The St.
Louis region is at a potential turning point, Donald M. Suggs,
publisher of The St. Louis
American, told about 400 people gathered for FOCUS St. Louis’
2011 “What’s Right with the Region!” award ceremony at the Sheldon
Concert Hall on May 5.
And if
regional leaders aren’t careful, Suggs said, they could “blow it” –
just like their predecessors who decided to forego railroad
development in the 1860s and airport expansion in the
1970s.
“St. Louis
has had a history of being bold at times – such as funding Charles
Lindbergh’s historic transatlantic flight back in 1927, and the
bold move to construct the Arch, which was topped out in 1965 after
over two decades of civic effort,” Suggs said.
“St. Louis
also has had other great opportunities in the past – and blew
them.”
Suggs
received the 2011 Leadership award, FOCUS St. Louis’ highest honor,
for being an “effective agent for change.”
This is
the 14th year that local nonprofit FOCUS St. Louis has given awards
to groups creating regional solutions through community leadership,
as its mission outlines.
The 16
other award winners this year included longtime Harris-Stowe State
University President Dr. Henry Givens Jr., Judge Jimmie M. Edwards,
the 24:1 initiative led in North County by Beyond Housing and the
Midwest China Hub group.
“I am
mindful that any small positive contribution I may have been a part
of over the years has been largely due to the work of so many
others – and my colleagues at The American and members of
many of the region’s non-profits, in particular,” Suggs said in his
acceptance speech.
Then Suggs
put on his “executive editor’s hat,” he said, and gave a brief
“editorial” about the opportunity at hand for the region: namely,
to make Lambert-St. Louis International Airport an air-cargo hub
for trade with China.
“Something
magical is in the process in the Missouri Legislature, and it’s
happening as we speak,” Suggs said.
“For
years, this area has been at a total standoff on any new tools for
economic development. Last week, the Missouri Senate stepped up and
approved the so-called Aerotropolis legislation, the Missouri
Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act, called MOSIRA, and a
number of other economic development tools, along with what appears
to be a compromised version of tax credit reforms.”
The
Aerotropolis legislation projects to generate tens of thousands of
new jobs and over $22 billion in new economic benefits for the
region and state, he said. It would also show China this region’s
commitment to making Lambert its new U.S. cargo hub.
In the
1860s and ‘70s, the region’s decision to forego developing
railroads was driven by the self-interests of business leaders,
Suggs said.
“St. Louis
ended up building the Eads Bridge too late in the game to matter
for winning the railroads for St. Louis,” he said, and the
opportunity went to Chicago.
Then in
the 1970s, following years of planning and efforts to build the
nation’s next mid-continent international airport in our region at
Columbia-Waterloo in Illinois with federal funds, “we once again
stubbed our civic toe,” he said.
“Once
again, St. Louis snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and
missed the opportunity to build the nation’s next mid-continental
mega international airport – and subsequently Denver stepped up to
build Denver International Airport, filling that need,” he
said.
“font-family: Verdana;”> Midwest China Hub Chairman Mike Jones, an award winner in the “Fostering Regional Cooperation” category, said the region has a good chance at sealing the China hub deal. However, it takes cooperation.
“We had to
take ‘I’ out of team and put on our ‘we’ cap,” Jones
said.
Suggs also
addressed the region’s journey in equality, as “Improving racial
equality and social justice” was an award category.
“I was
born and came into adulthood in an era of Jim Crow, a time of de
facto racial separation – of separate, but unequal – when people
would reject you for no other reason than your race; when to be
black was to be under assault,” Suggs said.
“But I am
also reminded of and encouraged by how much change one can
experience in a lifetime, and FOCUS St. Louis has contributed so
much to positive transformative change in our region over the
years.”
The other
2011 “What’s Right with the Region!” award winners included:
Crossroads College Preparatory School, The Magic House,
Marian Middle School, Healthy Kids Express – Pediatric Mobil Health
Program, Simone Bernstein, St. Louis Bread Co. Cares
Café
“font-family: Verdana;”>, Healthy Eating with Local Produce, Peter & Paul Community Services, St. Louis Healthy Families, William M. Fogarty Jr., M.D., Educational Equity Consultants, The Haven of Grace, Youth in Need, Francie Broderick and Places for People, Paraquad, and Wings of Hope.
For
additional photos from the awards ceremony, see
stlamerican.com.
