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 Laurie Westfall, wife of the late George R. “Buzz” Westfall, claps with joy as a new sign is unveiled designating Missouri Route 364 the “Buzz Westfall Memorial Highway.” Westfall was in his fourth term as St. Louis County executive when he died last year, and was a staunch supporter of the Page Avenue extension. With Westfall is daughter Kristin Westfall Rea and son-in-law Tom Rea. |
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BEST POKER PLAYER TITLE WON BY WOMAN
FOR FIRST TIME
| Barb Tanner, (center), receives the “Best Poker Player in St. Louis” from Jerry Clinton, Chairman of Grey Eagle Distributors which sponsors the Budweiser Poker Classic. Glenda Bridges, (right), of Belleville, Illinois is tournament director. |
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Barb Tanner won several large pots in the Budweiser Poker Classic charity tournament to become the first woman to capture the title of “Best Poker Play in St. Louis” in August. Tanner, a retired school nurse, has played in almost all of the 23 Budweiser Poker Classic charity tournaments, all of which have been won by men since 1982.
A record 809 players entered the tournament by making contributions to the muscular Dystrophy Association, and the top seven players from a field of 122 semifinalists advanced to the final round. The event raised $23,277 for the association.
| The International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) and Anheuser-Busch recently announced Budweiser will be the official beer sponsor of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. This marks Anheuser-Busch’s first sponsorship of a summer Olympic Games held outside of the United States. |
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BOEING WINS POTENTIAL $4.9 BILLION CONTRACT, ADDS INITIAL 800 NEW ST. LOUIS JOBS
| Jim Albaugh, CEO, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. |
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The Boeing Company announced that its St. Louis-based Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) has received an $891
million contract modification to
provide support services for the C-17 Globemaster III. The contract is the first phase of a project that could eventually be worth as much as $4.9 billion to Boeing.
This news follows the recent announcement by U.S. Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond (R) and IDS CEO Jim Albaugh that the company plans to fill 250 open positions in St. Louis by the end of this year, for a total of 800 jobs over the next 18 months. Those numbers are in addition to the 1,500 jobs the company has created over the past 18 months. The total annual economic impact of the 800 new jobs at Boeing will be about $421 million, according to RCGA Chief Economist Bryan Bezold.
Boeing expects its total employment in St. Louis to grow to over 17,000 in 2005. This represents 12 percent of the region’s total manufacturing employment. The concentration of aerospace industry employment in the St. Louis region is roughly three times the national average.
CORTEX RECEIVES
$2.9 MILLION FOR
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
U.S. Senator Christopher “Kit” Bond (R) announced that Cortex will receive $2.9 million
in federal funds. |
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U.S. Senator Christopher “Kit” Bond (R-Mo.) announced that the Center of Research, Technology and Entrepreneurial Expertise, a nonprofit development enterprise known as “CORTEX,” a joint venture of Wash U, SLU, UMSL, BJC, RCGA and City, will receive $2.9 million in federal funds to support its efforts to spur development in St. Louis’s urban core.
The CORTEX project grew out of the Battelle Plant & Life Sciences Cluster Strategy, completed in 2000.
CORTEX plans to create a “technopolis” in midtown St. Louis that will capitalize on local research institutions by transforming scientific innovations into new companies. The center will provide the necessary infrastructure, and will assist with university technology transfer, workforce training, entrepreneurial education, and support services businesses.
“Life sciences is the newest technological revolution and we must make sure that Missouri is well positioned to be a world leader in the field,” Bond stated. “This project is an example of our efforts to turn this revolution into jobs and economic growth here in St. Louis and the rest of Missouri.”
ST. LOUIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS OPENS $30 MILLION
CAREER ACADEMY
More than 625 high school students—including some 200 from
St. Louis County—recently inaugurated the halls of the St. Louis Public Schools’ Clyde C. Miller Career Academy. The $30 million, state-of-the-art vocational education center is located at 1000 North Grand Ave. in the heart of the Grand Center Entertainment District. The school was built with $10 million each from St. Louis Public Schools, the Special School District of St. Louis County and the State of Missouri.
The Academy is available to qualified ninth through twelfth grade students, and was designed to reflect a city within a city, with self-sufficient “neighborhoods” that have related classrooms. Students focus on academics for the first two years and are then expected to choose one of 11 career pathways as juniors: bio-technology; building trades; business management and administration; computer networking; culinary arts; database management, lectronics/electricity; direct care and rehabilitation therapy; hospitality studies; manufacturing; or multimedia production.
A portion of the Academy’s curriculum received impetus from the RCGA-commissioned Battelle plant and life sciences cluster strategy report. At the request of SLPS, the RCGA helped assemble a working group of industry leaders to help define the bio-technology curriculum at the Academy. The Battelle study also helped district officials confirm the viability of other curriculums, such as health care and multimedia production.
