Monthly Archives: April 2013

In Memoriam: Ronda Williams

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Ronda Williams (second from left) attends the YPN Leadership 100 dinner with St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley and others.

Ronda Williams (second from left) attends the YPN Leadership 100 dinner with St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley and others.

My heart aches today. Ronda Williams, one of our most active Young Professionals Network leaders and a dear friend, has passed away. I saw her just Monday at the quarterly meeting of the YPN steering committee, where she was happy and proud to announce her recent promotion and new volunteer responsibilities.

Ronda was a YPN Leadership 100 member, committed from the beginning to spurring new leaders into action for a better St. Louis. Full of vigor, she was a founding member of the YPN steering committee, using her passion to ignite network and community involvement in YPN and United Way issues. YPN certainly grew, thanks to her commitment.

Always mindful of contributing to St. Louis’ future, Ronda was ardent about sharing knowledge. She participated in the Regional Business Council’s Higher Education Collaboration Mentor Network and developed other young professionals in the legal field.

Ronda was senior corporate counsel at Savvis Communications Corporation. She earned her undergraduate degree at Hampton University and her law degree at Saint Louis University School of Law. She was active in the Mound City Bar Association, the American Bar Association, Corporate Counsel Women of Color and many other organizations and associations.

I’ll miss Ronda’s enthusiasm, her drive and her commitment to St. Louis’ continued success, just as I know many of you will. We’ll share funeral arrangements soon, and we will be gathering a group to attend the funeral.

Kathy

Meet the YPN Leadership 100: Kewana Regans

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Kewana Regans

Kewana Regans addresses those attending the 2012 Annual YPN Reception.

Some of the St. Louis region’s most creative minds are part of the RBC’s Young Professionals Network Leadership 100. But who are they and how are they helping to shape a stronger St. Louis?

That’s what we’re addressing in our blog series, “Meet the YPN Leadership 100,” where we introduce you to members of our YPN community who are providing exceptional leadership, service, culture and innovation to our area.

Today’s featured YPN Leadership 100 member is Kewana Regans, a branch manager at UMB Bank who leads a team assisting consumers and small business owners with banking and lending needs. Kewana earned both her undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Central Missouri and is involved with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, Banking on Our Future and the UMB Bank Diversity Council, among others.

Learn more about Kewana in our Q&A below! Continue reading →

Community Driven: St. Louis and Boston

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Boston Marathon runner

Spectators encourage runners in the 2013 Boston Marathon. Photo by Stewart Dawson, via Flickr Creative Commons.

Building community is one of the many things at which St. Louis excels. We form organizations to fortify our city, we celebrate our many nationalities and we donate generously to causes that lift our hearts.

Boston shares a similar sense of pride in community, and that spirit was amply on display yesterday after the events at the Boston Marathon. Seconds after the explosions, Bostonians — race officials, first responders and civilians alike — rushed to aid those who needed it, including runners from St. Louis. The good people of Beantown opened their homes and their hearts to runners from all corners of the Earth, and the world noticed.

If you’d like to show support to those in Boston, here are just a few ways you might do so:

  • Offer information: If you have information that may help Boston law officials, call the Boston Police at (800) 494-8477.

  • Help families: Google has set up a “person finder” so that families and Marathoners can find one another. If you have information about a missing runner, you can submit it to the site.

We’re grateful for the community we have here in St. Louis and proud to share what we can. We wish everyone strength and peace.

Meet the YPN Leadership 100: Naretha Hopson

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Naretha Hopson

Naretha Hopson can help you with first impressions.

Some of the St. Louis region’s most creative minds are part of the RBC’s Young Professionals Network Leadership 100. But who are they and how are they helping to shape a stronger St. Louis?

That’s what we’re addressing in our blog series, “Meet the YPN Leadership 100.” Over time, we’ll introduce you to members of our YPN community who are providing exceptional leadership, service, culture and innovation to our area.

Today’s featured YPN Leadership 100 member is Naretha Hopson, executive director at Ever-Appropriate Etiquette Institute. Naretha attended the University of Missouri – St. Louis and is involved with the Saint Louis Zoo, St. Louis Crisis Nursery and Mayor Slay’s Vanguard Cabinet, among others.

Learn more about Naretha in our Q&A below! Continue reading →

Play Ball! Opening Day is a St. Louis Holiday

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Opening Day 2013 at Busch Stadium

YPN member Alex Lee, general counsel for Centric Group, snaps a photo of the Opening Day ceremony at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

Many Major League Baseball (MLB) cities will kick off their home seasons today, but we’re fairly certain that Opening Day in St. Louis is a bigger deal than all the rest. After all, Opening Day gets the proper-noun treatment around these parts!

