Saint Louis Ambassadors
Volunteers promoting community service and goodwill in St. Louis...since 1965!
Saint Louis Ambassadors
Volunteers promoting community service and goodwill in St. Louis...since 1965!
~ St. Louis ~
~ St. Louis ~
The Saint Louis Ambassadors Home!
The Saint Louis Ambassadors Home!
(Photo: Cabanne' House 2009)
Top: Richard T. Pisani - President, Cicardi A. Bruce - Chairman, Sean P. Clancy - Secty/Treas/Legal Counsel,
Front: Robert V. Mitchell - VP of Archives and Joan K. Bengston - VP of Events
A Missouri Proclamation from Governor Jay Nixon is presented to the five officers of the
1904 World's Fair Charitable Foundation, which was launched by the
Saint Louis Ambassadors on March 14, 2002
(Photo: Saint Louis Ambassadors headquarters - Cabanne' House 2010)
~ Installing our new Honorary Co-Chairs: HOF - 1984 Lou Brock & Rev. Jackie Brock ~
Top:
Robert V. Mitchell, Cicardi A. Bruce, Susan Bruce, Sean P. Clancy, Barbie Linton,
Jackie Brock, Rich Pisani, Lou Brock, Regina Shapiro, Darcy Walsh
Front:
John P. Walsh, Carol Ann Miller, Joan K. Bengston, Dr. James Logan, Bob Krone and John Ressler.
The 1904 World's Fair Charitable Foundation 'Annual Board Member Gala' to install St. Louis Cardinals HOF-84 Lou Brock & his wife the Reverend Jackie Brock as the new Honorary Co-Chairs at the Cabanne' House, which was the home of the
Saint Louis Ambassadors.
MO Governor Matt Blunt presents a MO Proclamation to the Saint Louis Ambassador's 'Scholarship Chairman', Mr. Tom Ousley, who is a Founder and President of the non-profit, Infinite Scholars Program. ISP has generated scholarships for over 100K college-bound students with a value of over $1.6B since 2003 so young adults can afford to continue with a college education once they graduate from highschool.
Photo: (L/R)
Rich Pisani, ISP Scholarship Student, MO Governor Matt
Blunt, ISP Scholarship Student and Tom Ousley
The Saint Louis Ambassadors supported the 6th. Annual 'International Trade Night' on May 7, 2014 with 150 attendees at St. Louis University's Busch Center and honored Mr. Mark Baxa for his unparalleled work as the Director of Global Procurement Strategy at the Monsanto Company.
The President of the Saint Louis Ambassadors, Rich Pisani, is an alum adjunct professor with a 'Price Babson Fellowship' in Entrepreneurial Studies through St. Louis University and was the evenings guest speaker. His topic was the '250th. Birthday' of the founding of the City of St. Louis, which gave its namesake to 'St. Louis University'.
Photo: (L/R)
Jeanne Savel - Advisory Board, Mark Baxa - Director at
Monsanto Co., Rachel Boone - Young Ambassadors
President and Rich Pisani - President of the Saint Louis
Ambassadors.
Video Tour: St. Louis, Missouri
Video Tour: St. Louis, Missouri
1) Who is the founder and some of the past leaders of the organization?
1) Who is the founder and some of the past leaders of the organization?
Founder & First Chairman
Founder & First Chairman
Chairmen Emeritus
Chairmen Emeritus
(click on names below for bios)
Presidents Emeritus
Presidents Emeritus
2) Who started the Saint Louis Ambassadors and why?
2) Who started the Saint Louis Ambassadors and why?
St. Louis City Mayor, Alfonso. J. Cervantes, started the Saint Louis Ambassadors (SLA) as its very first Chairman on October 28, 1965, which is the same day that the construction of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial was completed...the St. Louis Arch had arrived!
Mayor Cervantes quickly garnered eager support from a very diverse group of men and women who were considered 'boosters, supporters and fans' of the City of St. Louis. Two local businessmen, Cicardi A. Bruce and Ralph Turney, were among the first to help him form the new advocacy organization that would become the very first 'community-minded and civic support group' made up of individuals who were considered staunch advocates and steadfast, reliable and dependable promoters for the City of St. Louis. Our city's new and distinctive symbol, the St. Louis Arch, gave our metropolitan area the unique nick-name of 'The Gateway to the West'. The Saint Louis Ambassadors mission was to promote our municipality by giving much-deserved recognition to deserving non-profits, for-profits, celebrities and other local, regional and national VIP's by presenting their group leaders with a Proclamation from the Mayor of the City of St. Louis, along with a unique replica of our spellbinding monument...the St. Louis Arch.
3) What does it cost to become an SLA Member?
3) What does it cost to become an SLA Member?
The Saint Louis Ambassadors (SLA) is an all-volunteer organization and does not charge a membership fee if you are a registered member of their 1904 World's Fair Charitable Foundation, which was launched by SLA in 2002 and has a membership fee of $19.04 annually.
