I am a motorcoach…

. . . with long distance travelers aboard, all the way from Russia: young leaders between the ages of twenty and thirty. They set out on this journey from eighteen different cities. They’ve come from Russian cities more than 3,000 miles apart, like St. Petersburg, located on the Baltic Sea, the northernmost city of more than a million inhabitants in the world, and Chita, located in eastern Siberia along the Trans-Siberian Hwy near Mongolia. Some are lawyers, some are journalists, and some have positions in academia. They are here to learn about U.S. societal infrastructure and to study some of its working parts. The goal is to observe how various organizational contributors work together to meet the needs of citizens of this nation. Their two-week trip focuses on two cities: week one in St. Louis, Missouri, and week two in Washington, D.C.

Along their journey, the delegates hear from local leader and other select presenters representing various facets of societal organization. I will take you through a day within their journey – their final day in St. Louis.

Selfies

(which by definition means I’m in them . . . though you might have to look for me)

While in St. Louis, the delegates stayed at the Westin Hotel in south-central downtown. So, that’s where the day begins. The Westin Hotel is in one of the six remaining buildings that were part of the Cupples Station warehouse network. Originally, there were twenty large warehouses in the Cupples Station system, which had a key role in establishing and sustaining St. Louis’ prominence in the railroad industry from the early to middle 20th century. After the completion of Eads Bridge in1874 Samuel Cupples recognized the necessity for warehousing of goods being moved from river to rail systems. Cupples’ building project began in 1894 and was completed in 1917. A system of tunnels and bridges connected some of the buildings not having direct access to the rails lines, and large hydraulic freight elevators moved product vertically. One of those original elevators remains in use at the center of the Westin Hotel.

From the Westin the delegates walked a block to the Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse at the corner of Clark and 10 th Street. Their 8:15AM appointment was with United States District Judge Jean Hamilton. The Thomas F. Eagleton Courthouse is the largest single courthouse in the United States – 29 stories tall, 987,775 square feet.

A few block west, a couple of other important government buildings can be seen reflected in the glass of the Scott Trade Center at 14th and Clark: The St. Louis City Hall (lower level of windows) and the State Courthouse (upper level of windows – topped with classical Roman columns). Government and judicial structure and function were of great interest to my Russian passengers.

The group’s focus for the afternoon hours was media. For that I transported them to the home of St. Louis Public TV – the 9 Network – and Public Radio. There the delegates heard from key production facilitators in the region’s public radio and TV stations.

MEETING THE NEWS on the roadways of America, first-hand, real time, real world news—going out and discovering the news . . .

NEWS OF FOREIGN RELATIONS: Sponsorship partners responsible for bringing the Russian delegates to St. Louis, Missouri and Washington, D.C. for their observational activities are: Supporters of Civil Society in Russia, Inc. • Association of Schools of Political Studies • Council of Europe • Open world Leadership Center • University of Missouri – St. Louis • Local Government Partnership.

NEWS OF TRANSFORMATION: Between 1950 and the 1970s Cupples Station warehouses went from vitally important to vacant and in danger of demolition. Some were razed to make room for a highway and a ballpark. Designation as national landmarks saved the six buildings that remain. Aside from the Westin Hotel, the former warehouses have been beautifully transformed into Cupples Loft Apartments.

(Unlike selfies, these are not about me, but about places you’ll want to visit.)

Each scheduled location was selected to serve some facet of the educational purpose of the delegate’s two-week visit to the U.S. That included lunch, which was served at McMurphy’s Café, part of the St. Patrick’s Center at 800 N. Tucker Blvd. St. Patrick’s Center is a non-profit organization helping individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. The center helps people become financially stable by providing employment, training, and safe affordable housing. When in downtown St. Louis, you’ll want to stop by McMurphy’s Café, not just to support their excellent program, but because, according to my passengers, the food is great!

Quote Of The Day samples

“Of the five most important things in life, health is first, education or knowledge is second, and wealth is third. I forgot the other two.” ― Chuck Berry

“I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.” ― Mother Teresa

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