St. Louis Center for International Relations Welcomes New Board Members

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) April 27, 2004 -- April 27, 2004, St. Louis, Missouri � Robert Heuermann, Jr., Executive Director of the St. Louis Center for International Relations (SLCIR), today announced election of two new members of SLCIR�s Board of Directors: former St. Louis Mayor James F. Conway and Mr. Robert V. Ogrodnik, who is a Senior Advisor for Emerson Motor Company, a unit of Emerson Electric Company in St. Louis.

�Jim Conway and Bob Ogrodnik bring years of successful experience in government and international business to the forefront of our mission, and the entire Board of Directors is pleased that these two men have been elected to join us,� Heuermann said.

Mr. Conway served as Mayor of the city of St. Louis from 1977-81. He is currently Chairman, Chief Executive and President of ACI Plastics, Inc., a leading fabricator and distributor of custom plastics products sold across North America and overseas. Mr. Conway also is a member of the Board of Directors of The St. Louis Zoo and The St. Louis-Stuttgart Sister Cities organization. In addition, he is Co-Chairman of Advance Saint Louis, a civic organization that works to help ensure a productive future for St. Louis. Mr. Conway is a graduate of St. Louis University, where he earned a B.S. in Geophysical Engineering and an M.B.A. He served as Chairman of the 2003 Sister Cities International Conference held in St. Louis last year.

Mr. Ogrodnik is former Vice President � International for Emerson Motor Company and in that role concentrated on globalizing the business. He is currently Senior Advisor for the company. Mr. Ogrodnik is a member of the National Board of Directors of The National Kidney Foundation, Board Director for The Bach Society of St. Louis and President of The St. Louis Consular Corps. He is Honorary Consul for The Republic of Poland in St, Louis. In addition, he is a member of the Missouri District Export Council (MODEC) and Board Director of Szczecin-St. Louis Sister Cities, Inc. Mr. Ogrodnik is a graduate of The University of Rhode Island, where he earned a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering.



The St. Louis Center for International Relations (SLCIR) is a non-profit entity administered jointly by St. Louis City and St. Louis County governments. Its primary mission is to promote the St. Louis region�s international profile and develop socio-economic exchanges with other cities to attract more business investment and to expand educational and cultural opportunities locally. It is the development arm of St. Louis� thirteen sister city relationships and their committees, including the St. Louis-Stuttgart Sister Cities Committee.

For more information, please contact Robert Heuermann, Jr. at The St. Louis Center for International Relations at 314.863.6777 or Jeff Dunlap at Powerline Public Relations, LLC in St. Louis at 314.721 5505, or visit the website www.slcir.org. * * *