Missouri Growth Association Announces Awards

The Missouri Growth Association (MGA) has announced the winners of its annual awards, to be presented at a Feb. 26 luncheon.  The 2009 Community Betterment Awards will be presented to Forest Park Forever and Denny Coleman.  The Eads Award honorees are Lewis Levey and Donald Klingler.  
 
MGA's Community Betterment Awards annually honor an individual and an organization for significant contributions made to benefit Missouri's economy, region and commercial real estate industry.  Winners are selected by industry peers.
 
The Eads Awards were founded in 2004 to recognize innovators and pioneering leaders who defined and established industry standards, including new business methods that transformed the commercial real estate industry.
 
Forest Park Forever - Community Betterment Award Winner
Dee Joyner, Board Chair Elect, will accept the honor for Forest Park Forever at the event. Forest Park Forever was founded by the City of St. Louis and the Department of Parks, Recreation and Forestry not only to preserve the park grounds but also to enhance its value as one of the country's premier urban parks.
 
In 2003, the Master Plan improvements totaling $94 million concluded with much success and catapulted  St. Louis as the national model for urban park renewal through a Public-Private Partnership. Forest Park Forever recently adopted a 2009 Strategic Plan for the continued sustainability of the beloved park that brings such pride and joy to the citizens of St. Louis. Learn more at www.forestparkforever.org  .
 
Denny Coleman - Community Betterment Award Winner
For 25 years, Denny Coleman has shaped positive economic development throughout St. Louis County.  President and CEO of the St. Louis County Economic Council for 18 years, Coleman's reaching influence has extended to a number of major regional projects, including NorthPark, Express Scripts, Pfizer, the Edward Jones Dome expansion and Union 70.  Further, Coleman also serves as Treasuer and member of the Governance Committee for International Economic Development Council.
 
Coleman serves on a number of Boards, including the Urban Land Institute,  St. Louis Sports Commission and Bridges Foundation. Also, he was vice president of Community Development of Mercantile Bank (now U.S. Bank) when the division received the National Fair Housing Award and Private Sector Initiatives Award from the White House.
 
Lewis Levey - Eads Award Winner
As Chairman of Enhanced Value Strategies since 1998, Lewis Levey provides strategic real estate consulting and advisory services to both private and institutional owners.  He was among the first to recognize the importance of the bio-tech/life sciences industry to the St. Louis Community and serves as a Board member and President of Real Estate for CORTEX, a 2007 Community Betterment Award Winner.
 
Levey was a founder and Managing Partner/Director of Paragon Group, Inc. that, until it merged with Camden Property Trust (CPT, NYSE) in 1997, was a fully integrated, self-managed Real Estate Investment Trust operating a near-billion-dollar real estate investment portfolio located in 18 different states. Although Paragon Group’s activities reached from coast to coast, local developments included Gateway One on the Mall, Magna Place and Westgate Village.
 
Levey also previously served on a number of prestigious Boards such as the Urban Land Institute, Grand Center, the St. Louis Sports Commission and Washington University Olin School of Business.
 
Donald Klingler - Eads Award Winner
Posthumously honored, Donald Klingler left his legacy on St. Louis as one of the country's first pioneers of "mixed-use development." Klingler spent 25 years with White Company where he was integral to the 1970 development of West Port Plaza. He continued through the 1970s and 1980s as a leader of commercial real estate in the region. During his life, Klingler remained an active and passionate community member supporting St. Louis Children's Hospital, the Saint Louis Art Museum, and his alma mater, Normandy High School.
 
Klingler's family will accept the 2009 Eads Award. Klingler's wife Katie, sons Donald and Jim, and daughter Kathy will be among the recipients.
 
MGA is a statewide trade alliance advancing public policy for the commercial real estate industry. Comprised of commercial property owners, managers and developers, MGA is increasingly more proactive in shaping industry-specific state and local public policy.  Formed in 1985, MGA’s mission vows to support or oppose initiatives at the state and municipal levels that affect the commercial real estate industry and to ensure greater equity between commercial and residential interests at the legislative level. 

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