Library has received a $102,000 donation from its foundation to support programs and services. Of the funds donated, Friends of the St. Louis Public Library contributed $40,000 that will be used to add downloadable audio
e-books to its collection of materials. Friends of the St. Louis Library was founded in 1987 by board member Annie C. Schlafly to support library programs and initiatives.
"Our foundation is here to aid in the library's growth and program development in any way that we can," stated Rick Simoncelli, president, St. Louis Public Library Foundation. "We are looking forward to seeing the progress this money will support."
The remaining $62,000 is coming from the St. Louis Public Library Foundation Annual Fund to support Homework Helpers, an after-school program designed to assist children with school projects in a friendly environment. The rapidly growing program now serves more than 1,000 kids each week at Central Library and at 13 branch locations.
GRACE HARMON RECOGNIZED FOR A LIFETIME OF SERVICE
The St. Charles Community College Foundation PEAR Award Scholarship Dinner held in St. Charles raised money for scholarships and academic programs while recognizing the achievements of civic leader Grace Harmon.
The PEAR Award—Professional Excellence Achievement Recognition—was presented by SCC Foundation President Julie Bartch and St. Charles Community College President John McGuire.
Harmon was praised for championing education, healthcare, the arts, and many other programs.
Now retired, Harmon has served in leadership roles with numerous boards and civic organizations. Active in the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce, a graduate of Leadership St. Charles and Leadership St. Louis, she was named Rotarian of the Year by St. Charles Sunrise Rotary Club and was honored by the St. Peters Chamber of Commerce and by Youth in Need for supporting young people.
Harmon has also been honored with the Athena Leadership Award and the Dove Award for her community service and supporting the development of women in leadership. A champion of education, she serves on Lindenwood University's Board of Directors and was a charter member of the St. Charles Public Schools Foundation.
Harmon currently serves on the boards of Partners for Progress, Foundry Art Center, Mosaics Festival for the Arts, and ShowMe Aquatics. She chaired the
St. Joseph Health Center Foundation, and provided a monetary gift for the hospital to build a new rehabilitation center for patients with heart and lung conditions. She is the 2007 chair of the St. Joseph Health Center Advisory Board.
Harmon served on the board of Connections for Success, joined the Habitat for Humanity Board and is currently a church elder with New Hope Presbyterian Church.
TRI-CITY PORT HAS $200 MILLION ANNUAL ECONOMIC IMPACT
The activities of the Tri-City Regional Port District have a $200 million economic impact on Madison County, making it one of the major economic forces in the area, according to a new research report from RSN Economic Group.
Located in the cities of Madison, Granite City and Venice, Ill., the port's activities involve the transfer of bulk materials from 2,500 barges each year; rail and truck transfers of commodities; industrial, commercial and residential development sites; and warehouse and commercial lease opportunities.
In 2002, The Port District began redevelopment of the former U.S. Army Charles Melvin Price Support Center. The Port now has 64 tenants or operating companies with more than 500 employees, $73 million in assets and 400 military family members residing on its 1,200 acre RiverÕs Edge property in Southwestern Madison County.
"2008 should see a dramatic increase in the Port DistrictÕs economic impact upon Madison County," stated Bob Wydra, executive director of the Tri-City Regional Port District. "Over $200 million is planned to be invested at the Port with construction of an ethanol plant in 2008. Its construction and operation alone would have an estimated additional $500 million economic impact on the Madison County economy and an additional direct and indirect employment impact of over 300 jobs."
RSN Economic Group is led by
John Navin, Tim Sullivan and Warren Richards, who are faculty members in the department of economics and finance at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
TWO LOCAL DESIGN FIRMS ANNOUNCE MERGER
Design firms Lawrence Group and Austin Tao Associates announced plans to merge. The Lawrence Group board of directors approved the acquisition as a move to expand services both nationally and internationally. The merger combines two successful St. Louis design practices that have teamed on national and international projects for many years. The Lawrence Group offers architecture, interior design and other related services to healthcare, commercial and housing clients. Austin TaoÊAssociates, founded in 1981 by Austin P. Tao, focuses on landscape architecture, urban design and planning.
"Austin Tao has a tremendous reputation in the St. Louis community, both for his civic contributions as well as his significant talent and quality landscape architecture," stated Steve Smith, CEO of Lawrence Group. "He has built a high-quality
design practice with a very creative and talented staff. We are thrilled to have them join the Lawrence Group team to help us expand the services that we can provide to our clients."
Tao will join the Lawrence Group as a principal and will continue as principal designer on Austin Tao Associates projects. In addition to leading the landscape architectural practice, Tao will be responsible for the Lawrence Group's growing international work. Company headquarters will remain in downtown St. Louis.
RCGA PRESIDENT ELECTED CHAIRMAN OF
PARTNERS FOR LIVABLE COMMUNITIES
Richard C.D. Fleming, President and CEO of the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association (RCGA), has been elected Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Washington, D.C.-based Partners for Livable Communities. He succeeds former Orlando Mayor and Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood as Chair.