In St. Louis County, the RCGA staff, along with two other Battelle cluster strategy reports, assisted Paul Mackay, executive director of the Metropolitan Vocational Technical Cooperative, to establish an IT curriculum in eight area high schools, and an advanced manufacturing curriculum in 14 high schools.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
FOR 2005 NCAA MEN’S
FINAL FOUR
The St. Louis Organizing Committee for the 2005 NCAA Final Four is looking for 2,500 volunteers to help stage the basketball championship on April 2 & 4 at the Edward Jones Dome. Volunteers will welcome and assist the more than 50,000 fans expected to visit St. Louis during the event. Duties will include serving as greeters and staffing information desks at airports and hotels; assisting at hospitality functions; working the Hoop City interactive fan festival and the NCAA YES Clinics; providing assistance to fans outside the Edward Jones Dome; and helping with various transportation needs connected to the Final Four.
NCAA Men’s Basketball
St. Louis Regional 2003—Kansas vs. Georgia Tech. |
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Those interested in volunteering can obtain an official Final Four volunteer application by visiting www.stlloc.org or by calling (314) 992-0684. Priority will be given to volunteers who submit applications before Nov. 1, 2004.
THE CAMPAIGN FOR A GREATER ST. LOUIS 2005-2009
| Scott Schnuck, president and COO of Schnuck Markets, and chairman-elect of the RCGA. |
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Of the hundreds of municipalities and 16 counties that comprise the St. Louis region, few have the resources or the platform to promote themselves nationally and internationally. One of the core functions of the upcoming Campaign for a Greater St. Louis (2005-2009) will be to do just that: brand and market the St. Louis region in a comprehensive and united voice, spotlighting our outstanding business, cultural and civic assets.
Scott Schnuck, president and chief operating officer of Schnuck Markets, and chairman-elect of the RCGA, says the Campaign provides civic and business partners the opportunity to invest in our region and in the future of St. Louis.
“We need to step up our economic development efforts from past levels,” Schnuck says. “The $4 million goal for this year’s program is essential to meeting the needs of our region, and keeps us competitive with other metropolitan areas.”
To accomplish tangible results, the Campaign will create a highly-focused marketing and branding program delivered specifically to decision makers and key influencers in the global business community. Our message is simple: the St. Louis region is the preeminent choice for growing companies, particularly within the five distinctive industry clusters we have identified as our natural strengths: plant and life sciences, information technologies, advanced manufacturing, banking and financial services, and transportation and distribution. As a corollary message, we will also seek to recruit to St. Louis the brightest and best talent in the world.
Schnuck says a key strategy for the new Campaign will also be its focus on Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. “We are facing a changed environment in the aviation sector that didn’t exist when the last Campaign was launched,” he says. “Additional efforts to improve the outlook at Lambert are critical to our region’s vitality. It deserves greater allocation of our economic development resources.”
As preparations for the new five-year effort continue, Schnuck says companies and organizations must see themselves as part of a larger picture: “Every company should look at their commitment as an investment, and not as a donation.”
| Campaign Leadership |
| Terrance C.Z. Egger, president and publisher, St. Louis Post-Dispatch. |
| Joseph E. Hasten, chairman, Greater St. Louis Economic Development Council;
vice-chairman U.S. Bancorp. |
| David W. Kemper, chairman, president and CEO, Commerce Bancshares. |
| James J. Murphy Jr., chairman, Regional Business Council; president and CEO, Murphy Company. |
| Gary L. Rainwater, chairman, president and CEO, Ameren. |
| John R. Roberts, executive director, Civic Progress. |
| Douglas H. Yaeger, chairman, president and CEO, Laclede Group. |
ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT
A MONTHLY LOOK AT THE REGION'S ECONOMY
Although traffic delays around St. Louis can be frustrating, they aren’t nearly as bad as those of other metropolitan areas. This chart shows the annual average number of hours travelers spend in traffic delays. Valued at the mean hourly wage in St. Louis, the dollar equivalent is $630 per traveler, per year—much less than the $1,600 per year spent by Los Angeles residents.
click on image for a larger image.
