Category Archives: Good Info

Fellows Program with Lethia Owens Helps Participants Boost Their Brands

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RBC YPN Fellows session with Lethia Owens

Participants apply Lethia Owens’ branding tips during a leadership development session.

Stepping into a short work week can be difficult, but we’ve got a few tips for boosting your brand’s creativity that just may kick-start your Tuesday!

The Young Professionals Network recently continued its popular “Fellows-lite” leadership training series with the St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative. On May 10, personal branding strategist and professional speaker Lethia Owens led “Executive Presence: Strategies for Building an Influential Leadership Brand” and shared many tips for enhancing personal and professional brands.

Some nuggets from Lethia’s address: Continue reading →

10 Pieces of Advice for Graduates — and for Everybody

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Tony Thompson, RBC

Tony Thompson receives honors after addressing Maryville University’s graduating class.

Regional Business Council leaders find wisdom in so many of their experiences. RBC member Tony Thompson, president and CEO of Kwame Building Group, recently shared some things he’s learned over the years with the graduates of Maryville University at their commencement exercises.

Tony tailored his remarks to the grads, but we think his advice applies to plenty of other life situations, too. Below, read Tony’s top ten pieces of advice. 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.

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.

What Is the Regional Business Council?

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Regional Business Council logoIf you’ve recently moved to the St. Louis area, just accepted a new leadership position or simply found this blog on accident, you might not be familiar with the Regional Business Council (RBC). Here’s a primer on who we are and what we do for St. Louis.

Who We Are

The Regional Business Council is a consortium of Presidents and CEOs from 100 of the St. Louis region’s largest companies. RBC member companies have a tremendous impact on the economic health of the region, collectively employing over 120,000 people and generating more than $63 million in revenue annually. RBC companies are located across all corners of the bi-state region and have a vested interest in vitality of the St. Louis community. We truly believe that the vitality of our community is an imperative business issue.

What We Do

The RBC’s mission is to unite and engage members to act on high-impact business, civic, and philanthropic initiatives for the betterment of the St. Louis region. Together, we strategically invest our talent and resources in five areas of commitment: business diversity, higher education and talent development, K-12 education reform, business-friendly public policy and infrastructure, and quality of life. We take a hands-on, outcomes-based approach with our investments and work hard every day to be a catalyst for change and positive growth in our community. Take a peek at some of our successes.

Learn More

Want to learn more about how we’re making St. Louis an even better place to live and work? Visit our website.

If you’re a younger member of the leadership set, stay tuned for information about the RBC’s Young Professionals Network, which offers leadership development and networking opportunities tailored to you!