Compiled
by Lauri Johnson
BOTANICAL GARDEN’S ECOLOGY PROGRAM CELEBRATES
25TH ANNIVERSARY
For 25 years, a unique Missouri Botanical Garden environmental
program called ECO-ACT has introduced ecology to more than 16,000
elementary students in the St. Louis area. The leadership and
mentoring program was designed by the garden’s education staff
in 1981 to create ecologically educated role models, according
to Jennifer Hope, the program coordinator.
High school juniors and seniors selected for the year-long program
train for three weeks in the summer by investigating urban environmental
issues, learning about aquatic ecology and preparing lesson
plans. Once the school year starts, training focuses on specific
educational units and discussion of environmental concerns,
diversity issues and leadership roles. Students then spend 30
weeks team teaching local fourth graders about environmental
awareness, plants, animals and ecosystem interactions.
Over the past 25 years, nearly 1,500 students have graduated
from the program. Six local high schools currently participate
in ECO-ACT: Gateway, Metro, Nerinx Hall, Parkway North, Parkway
South and St. Mary’s.
LOCAL COMPANIES FORM RESOURCE ST. LOUIS
TO REDUCE CONSTRUCTION WASTE
Area companies and agencies have united to form ReSource St.
Louis, a coalition dedicated to enhancing recycling efforts
and materials reuse in the St. Louis region. The growing organization,
which includes private and public companies of various sizes,
promotes construction and operational processes that foster
and support conscientious management of the built environment.
Specifically, the group aims to reduce the overall impact of
construction practices on landfills and the environment by partnering
with manufacturing and construction companies to recycle construction
materials. Construction and demolition projects contribute approximately
12 percent of the waste sent to landfills in the United States.
Three of the largest components of job-site waste—cardboard,
wood and drywall—are fully recyclable.
Other local firms involved in ReSource St. Louis include Enterprise
Rent-A-Car, Alberici Constructors, William Tao & Associates
and Maritz Corporation. Member organizations report decreased
disposal costs, lower labor costs and reduced expenditures for
materials. More information is available at the organization’s
Web site, www.resourcestlouis.org.
UNITED WAY OF GREATER ST. LOUIS ANNOUNCES
MATCHING GIFT PROGRAM
The United Way of Greater St. Louis has announced a new matching
gift program from the Regional Business Council designed to
increase the number of women and people of color who support
the United Way at its Leadership Level. The RBC Leadership Giving
Initiative will match individual donor gifts of $500 in the
first year and contribute $250 to second-year individual donor
gifts of $750. Donors will then contribute fully at the United
Way Leadership Giving Level of $1,000 in the third year.
“This initiative will help us reach yet more people across our
diverse region,” states Gary Dollar, president and CEO of the
United Way of Greater St. Louis.
The local United Way funds 200 bistate health and human service
agencies that serve one million residents in 16 counties. The
Regional Business Council, a consortium of CEOs from mid-cap
companies, is offering this incentive to encourage diversity
within its member firms and throughout the region.
BOYS & GIRLS TOWN RECEIVE FINANCIAL
BOOST FOR FOSTER HOME PROGRAM
The St. Louis Mental Health Board has awarded a $121,202 grant
to Boys & Girls Town of Missouri to help develop Fostering Futures,
a pilot program designed to improve the stability of foster
home placement for children. The program will provide behavior
specialists who will offer parent education and support for
foster families along with crisis intervention. The goal of
Fostering Futures is to decrease the number of foster home placements
for children with emotional and behavioral problems and to keep
them from entering residential care or living on the streets.
On average, Missouri children spend 26 months in the foster
care system. It is estimated that 18 out of 1,000 children are
living in foster homes in the City of St. Louis.
