Laurna Godwin, owner, co-founder, and president of Vector Communications Corporation exemplifies Black excellence and professionalism.
Skillful, amazingly dedicated, she personifies the skills of a hardworking, passionate professional who values the communities of St. Louis. Through her company, Vector Communications, Godwin has helped companies and individuals navigate challenges they faced in the region.
“We give people a voice in issues that impact how they live, work and play,” said Godwin.
“It allows us to make a difference, I love that I can drive through the St. Louis region and say we worked on that, and that, and that. Our name may not be on it, but Vector worked on it,” said Godwin.
For over 40 years, Godwin has used her communication skills to inform and educate underserved communities about issues that impact their everyday lives. A former reporter and a three-time Emmy award winner for her work as a broadcast journalist, she spent nearly 20 years as a television news anchor, reporter and talk show host.
Vector’s website emphasizes that “We help our clients tell their stories so they can do great things.”
Because of the start up launch of her firm, community support and business success, Godwin is recipient of the 2022 St. Louis American Foundation Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Godwin will be among the honorees during the 21st Annual Salute to Excellence in Business Networking and Awards Luncheon at 11 a.m. Thursday Feb. 16 at the Ritz Carlton St. Louis.
The event’s theme is “Expanding Inclusive Growth,” and Godwin’s firm does that by “getting information out that is needed to make sound decisions that best fit community needs and wants.
She said her company focuses on public policy issues, including, transportation, healthcare, economic development, education, and parks and greenways.
“This is really an extension of when I was a journalist. I became a journalist to educate people about the issues, and this is a continuation of that,” said Godwin.
Godwin engages with the community by gathering folks to discuss the issues that their neighborhoods face that are often overlooked and unaddressed. Changes are made without their input. Godwin says neighborhoods of color are being left out of the conversation, and many residents frequently learn about changes occurring in their respective community “at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.”
“A lot of things that go on for the improvement of the region can be detrimental for the Black community,” said Godwin. “At Vector, we want to make sure that people are aware of a project, to have a chance to voice their concerns.”
However, becoming an owner of one of the top consulting firms in our region didn’t happen overnight. It requires what Godwin says is a high level of performance, taking the road less traveled. In Godwin’s case that meant moving across the country in search of improving her resume as a reporter.
In 1987, when Godwin was a young reporter in Virginia, her dream was to become a television network reporter who traveled the world telling stories that impacted the broad, general community. A mentor suggested she expand her resume geographically by moving to the Midwest to report news in another region of the country.
The young reporter had spent her whole life on the East Coast. The New Jersey-native graduated from Princeton and attended Columbia University in New York where she earned her graduate degree in journalism.
She responded to a job opening in St. Louis at our local PBS station, now called the Nine Network, KETC. Six interviews later, Godwin became a host and producer for the PBS affiliate.
She has also worked for KPLR 11, St. Louis Women Magazine, and has appeared on CNN and NBC.
After a few years in St. Louis, Godwin met her future husband, Sam Hutchinson, and decided that she was going to establish roots here.
“Once I made the decision to stay in St. Louis, I knew I didn’t want to be a television reporter for another 20 years,” said the media mogul.
She realized after the traumatic death of a close friend that life is too short to put her goals and aspirations on hold.
A friend had secured a communications opportunity with St. Louis Community College and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), but was unable to fulfill the contract.
She thought Godwin would be a great fit for the position.
The project included examining environmental issues at the grassroots level and “I was using my communication skills to make a difference in the community,” said Godwin.
According to Godwin, the project went well and it received funding for additional phases. She was soon being asked to help with community projects.
She said it happened organically, and before she knew it, she realized she had a business. Confident in her ability, Vector Communications was born in 1998.
Twenty-five years later, the firm is still going strong. Vector has worked on over 400 projects, and her clients include: Forest Park Forever, Great Rivers Greenway, Amazon, Walmart, Webster University, Prepare STL, and the Missouri Department of Transportation.
“I want to work on projects that make a difference,” said Godwin. “The best thing someone can say to us is you hear us, you listened, and you took that information and did something,”
Godwin says staying in business for 25 years takes hard work. She strives for excellence and has the same expectations from those she works with.
Kathy Osborn, Regional Business Council president and CEO, says Godwin is dedicated to the St. Louis community and has worked on several community projects with Vector.
“She has tremendous knowledge of the pulse of people living in some of our most low-income communities and often donated her time to assist them,” said Osborn.
Osborn describes Godwin as hardworking, knowledgeable, connected, brave, and one of the kindest people she knows.
James Williams, Jr. (Jimmie) founder, president, and CEO of Estel Foods Inc. has known Godwin for 25 years. He says his partnership with Vector has allowed him to learn much from her. He describes Godwin as “nothing short of amazing.”
“I’d have to describe Godwin as ambitious, determined, humble, compassionate, and a woman of her word. She’s an achiever, but she’s also among the most inspiring people that I know,” said Williams.
In 1996, Godwin made history as the first female, first African-American, and youngest member of the Board of Trustees of 159-year-old Blackburn College.
While serving on its board, Godwin conducted the institution’s first capital campaign in 30 years, and helped raise $20 million for a new student affairs building and other campus improvements. For her accomplishments, Godwin received the Gideon Award, which is the highest volunteer award for non-alumni.
Another proud moment for her is the annual Give STL Day. Godwin was the chair of the St. Louis Community Foundation and during a national conference, she learned about online giving events and thought to herself it is something St. Louis could do.
The foundation launched the 24-hour online giving event in 2014 and has since raised more than $26 million.
Currently, she serves as Strickland Women’s Executive Leadership Council chair at High Point University in North Carolina.
In both her business and volunteer work, she says that her company is about “really getting out there and getting to know people, listening to them, and taking it to the next level.”
“It allows us to make a difference, I love that I can drive through the St. Louis region and say we worked on that, and that, and that. Our name may not be on it, but Vector worked on it,” said Godwin.
Tickets to the St. Louis American Foundation’s 21st annual Salute to Excellence in Business Networking & Awards Luncheon are $125 each for general seating, with tables of 10 for $1,250, and $250 each for VIP seating, with VIP tables of 10 for $2,500. Please visit stlamerican.com to purchase tickets.
