Fostering Collaboration to Address Challenges and Inspire Regional Growth in St. Louis
Dear Lou,
Like many other St. Louisans, after college I moved away for work. After my husband and I had kids, we moved back to be near family and friends and because you are our home.
Since doing so, I have been fortunate to able to make a difference in the world right here in the city I have always called home—and I hope I can make a difference that leaves you better than I found you. I have so many hopes and dreams for your success which I know are shared by so many other St. Louisans. We all want to see you succeed.
You have so many wonderful people, neighborhoods, and institutions that truly make you one of America’s most hidden gems. Of course, you also have more than your share of challenges. I’m particularly concerned that very few young people move to St. Louis. So many people that move here are from here originally and, like me, decided to move back. I hate to say it, but hardly anyone graduating from college says “I want to move to St. Louis” unless this is where they are from.
At the St. Louis chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), we are focused on fostering greater corporate growth in St. Louis and creating a network of opportunity for professionals and businesses. A big part of doing that is attracting and retaining more young talented professionals to St. Louis.
If St. Louis is going to grow and succeed, we need to fill our pipeline with the next generation of talent who will contribute to our region’s success. Young people are also naturally more open-minded, more diverse, and think more innovatively.
These are qualities our region needs. This is why ACG St. Louis created Emerging Leaders, a young professionals peer group, and given it a major focus going forward. People need a community to support others and be supported, and there is a lack of this within the business community, particularly for young people and especially for outsiders.
But this is only one of St. Louis’ many challenges. I have learned that if you ask people what the solution is to creating a better St. Louis, you will get a myriad different responses—everything from reducing crime to improving education, greater equity of opportunity, a more unified structure of government, and dozens of other answers. What I’ve come to realize is that there is no one simple answer to our problems. The real answer is that, if we want to really move forward, we have to come together and address all of our major challenges—but in a more unified, cohesive way than what we have ever done before.
It’s amazing that we have roughly 19,000 nonprofits in the St. Louis area. We are such a charitable community and are fortunate to have so many organizations working to address our various problems. With all of these resources, why can’t we coordinate more of these organizations to work together in a collective effort to really make the change our region needs? Better yet, imagine if more of our nonprofits, our businesses, and our civic organizations and leaders began working together to address St. Louis’ challenges as a unified force for change.
If we want to attract more younger and innovative professionals, we should go even further to embody that spirit within ourselves, be open to new ideas to create change, and show the world we embrace the future more than the past. We have seen in other metropolitan regions that change is possible. Milwaukee, Detroit, and Pittsburgh have had similar struggles but have managed to make significant strides forward.
I believe the biggest reason is because enough people and organizations have come together to create a critical mass. I realize that I am just one voice in more than two and a half million. I wonder if I am the person qualified to say these things. On the other hand, I think that, for the good of our region, more of us need to stop waiting for others to lead us. It’s time for new voices to help lead in creating the change we desire. The future of our city depends on it.
With love and optimism,
Amy Ruebsam
CEO, Midwest Region at Association for Corporate Growth Executive Director,
ACG St. Louis
#Mentorship #Gratitude #PersonalGrowth