THE HEMPSTEAD GROUP RECOGNIZED FOR OUTSTANDING
INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
Northwestern Mutual has selected The Hempstead Group in Clayton
as one of Northwestern Mutual Financial Network’s Top 10 Network
Offices in the country for its internship program. The Hempstead
Group ranked No. 10 out of nearly 100 network offices across
the country for an outstanding internship program that provides
real-life, practical experiences for students considering a
career in financial services. In the past year, The Hempstead
Group has provided 21 college and university students with experience
in the financial services industry.
ST. ANDREW’S CARING WORKPLACE PROGRAM
EARNS EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR SERVICE
The award-winning Caring Workplace program run by St. Andrew’s
At-Home Services has been honored with the 2006 Excellence in
Service Award from the Missouri Association of Homes for the
Aging. The award is presented annually in recognition of innovative
and exceptional programs and services for older adult residents,
management operations or networking, and other services for
the aging community.
The Caring Workplace program was developed to provide support
to full- and part-time employed individuals in the St. Louis
area who serve as caregivers for their aging loved ones. The
program provides caregivers with on-site assessments, face-to-face
consultations, links to a range of community resources, and
educational programs on caring for the elderly.
CHESTERFIELD'S NEWEST BOUTIQUE CENTER
Kommerz, LC dba Clock Tower Plaza has announced the development
of Clock Tower Plaza, a 23,530-square-foot boutique retail center
located off Chesterfield Commons East, adjacent to the Target
Greatland in Chesterfield Valley.
Construction has begun and an anticipated completion date is
April 2007. The center features unique landscape, creative architectural
elements, including a 40-foot clock tower.
Schifano & Sons is the developer, ACI Boland is the architect,
and construction will be provided by Arco Construction. Rudy
Stinnett and Paul Nagel of Grubb & Ellis | Gundaker Commercial,
the brokerage division of Gundaker Commercial Group Inc. will
represent the owner in a leasing capacity.
“The Valley needs more boutique style representation,” says
Paul Schifano of Schifano & Sons. “This is an outstanding location
with great visibility and will be a very successful center.”
FOUR GOVERNORS TOUT REVIVED HAWTHORN FOUNDATION
Gov. Matt Blunt and his predecessors, Sen. Christopher “Kit”
Bond, former Gov. Bob Holden and former Attorney General John
Ashcroft joined together in support of the Hawthorn Foundation’s
first annual Summer Gala at the Monsanto Hall and Spoehrer Plaza
of the Missouri Botanical Garden. The event raised $200,000
for the Hawthorn Foundation activities.
The 150 guests were able to view a rare sight of four Missouri
governors, whose terms stretched back as far as 1973, all in
the same room. The governors discussed current Missouri economic
issues, as well as missions of the Hawthorn Foundation.
The event was a fundraiser for the Hawthorn Foundation, which
was set up 24 years ago by Sen. Bond and is managed by an independent
board of directors, in cooperation with the state Department
of Economic Development. At the event, Bond expressed how proud
he was for creating the Foundation and even prouder that his
successors have maintained and expanded the Foundation. “Such
an organization is necessary if Missouri is going to improve
its economic climate and create more businesses and jobs,” said
Sen. Bond.
FONTBONNE PROFESSOR MAKES “HOUSE CALLS”
TO ST. LOUIS ALS PATIENTS
Dr. Gale Rice, chairwoman of the communication disorders department
at Fontbonne University, is bringing the ability to communicate
directly to local residents diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. She provides
in-home speech assessments for ALS patients to determine what
equipment would help improve their ability to communicate and
to eat. Both functions become increasingly difficult as the
disease progresses because it affects vocal chords and neck
muscles.
“This is a huge benefit for ALS patients. It’s incredible the
amount of help she’s providing patients and their families,”
states Bob Wessels, executive director of the St. Louis ALS
Society.
Rice visits more than 20 clients in the St. Louis area and is
accompanied by Fontbonne speech-language pathology graduate
students who gain real-world training and experience from the
visits. The St. Louis ALS Society is funding in-home speech
assessments for the first time ever through a three-year grant
from the Missouri Foundation for Health.
