St. Louis Regional Chamber

The St. Louis Regional Chamber, formerly known as the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association (RCGA), is the chamber of commerce and primary economic development agency for Metropolitan St. Louis, Missouri. ^[1]

The St. Louis Regional Chamber is the chamber of commerce and economic development organization for the 16-county, bi-state St. Louis region. With approximately 4,000 members, the mission of the organization is “to unite the region’s business community, and to engage dynamic business and civic leadership to develop and sustain a world-class economy and community.” It employs more than 350,000 people and generate an estimated $300 billion in annual worldwide revenue.

The organization undertakes regional economic development and chamber of commerce activities, including a proactive regional public policy agenda and marketing the St. Louis region nationally and internationally to develop, retain, expand, and attract targeted industries.

The St. Louis Regional Chamber evolved into its current form in 1973 with the merger of three organizations: the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan St. Louis, the St. Louis Regional Industrial Development Corporation, and the St. Louis Research Council. This combination helped unite the voice of business in supporting public policy and civic initiatives that make the region ideal for expansion, location and entrepreneurship. In 1995, the organization developed the Greater St. Louis Economic Development Council and the Greater St. Louis Economic Development Network, a consortium that brings together some 100 local economic development organizations from the region’s 16 counties to create more jobs for the entire community.

The Chamber traces its early roots back to 1836 --- making it one of the oldest Chambers of Commerce in the United States. Along the way, it’s been involved with projects as diverse as securing funding for Charles Lindbergh’s historic 1927 transatlantic flight (thus the naming of the plane “The Spirit of St. Louis”) and rallying community support for the design, funding, and construction of St. Louis’ Gateway Arch.

Fostering business development through chamber of commerce services, the St. Louis Regional Chamber provides business programs and seminars, networking events, international business assistance and informational resources. The organization further fosters economic development by recruiting new businesses to the region, helping existing companies expand and start up companies weather their critical first years. The St. Louis Regional Chamber also lobbies on behalf of the region at the local, state and national levels.

The St. Louis Regional Chamber Board of Directors recently adopted four key strategies that are in complete harmony with the organization's vision of creating a regional economy that can compete on the world stage in the 21st century, and are aimed at enhancing the region’s economic competitiveness and quality of life.

These four initiatives are:

• Sharpening the region’s economic development products
• Leveraging the region’s locational advantages
• Developing a region-wide approach to talent attraction, development and retention
• Charting the region’s green future through the Climate Prosperity Project

The St. Louis Regional Chamber tagline is “The Voice of Commerce Since 1836.” In marketing the region to the world, the organization developed the tagline “St. Louis: Perfectly Centered, Remarkably Connected” in conjunction with Fleishman-Hillard, a St. Louis-based communications agency and St. Louis Regional Chamber member. The campaign was developed to communicate the region’s central location, the outstanding quality of life, and the pro-growth business environment that can be found in Greater St. Louis.

References