In addition to Dick Fleming as Chairman, the following individuals also have been elected to serve as Officers of Partners
for Livable Communities: Kathy Dwyer Southern, President and CEO of the National Children's Museum in Washington, D.C., as Vice Chair; Peter Harkness, Editor and Publisher of Washington, D.C.-based Governing Magazine, as Treasurer; former Maryland Governor Parris Glendening as Corporate Secretary; Bob McNulty as President and CEO; and Glenda Hood as Chair Emeritus.
"Partners' mission is a very unique one—joining regional competitiveness, economics and amenity," Fleming noted. "At a time when virtually every city and region are fiercely competing for talent, livability is a critical variable for every community's success."
"I have been pleased to work with the diverse group of Partners Board members for nearly 30 years, and I am honored to succeed Glenda Hood as Chair," Fleming concluded.
Reflecting on her two-year term as Partners Chair, Hood noted, "Partners for Livable Communities has a strong history of helping communities throughout the nation. In my 20-plus-year association with Partners, I've had the privilege of working with quite a number of very strong leaders, such as Dick Fleming, as well as a team of other very visionary and capable people. Partners is a unique organization that helps communities —and cities, in particular—focus on their vision and how they can make sure that all the components of building a community are ones that make peoples' lifestyles "livable" in all respects. Examples of these components are arts, culture, and physical infrastructure."
"The Board is made up of people from many different backgrounds, whether it is from foundations, or economic development and chamber work, or in all levels of public service, and the private sector—people who have all had their finger on the pulse within their own communities, and who can then take their 'best practices' and help other communities realize their vision for the future," she added.
Partners for Livable Communities is a non-profit leadership organization working to improve the livability of communities by promoting quality of life, economic development, and social equity. Since its founding back in 1977, Partners has helped communities throughout the nation set a common vision for the future, discover and use new resources for community and economic development, and build public/private coalitions to further their goals. The organizationÕs leadership and membership is comprised of a very unusual cross-section of more than 1,200 governors, mayors, CEOs, leaders in arts and culture, foundation heads, and journalists, who share innovative ideas on livability and community improvement.
A sampling of past and present Partners Trustees and Officers includes: former Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening; Washington Post nationally-syndicated urban affairs columnist Neal Peirce; former Louisville Mayor David Armstrong; AQUA International Partners President (and former EPA Administrator) Bill Reilly; California U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein; Charleston, South Carolina Mayor Joseph Riley; former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros; and former Seattle Mayor Charles Royer.
Over the past 12 months, Partners for Livable Communities has advanced its major agendas of Aging In Place and Culture Builds Community, and has laid the foundation for a new set of activities this year that fall under the banner of "Institutions as Fulcrums of Change," where community institutions discover how to reach outside of their walls and play catalytic roles in the place-making, economic, and social development of their respective surrounding communities.
The "Institutions as Fulcrums of Change" agenda will complement both of these initiatives by linking common institutions, such as libraries, museums, community foundations, universities, medical centers, churches, and parks, to key issues surrounding the changing demographics, changing community patterns, and other major issues that communities face. Partners has formed a partnership with the Asset-Based Community Development Institute at Northwestern University to help train these leaders, and are in the process of signing up key national associations to partner on professional development for their members.
In addition to these major activities, Partners also has continued to hold an annual awards program for entrepreneurial leaders and communities, and its 10th annual Bridge Builders awards in Washington, D.C., had a theme of environmental enhancement and sustainability.
This year's Bridge Builders awardees included: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger; California Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez; former Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening; and former New Jersey Gov. and EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman. Enterprise Rent-A-Car Chairman and CEO Andy Taylor, Danforth Plant Science Center President Dr. Roger Beachy, as well as their civic partners, the National Arbor Day Foundation; the U.S. Forest Service; and the Institute for Renewable Fuels, are also receiving Bridge Builders Awards. In addition, Bridge Builders Awards will be presented to:ÊTPG Capital; Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.; Environmental Defense; and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
ST. LOUIS REGION NAMED FINALIST FOR 2008 ALL-AMERICAN CITY AWARD
A delegation of St. Louis area leaders will be traveling to Tampa in June, to present the region as a finalist in the 2008 All-America City Award competition.
Following a rigorous nomination effort earlier this year led by RCGA, the Denver-based National Civic League recently announced that the St. Louis region is a finalist for this prestigious AwardÑan honor considered the 'Oscar' of community recognition for civic progress and improvement.
Each "finalist" community will send a delegation to Tampa to present its case in a three-day awards competition and innovations forum, June 4th through 6th. During the competition, each community will present its programs and solutions to a jury of experts from throughout the United States. On June 6th, a jury of national business, government, philanthropic, and nonprofit leaders will name 10 national winners of the 2008 All-America City Award.