CENTENE ACQUIRES OPTICCARE'S MANAGED
VISION BUSINESS
Centene Corporation has acquired the managed vision business
of OptiCare Health Systems Inc. through its specialty company
subsidiary, CenCorp Health Solutions Inc. OptiCare’s managed
vision business, based in Rocky Mount, N.C., contracts with
insurers, employer groups, managed care plans, HMOs and other
third-party payors to manage claims payment and other administrative
services of eye health benefits.
“This acquisition furthers our goal of building a multi-line
healthcare enterprise,” states Michael F. Neidorff, Centene’s
chairman and CEO. “With this addition to CenCorp Health Solutions,
we have continued to expand our specialty capability to include
vision benefit management as these services will now be available
to Centene’s Medicaid health plans and external customers.”
WOODARD CLEANING AND RESTORATION JOINS
CONTRACTORS’ NETWORK
Woodard Cleaning and Restoration Inc. has joined Disaster Kleenup
International Inc., a network of independent property damage
restoration contractors, to help strengthen the network’s presence
in the Midwest.
As a member of the network, Woodard Cleaning and Restoration
can use Disaster Kleenup International’s 24-hour call center
and its DIAMOND claims tracking technology to enhance service
to insurance and corporate customers. Woodard’s staff members
will be eligible to participate in the network’s training seminars
and workshops to stay abreast of changes and trends in the restoration
industry.
“DKI has always stood for excellence in our industry and we
are pleased that our company has met its high standards for
membership,” states Charles Woodard, president of Woodard Cleaning
and Restoration. “Our association with DKI creates the type
of new business opportunities which will allow us to extend
our scope of service, introduce us to new markets and mature
as a business.”
RAVEN HONORED AT WILD CANID CENTER'S
ANNUAL GALA
The Wild Canid Center (also called the Wolf Sanctuary) hosted
its annual gala in August and honored Peter Raven, director
of the Missouri Botanical Garden, with the Perkins’ Partner
in Conservation Medal. Held at the Busch Family Mansion at Grant’s
Farm, the evening featured cocktails, mansion tours, dinner
and a special presentation for Raven.
A world leader in conservation and biodiversity, described by
Time Magazine as a “Hero of the Planet,” Raven was honored
for being a longtime supporter of the Wild Canid Center and
for his substantial contributions to preserving LaBarque Creek,
a pristine creek that runs across the center’s new property.
Raven joined the Missouri Botanical Garden in 1971, the same
year that Carol and Marlin Perkins founded the Wild Canid Center.
He is the sixth recipient of the Perkins’ Partner in Conservation
Medal.
ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE'S NURSING
PROGRAM RECEIVES DIVERSITY GRANT
St. Louis Community College’s nursing program has received a
$272,998 Nursing Workforce Diversity Grant from the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, Health Services and Resources
Administration. The grant covers the first year of a three-year
project; the second and third years of the grant, in the amounts
of $280,992 and $286,614, are subject to availability.
The project strives to increase the success rate of minority
and international nursing students through an array of support
strategies. Those strategies include year-round retention activities,
student stipends, a pre-nursing summer academy and training
in cultural competence for faculty and students.
Several community experts and organizations are participating
in the program, including St. Mary’s Health Center, St. Louis
Children’s Hospital, the International Institute of Metropolitan
St. Louis and The Missouri Hospital Association.
KETC/CHANNEL 9 MAGAZINE WINS AWARDS
FOR EXCELLENCE
Public television station KETC/Channel 9 earned two Awards of
Excellence in the 18th annual APEX Awards for Publication Excellence
competition for its membership magazine, KETC Guide.
The competition attracted 4,756 entries that were evaluated
for their design, content and ability to achieve overall communications
effectiveness and excellence.
KETC Guide editor Terri Gates, art director Matt Huelskamp
and assistant editor Madalyn Painter won awards in the print
magazines and journals category. Gates also won an APEX award
in the media kit and news release writing category for a press
kit that launched the series “House Calls With Dr. Valerie Walker.”
