DeWitt Jr., Jocketty and LaRussa To Be 2006 "Right Arm Of St. Louis" Honorees At 170th RCGA Annual Dinner Meeting On Thursday, January 11th

December 8, 2006

For more information, contact
Gary Broome at 314-444-1171

For Immediate Release:

DeWITT JR., JOCKETTY AND LaRUSSA T
O BE 2006 “RIGHT ARM OF ST. LOUIS” HONOREES AT 170TH
RCGA ANNUAL DINNER MEETING ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 11th

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Cardinals Chairman and General Partner Bill DeWitt Jr., Senior Vice President and General Manager Walt Jocketty, and Field Manager Tony LaRussa, will be honored with the Right Arm of St. Louis Award at the St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association’s (RCGA) 170th Annual Dinner and Meeting on Thursday evening, January 11, 2007, at the Chase Park Plaza, Khorassan Ballroom.

Presented by the RCGA each year since 1975, DeWitt, Jocketty, LaRussa will be saluted for their exemplary leadership in winning the 2006 World Series Championship, for bringing honor and recognition to the St. Louis region, and for the extraordinary investment in and commitment to both downtown St. Louis’ continuing revitalization and to the St. Louis region through the new Busch Stadium and Ballpark Village.

The St. Louis Cardinals were founded and the storied franchise has been an integral part of the fabric of St. Louis since 1892. With their 2006 World Championship, the team has won 10 World Series, more than any other National League Team.

The Right Arm of St. Louis Award has been presented annually since 1975 to recognize outstanding leadership on behalf of the St. Louis region. The award was presented to U.S. Senator Kit Bond last year.

The January 11th RCGA Annual Dinner and Meeting will also include an overview of the St. Louis region’s accomplishments and a look forward into 2007. Outgoing RCGA Chairman Scott C. Schnuck, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Schnuck Markets, Inc., will be saluted for his two years of leadership as chairman of the RCGA, and Ameren Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Rainwater will be inaugurated as new chairman of the RCGA.

Not only have the Cardinals posted a first-class performance record on the field, with the team advancing to the post season in six out of the last seven years, the Cardinals owners themselves have earned praise both locally and nationally for the manner in which they have conducted their franchise.

As Sports Business Journal columnist and Smith College Professor of Economics Andrew Zimbalist (himself an often critic of sports franchises and sports stadia) recently noted regarding the new ballpark, “The record of the Cardinals' present ownership seems clear. Bill DeWitt Jr. and his partners have far exceeded the standard for private investment in a professional sports facility and have earned hearty praise for their spirit of partnership with and commitment to their host community.”

In addition to the new Busch Stadium itself, the Cardinals are helping to transform the downtown landscape through Ballpark Village, attracting a developer of the caliber of The Cordish Company. Coupled with the 88% privately financed new Bush Stadium, the completed Ballpark Village will bring recent Cardinal investment in St. Louis to nearly $1 billion.

Not only will Ballpark Village be the first major new retail project of scale in downtown in more than 20 years, it will bring tens of millions of additional destination visitors to St. Louis and will generate an estimated $291 million of new annual tax revenues throughout the metropolitan area in expanded private investment and new jobs. The scale of the development has been compared to Baltimore’s Harborplace, which has attracted more people each year to downtown Baltimore than annually visit Disneyland.

The Right Arm of St. Louis Award was established by the RCGA in 1975. Previous recipients include: Harold Thayer, 1975; Sen. Stuart Symington, 1976; Leonor K. Sullivan and Clarence Barksdale, 1977; William Maritz, 1978; R. Hal Dean, 1979; G. Duncan Bauman, 1980; Armand Stalnaker, 1981; Leon Strauss, 1982; Edward Schnuck, 1983; Donald Lasater, 1984; James Meredith, John Regan and Roy Harper, 1985; Robert Hyland, 1986; Rev. Paul Reinert, 1987; James O’Flynn, 1988; Dr. Leigh Gerdine, 1989; Ted Wetterau, 1990; Lee Liberman, 1991; Edward Trusheim, 1992; William Cornelius, 1993; Sen. John Danforth and Dr. William Danforth, 1994; Earle H. Harbison, Jr., 1995; E. Desmond Lee, 1996; David C. Farrell, 1997; Mark McGwire, 1998; Dr. Peter Raven, 1999; Jack Buck, 2000; Jack and Andy Taylor, 2001; Dr. Blanche Touhill, 2002; Buzz Westfall, 2003; Charles Mueller, 2004; and Sen. Kit Bond, 2005.

About the St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association (RCGA)
The RCGA is the chamber of commerce and economic development organization for the 16-county, bi-state region. The mission of the RCGA 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.