June 26, 2009

St. Louis Character: Larry Thomas
By Rick Desloge

Some people may wonder what it’s like to go 135 miles an hour. Not Larry Thomas. The Edward Jones principal in charge of inclusion recruiting has been there and wonders what it’s like to go 150 mph. That’s the speed pro drivers reach when they test themselves on tracks like the Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Ill., said Thomas, 53, who’s leading a group of Edward Jones race car buffs to the track in August. He makes the pilgrimage just about every year so he can unleash his Porsches and other cars. [...] Click here to see the full article at the St. Louis Business Journal

June 24, 2009

Forest ReLeaf Presents “Exceptional ReLeaf” Award to Forest Park Forever
Forest ReLeaf of Missouri, a not-for-profit tree planting and education organization, presented its annual Exceptional ReLeaf awards honoring outstanding planting projects from the previous year using trees donated by the organization.

Forest Park Forever won the Exceptional ReLeaf award in the category of organizations for its efforts to ensure that the tree canopy within the Park is healthy for the enjoyment of Park visitors and future generations to come. We received 132 free trees through Project CommuniTree and 75 larger trees through Priority ReLeaf. The trees were used to help restock Kennedy Forest, helping provide a replacement canopy for the declining oaks and fill in the woods after removal of bush honeysuckle. Forest Park Forever and its volunteers also planted trees near The Flegel Falls Cascades, where bush honeysuckle was also recently cleared. In addition, 75 larger trees provided through Forest ReLeaf’s Priority ReLeaf program were planted in various locations in the Park in accordance with Forest Park’s master tree planting plan.

Click here to see Forest ReLeaf featured in Forest Park Forever’s June  2009 eNewsletter

June 24, 2009

During a two-month campaign, the St. Louis team at Commerce Bank converted more than 2,900 environmentally conscience customers to E-statements, an increase of 14.8%! Commerce is committed to doing the right thing for their customers, the bank and the environment. In celebration of this outstanding effort, Commerce Bank made a $5,000 contribution on behalf of their customers for new trees and tree maintenance in Forest Park. Many thanks to Dee Joyner, our FPF Board Chair-elect and Commerce Bank’s Senior Vice President, Director of Organizational Development & Community Relations.

Click here to see Commerce Bank’s Contribution featured in Forest Park Forever’s 2009 eNewsletter

June 23, 2009

The Power of Parks
Primary Contributor - Lucie Springmeyer, Interim Executive Director of Forest Park Forever

The inaugural issue of C3 magazine, a St. Louis based publication focusing on the “philanthropic spirit from St. Louis”, features an article about “The Power of the Parks”. Taking cues from Forest Park Forever’s 23 year history, Lucie Springmeyer, Interim Executive Director of Forest Park Forever, contributed to the article.

Click here to see the article (.pdf)

Click here to see “The Power of Parks” featured in Forest Park Forever’s June 2009 eNewsletter

June 9, 2009

Click here to view the photo spread (.pdf)

June 4, 2009

Nature nurturing: Educators try to connect kids with the outdoors
by Shawn Clubb

On a nice summer day, Thomas Nolan would look outside and say “Who cares?” His mother would tell him to go outdoors. He’d ignore her and sit in front of the television or play video games. For the 13-year-old North County boy, nature held no interest. [...]

Click here to see the full article at Suburban Journals