ST. LOUIS ARGENT INDEX
A MONTHLY SNAPSHOT OF LOCAL STOCKS
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Sept. Change |
YTD Change |
12-Month Change |
Close |
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| Argent Index |
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1.79% |
-0.22% |
5.35% |
910.71 |
| Arch Coal |
ACI |
8.90% |
13.86% |
60.94% |
$35.49 |
| Ameren |
AEE |
-1.75% |
0.33% |
13.47% |
$46.15 |
| AG Edwards Inc. |
AGE |
-1.78% |
-4.44% |
-8.20% |
$34.62 |
| Angelica Corp. |
AGL |
7.02% |
13.09% |
33.21% |
$24.88 |
| Argosy Gaming |
AGY |
16.06% |
50.83% |
60.66% |
$39.20 |
| AMR Corp. |
AMR |
-16.33% |
-43.40% |
-35.90% |
$7.33 |
| Boeing Inc. |
BA |
-2.32% |
22.50% |
52.43% |
$51.62 |
| Bank of America Corp. |
BAC |
-3.09% |
7.75% |
15.15% |
$43.33 |
| Bunzi PLC |
BNL |
-2.67% |
-2.11% |
-0.86% |
$38.05 |
| Peabody Energy |
BTU |
11.20% |
42.65% |
91.27% |
$59.50 |
| Anheuser-Busch Cos. |
BUD |
-4.89% |
-5.18% |
3.02% |
$49.95 |
| Belden CDT Inc. |
BWC |
6.34% |
3.37% |
36.25% |
$21.80 |
| Brown Shoe Co. |
BWS |
-7.28% |
-33.93% |
-19.68% |
$25.06 |
| Commerce Bancshares |
CBSH |
-0.95 |
-1.90% |
17.55% |
$48.09 |
| Charter Comm. |
CHTR |
-18.18% |
-33.83% |
-35.44% |
$2.66 |
| Centene Corp. |
CNC |
7.41% |
52.02% |
40.11% |
$42.58 |
| CPI Corp. |
CPY |
0.08% |
-34.44% |
-24.51% |
$13.25 |
| D&K Healthcare |
DKHR |
-7.42% |
-27.36% |
-29.52% |
$9.85 |
| Amdocs Ltd. |
DOX |
9.45% |
-2.89% |
16.12% |
$21.93 |
| Engineered Support |
EASI |
5.81% |
-17.11% |
13.14% |
$45.64 |
| Emerson Electric Co. |
EMR |
-0.11% |
-4.42% |
20.58% |
$61.89 |
| Energizer |
ENR |
10.26% |
22.74% |
25.37% |
$46.10 |
| ESCO Technologies |
ESE |
3.78% |
55.23% |
49.68% |
$67.76 |
| Express Scripts Inc. |
ESRX |
4.56% |
-1.64% |
6.92% |
$65.34 |
| Furniture Brands Intl. |
FBN |
7.61% |
-14.49% |
5.60% |
$25.08 |
| Insituform Technologies |
INSU |
4.61% |
13.15% |
5.18% |
$18.67 |
| Jacobs Engineering |
JEC |
-2.94% |
-20.25% |
-15.10% |
$38.29 |
| KV Pharmaceutical |
KV/B |
11.14% |
-28.91% |
-19.39% |
$18.42 |
| Kellwood Co. |
KWD |
1.21% |
-11.10% |
10.88% |
$36.45 |
| Laclede Gas Co. |
LG |
1.18% |
2.38% |
13.22% |
$29.23 |
| May Department Co. |
MAY |
5.26% |
-11.83% |
7.98% |
$25.63 |
| Monsanto Corp. |
MON |
-3.55% |
26.55% |
54.30% |
$36.42 |
| Maverick Tube Corp. |
MVK |
2.87% |
60.05% |
98.52% |
$30.81 |
| Panera Bread Co. |
PNRA |
9.03% |
-5.01% |
-8.46% |
$37.54 |
| Pulitzer Publishing Co. |
PTZ |
0.29% |
-8.52% |
-3.76% |
$49.40 |
| Ralcorp Holdings Inc. |
RAH |
-0.93% |
15.11% |
30.32% |
$36.10 |
| Reinsurance Group |
RGA |
3.19% |
6.60% |
1.69% |
$41.20 |
| RehabCare Corp. |
RHB |
-0.26% |
8.33% |
35.07% |
$23.03 |
| SBC Communications |
SBC |
0.85% |
-0.46% |
22.89% |
$25.95 |
| Spartech Corp. |
SEH |
2.02% |
1.87% |
19.86% |
$25.10 |
| Stifel Financial Corp. |
SF |
-4.07% |
34.02% |
93.52% |
$19.60 |
| Sigma-Aldrich Corp. |
SIAL |
0.14% |
1.43% |
12.48% |
$58.00 |
| Source Interlink Cos. |
SORC |
11.49% |
-8.47% |
3.74% |
$9.72 |
| Smurfit-Stone Corp. |
SSCC |
7.05% |
4.31% |
29.65% |
$19.37 |
| TALX Corp. |
TALXE |
8.18% |
0.26% |
-6.02% |
$23.09 |
| US Bancorp |
USB |
-3.56% |
-2.96% |
24.32% |
$28.90 |
| MEMC Electronics |
WFR |
4.00% |
-11.85% |
-22.27% |
$8.48 |
| Young Innovation Inc. |
YDNT |
8.03% |
-8.33% |
3.53% |
$33.00 |
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