Above: James Wittico, M.D. and Gloria Taylor
St. Louis American honors contributors to the quality of life of St. Louisans
Making the region a better place for St. Louisans, James Whittico, an activist physician, and Gloria Taylor, founder and president of Community Women Against Hardship (CWAH), will be honored on Sept. 3, by the St. Louis American Foundation. The 12th annual Awards and Scholarship Banquet will be held in the Grand Ballroom of the America’s Center. Net proceeds from the event go toward student scholarships to assist the next generation of African-American leaders. More than $37,500 in grants and scholarships were awarded in 1998.
Dr. Whittico will receive the Salute to Excellence Lifetime Achiever award for not only his work as a surgeon, but his comittment to creating opportunities for minorities in medicine. He is currently on staff at Saint Louis University Hospital as a clinical professor and is a founder of the Mound City Medical Center, a segregated hospital that trained black physicians. Earlier in his life, he was involved in bringing the Cervantes Convention Center to the city on a third bond issue, he also worked with the Urban League and the Vaughn Culture Center, the Black Leadership Roundtable and much more.
Taylor will be honored as the 1999 Stellar Performer. Taylor co-founded CWAH, a grassroots organization that pairs trained volunteer family caseworkers with families for a year or more. The caseworkers help families stand on their own by supplying food and clothes and helping families find better housing and ways to keep their children in school. CWAH also has a Family Skills Building Workshop that helps participants build stronger self images and techniques on how to stop child abuse. Taylor, caseworkers and volunteers have helped some 1,400 mothers and children break the cycle of poverty.
For more information on the Awards and Scholarship Banquet, contact the St. Louis American, 314/533-8000.
Trans National Communications International Inc. forms partnership with WAN Technologies, Inc.
Boston-based Trans National Communications International Inc. (TNCI), one of the largest long distance resellers in the country, has announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with WAN Technologies, Inc., a St. Louis-based Wide Area Network systems integrator. WAN operates primarily as a resource to telecommunications sales forces by offering network design, equipment evaluation, selection, installation and maintenance.
The partnership is dedicated to providing TNCI customers a complete package of telecommunications products and services required for improving existing and creating new Wide Area Networks for voice and data communications. The strategic partnership between TNCI and WAN Technologies is based on the increasing desire of business IT managers to have a single source for all of their communication needs. Through the affiliation, TNCI will provide the voice, data and Internet circuits, and WAN Technologies will provide the engineering, equipment and management services to keep the circuits in use.
“This addition to our list of strategic partners demonstrates the dedication of TNCI to growth and customer service,” says Damian Gerard, WAN’s director of marketing. “TNCI is way ahead of the pack in being able to deliver a total package to the customer and making the buying process much easier.”
WorkNet Communications raises $6 million, kicks off multi-city expansion
St. Louis-based WorkNet Communications has completed its efforts to raise $6 million to support the next phase of the company’s expansion. The company offers high-speed Internet access to business customers by using its next-generation wireless network to directly connect companies to the global communications network.
WorkNet is expanding its local presence and is fully operational in Indianapolis. Later this year, the company intends to enter the Columbus, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Nashville and Cleveland markets. WorkNet plans to infiltrate as many as 20 new markets by the end of 2000. To support its growth, WorkNet will also add an estimated 80 employees to its local roster this year.
Bryan Cave receives license to open office in China
Bryan Cave LLP has announced that the firm has been granted a license to open an office in Shanghai, China’s largest city and a leading financial, commercial, industrial and technology center in Asia. Bryan Cave is only the fifth U.S. law firm to be granted the license. The firm has maintained an office in Hong Kong for more than five years, and represents a number of clients with extensive business investments in China, including Anheuser-Busch, Bunge Corporation, Deutsche Financial Services and Reynolds Metals.
“This is the culmination of six years of intensive effort and commitment on the part of Bryan Cave lawyers in the US and Asia,” says Walter Metcalfe, Jr., chairman of Bryan Cave. “Notwithstanding the current economic difficulties being experienced in Asia, there can be no question of the importance of China in the world economy, both currently and in the future.”
Regional Arts Commission announces 1999 grant recipients and sponsor of Cultural Tourism Program
The Regional Arts Commission (RAC) recently approved more than $2.9 million in grant awards to support 206 non-profit arts and cultural organizations in the St. Louis area. This represents the largest annual grants round to date for RAC, which seeks to promote and foster the arts in the St. Louis region through programming and operational support.
More than 215 applications were submitted requesting approximately $4.6 million in support. Citizen panels, staff members and Commissioners reviewed the requests, which are evaluated on the basis of eight criteria: quality of programs, innovative ideas, fiscal health, cultural diversity, local and regional impact, community outreach, management capability and need in the community.
In other news, Emerson Electric Company has signed on as the first major corporate sponsor of RAC’s Cultural Tourism Program. The program is designed to enhance the cultural reputation of St. Louis and deliver a significant economic benefit to the area through the packaging and marketing of St. Louis’ cultural assets. It is being implemented by RAC, in partnership with the Convention and Visitors Commission (CVC).
Approximately 45 arts organizations in the St. Louis area are already participating in the program. Plans are underway to create weekend packages to attract tour groups and individuals, and several area hotels and restaurants have displayed an interest in the program and participated in introductory meetings.
Cultural tourism is the hottest trend in the tourism industry. According to the CVC, cultural tourists stay longer and spend more money; almost 6.5 million people visited St. Louis during 1997, contributing more than $2 billion to the local economy.
Symphony receives $125,000 grant from NEA for education and outreach programs
The National Endowment for the Arts has awarded the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) a $125,000 grant in the category of education and access to support A consortium music education project.
The grant will go to the maintenance and enhancement of the E. Desmond Lee Music Education Collaborative, a partnership between the SLSO, the University of Missouri–St. Louis, Opera Theater of St. Louis and 11 school districts with 46 schools. The program brings Symphony musicians and professional music educators from the University directly into schools to reach children throughout their educational careers.
In-school activities include instrument demonstrations, student clinics, master classes, recitals, talks and performances by SLSO musicians. In addition, students attend performances at the Symphony, UMSL and the Opera Theater.