KETC Guide is a bimonthly magazine that provides program
listings, station news and behind-the-scenes stories to the
station’s members. The magazine also won APEX awards in 2000,
2001 and 2005.
LIFE CRISIS SERVICES CELEBRATE 40TH
ANNIVERSARY
Life Crisis Services (LCS), a division of Provident Inc., will
be celebrating its 40th Anniversary on Wed., Nov. 1, at the
Ritz-Carlton in Clayton.
The celebration will feature an original theater presentation
written, directed and produced by Joan Lipkin of That Uppity
Theatre Company. Al Wiman, well-known television personality,
will be master of ceremonies.
Barbara Abbett, a former LCS board member and current Provident
board member, is chairing the event. Abbett retired from Mallinckrodt
as vice president of Corporate Communications. Previously, she
had been with Fleishman-Hillard.
Sanford Scott, also a former LCS board member and current Provident
board member, is co-chairing the event. Scott is vice chairman
and managing director of The PrivateBank.
Founded in 1966, Life Crisis merged with Provident, a United
Way member agency, in 2003. Life Crisis Services operates one
of the nation’s oldest hotlines, providing telephonically-based
suicide prevention and crisis intervention services to more
than 40,000 callers each year. LCS is a national leader in providing
telephone counseling and referral services.
FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER RECEIVES GRANT
FOR CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION PROGRAM
Family Resource Center has received a grant of nearly $200,000
from Community Children’s Services Fund to launch a new parent-centered
child abuse prevention program called the Parenting Education
and Support Project. The project helps parents improve how they
communicate with and care for their children by using an approach
that combines personalized assessments, therapy and parenting
education. Participants are assigned a support team that includes
a family support worker and a therapist.
The program is the brainchild of the late Loren Ribley, the
Family Resource Center’s assistant executive director who died
from cancer in March 2006 after a 23-year career with the center.
“This was Loren’s vision and dream,” states Executive Director
Greg Echele. “Thanks to this grant, many more parents and kids
in our community will benefit from his compassion and dedication.”
The grant comes from the Community Children’s Services Fund,
which is derived from city tax funds and administered by the
St. Louis Mental Health Board. In the same grant cycle, the
board also renewed its support of the Family Resource Center’s
Therapeutic Day Treatment Preschool for children experiencing
emotional and behavioral problems related to abuse and neglect.
NATIONAL CITY NAMED CORPORATE HISPANIC
ADVOCATE OF THE YEAR
National City was named the Corporate Hispanic Advocate of the
Year by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan St.
Louis.
“National City was recognized for its commitment to the community,
their work to improve the quality of life in the St. Louis community,
and for creating a St. Louis Latino Marketing Taskforce to meet
the needs of consumers and businesses in the local Hispanic
community,” states Rafael Nun Marin, president of the Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan St. Louis. “We are also
appreciative of the bank’s support of the Chamber and for their
becoming one of our major sponsors.”
National City has implemented a series of initiatives designed
to increase Hispanics’ access to banking products and services,
including offering all product materials in Spanish, bilingual
assistance at ATMs, and a Spanish version of the company’s Web
site. Hispanic consumers and small business owners now number
35 million and represent more than 13 percent of the country’s
population.
Corrections
In the October 2006 issue of Commerce Magazine, in an
article about tax credits, RubinBrown’s Harlan Kwiatek’s photo
was inadvertently identified as Dave Herdlick, also of RubinBrown.
Also in the October issue of Commerce in an article about
out-of-town investors, it was incorrectly stated that 60 Plaza
Square had only one unit left for sale. That actually was a
reference to the Park East Tower development. It has one unit
remaining. The 60 Plaza Square property was purchased on July
18, 2006 and renovations will begin shortly. Marketing will
begin in the 1st quarter of 2007. None of the units at 60 Plaza
have sold yet.
