Leaders with Vision and New Americans: The January 2003 Leadership St.
Louis Class
By Remy Billups, Director of Alumni Affairs, Southern Illinois University,
Edwardsville
Talemenderil. This is the Albanian word for 'thank you'. This is my
response to the experience I had during our January Leadership St. Louis
class.
On Friday, January 10, we had the opportunity to interact with many
different elected and civic leaders from the St. Louis region. Each came
with different backgrounds, responsibilities, challenges and philosophies. But instead of hearing prepared speeches and having each person's agenda
dictated to the class, we were able to determine the direction of the
dialogue, using a 'meet the press' style format. The class was broken
into small groups with each assigned to determine the questions presented
to our guest leaders.
Our morning started with St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and St. Louis County
Executive Buzz Westfall. Many topics were discussed between Mayor Slay
and Mr. Westfall. It was enlightening to hear firsthand the many
challenges involved in funding a new ballpark, the airport and other
transportation issues in the region. Mayor Slay addressed the importance
and the complexities of hiring a new Superintendent of Schools for St.
Louis after the recent resignation announcement from current
Superintendent Cleveland Hammonds.
St. Louis
County Executive Buss Westfall (left)
and St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay
Other leaders that joined us included, David Kemper, President-elect of
Civic Progress, an organization committed to the betterment of the region
through supporting economic development, racial economic progress,
transportation and education. William Danforth, director of the Board of
Trustees of the Danforth Foundation. Both spoke of the importance of the
life sciences and of giving back to the community in ways that will make
the region better for everyone.
Jim Buford, President of the Urban League, Metropolitan St. Louis, also
visited the class. Along with the Reverend Earl Nance Jr., President St.
Louis Metropolitan Clergy Coalition, and Reverend Booker T. Rice,
President of the Black Leadership Roundtable. Each man spoke of the
challenges and struggles they face as leaders in the black community as
well as those facing the black population in the region.
Karen Carroll, Vice President and General Manager of KMOX radio, Ellen
Sherberg, Publisher of the St. Louis Business Journal and Ellen
Soeteber, Editor of the St. Louis Post Dispatch teamed up and discussed the role and
responsibilities of the media. When asked about what accomplishment she
was most proud of, Sherberg responded, 'Focusing on women in business, so
that they have an easier path than I did.' Regarding diversity, Sherberg
added, 'What we try to do at the (St. Louis) Business Journal, is make the
face of success look like everyone in the region.'
Powerful female Voices: (center from right to left) Ellen
Soeteber, Editor of St. Louis Post-Dispatch; Karen Carroll, VP & General Manager of
KMOX; Ellen Sherberg, Publisher of St. Louis Business Journal.
Bob Kelley, President and Bob
Soutier, Secretary-Treasurer, St. Louis Labor Council, AFL-CIO were questioned about labor issues facing the
region. The biggest challenges faced by labor is according to Kelley,
'finding qualified young men and women, who are drug-free to enter into
training programs for labor trade positions and the loss of labor jobs in
the St. Louis region.'
Our final guest was David Stewart, Chairman and CEO, World Wide Technology
Inc.; (WWT), Stewart founded WWT in 1990 in St. Louis with four people and
4000 square feet of office space to distribute hardware, software and
services to the Federal Government. Today, WWT employs over 500 people
and has 750,000 square feet of facilities and over 900 million in sales.
In 2001 WWT ranked number fourteen in St. Louis Business Journal's
list of
privately owned companies and in 2000 was named Black Enterprise
Magazine's Number One African-American owned business in the United
States. Stewart's thoughts on the future of the region? 'Our thinking
needs to change. To be a first class city, we need to believe we can
be. "If we do not take the lead for change for the betterment of our
community, we are in for a poor future," he added.
While nothing I write can give due justice to all of the
question and answers of the day, the variety and scope of the leaders we met and the
issues we and they face was surely felt by the class and will continually
be felt by the St. Louis area.
The International Institute of St. Louis was our classroom the next day.
Anna Crosslin, President and CEO talked about New Americans and St. Louis. She shared with us the many hurdles of coming to the United States, the
process of becoming a U.S. citizen and how the institute gets involved and
helps the many people new to America and St. Louis.
Taking a few steps in the shoes of immigrants and refugees, we heard from
some new Americans and received a lesson on learning a foreign language.
I call it a lesson in humility. The class broke into small groups, each
with an instructor and a language to learn. We struggled. We
REALLY struggled. Here was an educated articulate group of people and we felt
awkward, embarrassed, overwhelmed and even stupid at times as we tried to
catch on to a few 'simple' words and phrases. Imagine coming to a new
country, unable to speak English, not knowing anyone, finding a job, a
place to live and with all of that weighing on you, and then trying to
learn a completely new language. Like I said, a lesson in humility.
Each group also got to hear the personal story of a new American that has
settled in the St. Louis region. Their stories are different in details
but similar in their determination and struggles to overcome many
obstacles . Each of them with faith and perseverance allowed them to
accomplish great success.
So Talemenderil, to the elected and civic leaders that are shaping the
future of our region. Talemenderil to everyone at the International
Institute for an educational and humbling experience. Talemenderil to
immigrants who shared their stories and struggles and talemenderil to our
new American neighbors for what you bring to the St. Louis Metropolitan
Region.
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