As you know, the Young Professionals Network and the Regional Business Council support initiatives and experiences that bring something special to our region. There’s no question that the atmosphere before and during a St. Louis Cardinals game — and on Opening Day, in particular — is unforgettable. It’s an adventure that combines baseball tradition and deep historical knowledge with pride, excitement and the sport’s best fans.

We’re particularly proud of the Cardinals’ outreach efforts. From charity donations to player appearances to children singing the national anthem, our team constantly hits home runs for the community.

No matter if you’re celebrating in Busch Stadium downtown or are following along with radio or social media updates, YPN and RBC wish you a very happy Opening Day. Let’s go, Cards!

Meet the YPN Leadership 100: Ricky Vigil

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Ricky Vigil

Ricky Vigil (left) attends an event with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Some of the St. Louis region’s most creative minds are part of the RBC’s Young Professionals Network Leadership 100. But who are they and how are they helping to shape a stronger St. Louis?

That’s what we’re addressing in our blog series, “Meet the YPN Leadership 100.” Over time, we’ll introduce you to members of our YPN community who are providing exceptional leadership, service, culture and innovation to our area.

Today’s featured YPN Leadership 100 member is Ricky Vigil, CFO at Life Systems, Inc. Ricky earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from Truman State University and is involved with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Nurses for Newborns and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, among others.

Learn more about Ricky in our Q&A below! Continue reading →

Good News Tuesday

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good news tuesday

What’s your good news?
By richkidsunite, via Creative Commons

In our Good News Tuesday post on the first Tuesday of each month, we highlight some of the accomplishments that members of our Young Professionals Network share with us. This month, we’d like to offer congratulations to these members of the RBC community:

New Jobs

  • Robert Haire III, manager of legal department operations, Scottrade
  • Rachel Seward, deputy superintendent of institutional advancement, St. Louis Public Schools

Community

  • Charles Brown has joined the Great Rivers Greenway board of directors.
  • Mac Carheel of Carheel Consulting is launching the program “Act Like an Employee, Think Like an Employer: Job Placement & Career Development Training.”
  • Khalia Collier, owner of The St. Louis Surge and guest coach for St. Louis F.O.R.C.E. Athleticz girls sixth-grade basketball team, hosted WNBA legend Cheryl Swoops during the kick-off for the 2013 season. The Surge will host their home opener May 4 at UMSL.

Recognition

We’d love for you to be part of Good News Tuesday, too. Tell us when you’ve been promoted, if you’ve landed a brand new position or if you’ve launched another company. You can even announce your new baby, your volunteer efforts or your speaking engagements. Simply email the news to ypn@stlrbc.org by the last Tuesday of the month, and we’ll consider it for publication. Here’s a tentative schedule:

  • News received by April 30 is published May 7.
  • News received by May 28 is published June 4.
  • News received by June 25 is published July 2.

Be sure to include full information, including pertinent names, titles, companies/organizations and contact information.

We’re proud of how hard our YPN members work to make St. Louis a better place to thrive, and we’re excited to sound the trumpets in congratulations. Join me in offering best wishes to this month’s YPN members, and don’t forget to share your own good news by emailing ypn@stlrbc.org!

Kathy

Vote on April 2

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Downtown St. Louis Union Station

Photo by Rob Reiring via Flickr Creative Commons

Election day is tomorrow, Tuesday, April 2. Because one of the Regional Business Council’s goals is to improve the quality of life in the St. Louis region, the RBC has been drawing attention to Proposition P: The Safe and Accessible Arch and Public Parks Initiative, a 3/16 cent sales tax increase initiative on the ballot in St. Louis City and St. Louis County. YPN Member Steven Harris is an honorary chair of the campaign.

The RBC supports this minor tax increase because the funds will enable St. Louis City and St. Louis County to make much-needed improvements and maintenance upgrades to their parks and facilities. Funds also will allow Great Rivers Greenway to improve and expand the River Ring — more than 250 miles of trails and 20,000 acres of existing land in St. Louis City and St. Louis County.

A portion of the revenues from the sales tax increase will also benefit the CityArchRiver 2015 project. If Proposition P passes, the Arch grounds — from Keiner Plaza to the Old Courthouse and all the way to the riverfront — would be completely transformed, making it accessible, exciting and safe for local and out-of-town visitors.

Simply put: Proposition P is a game-changer for the St. Louis region. For more information about Prop P, read a special RBC email from March or visit Vote Yes on Proposition P.

No matter where your thoughts lie on this or any issue, the RBC encourages its members and friends to vote on April 2.