Presented each year since 1949, this award is the oldest and most prestigious civic recognition in the nation. The award encourages and recognizes civic excellence, honoring the communities in which citizens, government, businesses and non-profit organizations demonstrate successful resolution of important community issues.
"It has been more than 40 years since
St. Louis was named as a finalist for this
outstanding award," said St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay. "This is a strong third party acknowledgement of all the positive changes we've worked for both in the City of St. Louis and throughout the entire region overall."
"It's very gratifying that the National Civic League has recognized our region's collaborative approach to economic development and civic improvement," noted RCGA President and CEO Richard C.D. Fleming. "Being recognized as a region that is building a stronger community by tackling challenges through collaboration, inclusiveness, and innovation underscores the theme of the region's branding effort, "St. Louis: Perfectly Centered. Remarkably Connected." The brand is built on the strong connection between our region's quality of life attributes and our economic development competitiveness." He concluded, "The last time St. Louis was recognized as an All American City was in 1956. It would be a wonderful affirmation of the many civic collaborations in the region to be so honored in 2008."
Over 100 communities submitted applications this year that required a number of details on the regionÕs civic infrastructureÑhow a community engages in the process of becoming strong, healthy and vibrant; two of the most pressing challenges/opportunities in the community and two projects designed to proactively address these challenges and opportunities; and, lastly, details on a project dealing with a critical issue facing children and youth in the community.
Spearheaded by the RCGA, the St. Louis region's nomination for the All-America City Award focuses on the challenges of revitalizing the region's central core, and a lack of trails and parks that was holding the region back from competing with other metro areas in environmentally-friendly mobility. To get to the final round, the RCGA—with the assistance of community partners, the Downtown St. Louis Partnership, Great Rivers Greenway District, Metro East Park & Recreation District, and St. Louis ArtWorks—submitted a 16-page application to the National Civic League Award Jury several weeks ago. The nomination of the St. Louis Region focused on the challenges and progress in revitalizing the region's central city, as well as in
significantly expanding the region's parks and trails.
The three significant St. Louis regional projects that addressed these two challenges and opportunities are:
Project 1: Downtown Now! — a public/private partnership formed in 1997 to develop a seven-year plan for revitalizing downtown St. Louis. It was developed and then implemented by a diverse region-wide coalition of government officials, private citizens, entrepreneurs, business leaders, investors, and community groups. The City of St. Louis has generated over $5 billion in reinvestment in the region's central city in the past eight years, with most of the investment in the revitalization of residential neighborhoods and downtown, and a national-leading level of investment in historic restoration and adaptive reuse.
Project 2: The St. Louis Regional River Ring — a unique, 600-mile web of 45 greenway biking trails that will encircle the St. Louis region along the natural flow of the area's rivers and streams. The region created the nation's first bi-state, multi-county park districts to develop the interconnected
system of greenways, parks and trails. The unique five-jurisdiction district includes the City of St. Louis, St. Louis, St. Charles, Madison and St. Clair Counties.
Project 3: ArtWorks Enterprises (AWE), a division of St. Louis ArtWorks, a community-based arts collaborative, that was launched after winning the 2006 Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition at Washington University in
St. Louis' Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. The first venture of AWE is Boomerang Press, a venture that provides meaningful employment and job training for economically disadvantaged
students aged 14-19. Boomerang enables youth to produce commissioned art with real-world clients as a paid position under instructor guidance.
"Community involvement sounds like a cliché, but our success proves its power," noted Downtown St. Louis Partnership President and CEO Jim Cloar. "It's great to have the National Civic League recognize not just the revitalization, but the fact that giving everyone a seat at the table in the Downtown Now! effort is what made it all happen."
David Fisher, executive director of the Great Rivers Greenway District, which is collaborating with citizens and officials from over 100 communities and government organizations to build the River Ring, said what makes the nomination so valuable is its focus on citizen and community action.
"This nomination recognizes the tremendous momentum generated when people in the bi-state regionÊwork together," Fisher noted. "It'sÊgratifying to have such a prominent national organization call attention to what we do here every day. Community involvement is the litmus test of successful legacy changes."
Madison County Board Chairman Alan Dunstan, said, "We're delighted with this recognition. Our region has been creative about reinventing itself to successfully
compete with other regions. The 600-mile River Ring is an excellent example of how we can achieve both local and region-wide objectives."
St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley agreed, noting, "Working as a team is ultimately the only thing that really works. St. Louis being named as a finalist for the All-America City Award is a strong testament to what can be accomplished when we work together as a unified region."
St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann added, "Building a strong Regional Parks and Trails District is vital to creating a 'connected' region and enhancing a region's quality of life. It is widely recognized that quality of life directly impacts a region's
ability to attract and retain an outstanding labor force. Our Parks and Trails District is a national model other communities will want to emulate."
The bi-state, 16-county St. Louis region is one of 17 finalists. |
