ST. LOUIS – While the St. Louis Cardinals resumed their intense rivalry with the Chicago Cubs on July 28, 2018 at Busch Stadium, behind the scenes it wasn’t rivalry, but important connections being made to advance economic development in Missouri.  Ensconced in a suite at Busch Stadium, a membership recruitment drive for the venerable Missouri business organization Hawthorn Foundation featured Missouri Governor Mike Parson engaging business, civic and labor leadership.  Also attending was former Missouri Senator Christopher “Kit” Bond, who founded the Hawthorn Foundation in 1982 when he was governor of Missouri.  The event’s sponsor, the Electrical Connection, lived up to its name as it energized labor-management cooperation for greater prosperity for all Missourians.

Now celebrating its 25^th year, the Electrical Connection is a partnership of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1 and the St. Louis Chapter, National Electrical Contractors Association.  “While our mission is to market our highly proficient NECA contractors and the skilled and safe IBEW workforce they employ, our leadership had the foresight to take an active role in using our resources to strengthen economic development,” said Jim Curran, executive vice president, Electrical Connection. “The Electrical Connection is proud of our leadership position within the Hawthorn Foundation and extremely pleased that we had an amazing turnout at our sponsored event!”

“We’re grateful for the Electrical Connection’s support of the Hawthorn Foundation and its help in broadening important connections to further our mission of growing economic opportunities in Missouri,” said Steve Oslica, executive director, Hawthorn Foundation.  “The diversity of Hawthorn membership is enhanced with the unique technical collaboration between its business and labor members that the Electrical Connection provides.  It is indeed a valuable partner and investor."

For more than 30 years, the Hawthorn Foundation has partnered with Missouri governors, the Missouri Department of Economic Development, as well as a myriad of local and regional economic development organizations, to create and support cutting-edge initiatives that are focused on expanding economic opportunities in the state.  In 2007, it created the Missouri Partnership to serve as the state’s lead business recruitment and marketing organization.

“Our NECA contractors and IBEW workforce define the skilled and safe high-tech workforce Missouri needs to attract new businesses to the state,” said Doug Martin, executive vice president, St. Louis Chapter NECA. “We are Missouri’s prime resource for engineering and installing the electrical and communications infrastructure essential for future business development.”

For many attending the Hawthorn Foundation recruitment event, it was their first chance for a face-to-face meeting with Governor Parson who took office on June 1 2018. The guests included executive leadership in healthcare, retail, finance, hospitality, philanthropy, real estate development, engineering, manufacturing, construction, labor and more.

 The event also featured on-field introductions of guests, including Missouri Governor Parson.  Parson also threw out the first pitch of the game and spent some time visiting with the Cardinal KMOX Radio broadcast team during the game.  The Cards topped the evening off with a 6-2 win over the Cubs.

Electrical Connection members provide safe and reliable electrical construction, maintenance, repair and replacement services across Missouri, the nation and the world.  It has the largest data base of skilled and safe electrical contractors serving Missouri and customers worldwide.  Find the right electrical contractor for your project at this link.