Additionally, we do ask that you volunteer as much time as you can afford on a monthly basis to 'help us help others', which is exactly what our Founder in 1965, A.J. Cervantes, and our President in 1981, J. Kim Tucci, asked of each one of their new members. It is each members choice to attend any of our events that requires an entry fee that will help cover the cost of the food, beverage and venue. We are always looking for professionals who want to 'give back to their community' by donating their time, talent and expertise to become active in one of our five premier committees as outlined in the Q&A (4 thru 8) below.
4) How do I join the 'SLA Speakers Bureau'?
4) How do I join the 'SLA Speakers Bureau'?
Contact our Chairman & CEO, Cicardi A. Bruce, at 314-941-0779 to help us spread the word about other great local organizations and major regional historical events by being trained and making public presentations to local business, civic, charity, veterans and political groups in the St. Louis Region.
5) How do I join the 'SLA Recognition Board'?
5) How do I join the 'SLA Recognition Board'?
Contact our President & CAO, Richard T. Pisani, to help us give much deserved recognition to area leaders in the business, civic, charity, veterans and political arena's that have truly had a positive impact on improving our region. Our program is named 'Salute St. Louis!'
6) How do I join the 'SLA Event Planning Team'?
6) How do I join the 'SLA Event Planning Team'?
Contact our Vice Chairman and COO, Ralph Turney, at 314-605-2205 to help us help other local organizations that need assistance in planning and executing events in order to meet their goals.
7) How do I join the 'Veterans Affairs Council'?
7) How do I join the 'Veterans Affairs Council'?
Contact the Chairman of our Veterans Affairs Council, Wayne Kaufman, at 314-753-8355 to help us help other local veterans support groups that need assistance in supporting our WW II, Korean, Viet Nam and any Current Conflict veterans that keep our country safe from foreign intruders.
8) How do I get involved in the 'Political Affairs Group'?
8) How do I get involved in the 'Political Affairs Group'?
Contact the Chairman of our Political Affairs Group, Vicki Schneider, at 314-503-0930 to help us select and support good political candidates for our state, county and municipal leadership so they can assist us in our efforts to promote community service and goodwill with our citizenry.
9) How do I get involved in the 'Community Affairs Commission'?
9) How do I get involved in the 'Community Affairs Commission'?
Contact the Chairman of our Community Affairs Commission, Dr. James Logan,, at 314-276-7822 to help us select and support premiere events we can host or co-host in the St. Louis Region so we can continue to promote community service and goodwill with our citizenry.
10) How do I get involved in the 'Sister Cities Program'?
10) How do I get involved in the 'Sister Cities Program'?
Contact the Chairman of our Sister Cities Program, Sam Solomon, at 314-324-5973 to help us select and support the St. Louis Sister Cities Program, which is part of the World Trade Center St. Louis’ international mission. Sanctioned by Sister Cities International (www.sister-cities.org), locally, it supports and coordinates the 15 sister cities programs and provides guidance for those interested in establishing new sister cities relations.
11) How do I get involved with the '50th Anniversary Documentary Team'?
11) How do I get involved with the '50th Anniversary Documentary Team'?
At the beginning of August 2014 Rich Pisani, Joel Kirk and Ann Morrison agreed to work on '50th Anniversary Documentary of both the Saint Louis Ambassadors and the St. Louis Gateway Arch...both turn 50 years old on October 28, 2015. A 'partnering effort' was verbally agreed to between the 1904 World's Fair Charitable Foundation and Ann's Films, which is owned by Ann Morrison, In return for support from the foundation and its two related organizations, which includes the U.S. Small Business Institute and the Saint Louis Ambassadors, Ann has agreed to donate 50% of the profits from the sale of the film on DVD and showings. The film will be unveiled to our board members and guests at 'The Golden Gala,' which is being headed up by our Sr. VP & Special Events Chair - Fran Capra. Ann will air this historic film at the Old Courthouse in the City of St. Louis on October 28, 2015, which is a beautiful and historic facility on the Arch grounds that is a perfect venue for the 'sneak preview.' Contact our President, Rich Pisani, at 314-952-2640 to join the Documentary Team and/or set up an interview with our Documentarian and owner of Ann's Films, Ann Morrison....filming starts August 27, 2014.
12) How do I get involved with the 'Community Through Unity' Council?
12) How do I get involved with the 'Community Through Unity' Council?
In November of 2014 MO Governor Jay Nixon set up a 16 member group referred to as the 'Ferguson Commission' in order to create a plan to ease racial tensions in St. Louis as a result of an unfortunate incident that occurred in Ferguson on August 9 when Officer Darren Wilson fatally shot Michael Brown who was unarmed. The details of this new program can be viewed at www.stlpositivechange.org. The Saint Louis Ambassadors immediately contacted Dr. TR Carr who is both a St. Louis County Police Commissioner and Ferguson Commissioner to offer assistance and help them in any way possible. Our group established the Saint Louis Ambassadors 'Community Through Unity' program and set up team meetings at Brookes Bible College to help identify the 'symptoms vs problems' and come up with potential solutions by September 15, 2015. For more information click here.