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COMMERCE COMMENTS
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Like parent,
like child...the founding entrepreneurs of several growing St. Louis
companies are welcoming their successors. In this month’s cover
story, St. Louis Commerce Magazine takes a look at the succession
plans of Ralph Korte, Paul McKee and Susan Elliott. In each of these
cases, the story has a happy ending—the kids are assuming leadership
at their family businesses.
And while this seems pretty standard, nothing is automatic. At each
of these businesses, members of the younger generation have proven
their value. Only after gaining experience by working at other companies
did they come home to St. Louis, home to work their way up the company
(and family) ladders...granted at an accelerated pace. Thanks to
the young talent they’ve seen, these successful founders are Passing
the Baton.
St. Louis Commerce Magazine features another heavy hitter this
month, Don Breckenridge, president of the D. E. Breckenridge Companies.
He has built 33 hotels across the U.S. and currently owns 22, including
11 in Missouri. One of those is the new $80 million Sheraton, which
opened in July, in a dramatic historic restoration of the former
Edison Brothers Warehouse, that features Richard Haas’ famed trompe
l’oeil mural.
Another important happening for the region is the recent decision
by the Corps of Engineers to reconsider their plan to alter the
flow of the Missouri River in hopes of saving the river’s pallid
sturgeon and two shorebirds from extinction. They are now looking
at a number of other ways to save the endangered species while still
allowing for effective and safe management of the Missouri River.
This issue is explored in a story written by William Poe, entitled
Water Wars.
Had it not been for the efforts of Senator Kit Bond, along with
other members of the region’s Congressional delegation, this controversial
plan would have been implemented—eliminating barge traffic on the
Missouri and putting an extra strain on our already-exhausted Missouri
roads. It would have had serious adverse economic consequences for
both urban and rural Missouri economies. Barges would not be the
only ones affected by the “summer draw down”— Missouri’s growers
use the river to irrigate their crops, and electric utilities like
AmerenUE use the river water to cool power plants.
Thanks to the Senator’s intercession with the Bush Administration
and the Army Corps of Engineers, the public will now have a say
in how the Missouri River is managed.
Finally, looking to the region’s BioBelt economic future, Peter
Downs offers a fascinating glimpse into the St. Louis region’s emerging
effort to provide wet lab and related infrastructure to accommodate
growing plant and life sciences companies.
Richard C.D. Fleming
President and Chief Executive Officer
St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association |
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