St. Louis delegation to nation’s largest geospatial gathering “going to battle together for jobs and investment” in the fast-growing sector; City will host GEOINT Symposium in 2023 and 2025

“The future of geospatial is STLMade” -- Mayor Lyda Krewson

May 23, 2019 --  LOUIS –- With the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency slated to break ground on their new NGA West campus later this year, St. Louis officials have been hard at work to promote the City’s rapidly developing geospatial industry and expand St. Louis’ role as the nation’s center for geospatial excellence.

As part of the City’s efforts to grow the geospatial sector, St. Louis will send a large and united delegation to represent the City at this year’s  GEOINT Symposium -- the nation’s largest gathering of geospatial industry, academia, and government stakeholders. This year’s GEOINT Symposium, which annually attracts more than 4,000 attendees from all over the world, takes place June 2-5 in San Antonio.

“The St. Louis delegation to GEOINT 2019 in San Antonio will work as one community and speak with one voice. We are going to battle together to bring jobs and investment back to St. Louis,” said Mayor Lyda Krewson. “The thousands of attendees at this year’s GEOINT Symposium will see everyone from St. Louis spreading the message that the future of geospatial is STLMade.”

To send the St. Louis delegation -- which will be led by Krewson and includes regional economic development officials, geospatial companies, representatives from local research and academic institutions, and others -- off in style, the delegation and other representatives from St. Louis’ rapidly growing geospatial sector held a reception Thursday evening to highlight their work and talk about their plans for growth.

The event was held at T-REX, which is home to many geospatial startups and businesses and is currently developing the “ Geosaurus, Powered by Bayer” Innovation Resource Center, an incubator for geospatial startups.

“We’ve seen tremendous growth here and look forward to the continued expansion of the geospatial sector with the construction of Geosaurus,” said T-REX President and Executive Director Patricia Hagen. “This sector promises tremendous economic investment, innovation, and startup growth potential for St. Louis.”

As a sign of St. Louis’ fast growing role as the country’s center for geospatial excellence, GEOINT Symposium leaders have announced that the annual event -- and its 4,000-plus attendees – will come to St. Louis in both 2023 and 2025.

“We couldn’t be more excited to host GEOINT here in St. Louis and to show the industry why we are the center for geospatial excellence,” said Jim Alexander, Senior Vice President, AllianceSTL. “That the country’s largest geospatial gathering is coming here twice in the next few years signals a recognition that the future of geospatial is here in St. Louis.

“And with the NGA West campus scheduled to be up and running then, we will have much to celebrate.”

St. Louis will have a strong presence at GEOINT Symposium 2019. Among the highlights:

• Mayor Krewson has been selected to deliver the June 5 Keynote Address
• The panel discussion “St. Louis: Geospatial Center of Excellence” moderated by Tara Mott, Co-Chair, USGIF St. Louis Area Working Group; Brett Markham, NGA West; Dr. Ken Olliff, VP of Research at Saint Louis University; Otis Williams, Executive Director, SLDC; and Christine Woodard, Co-Chair, St. Louis Area Geospatial Ecosystem Steering Committee, NGA
• Hosting a “Mappy Hour” for attendees and an event for the Young Professionals Group

Additionally, AllianceSTL – the recently-formed private-sector regional economic development effort to attract and retain businesses, jobs, and talent – will have a special presence at the Symposium, including an exhibit booth and lounge, custom giveaways and a variety of materials promoting the theme “The Future of Geospatial is STLMade.” AllianceSTL onsite activities tie into the recent  STLMade campaign, which is working to accelerate economic development and promote St. Louis as a place “where you can start up, stand out, and stay.”

St. Louis’ delegation to GEOINT 2019 includes:

• Mayor Lyda Krewson, City of St. Louis
• St. Louis Development Corporation
• AllianceSTL
• St. Louis Economic Development Partnership
• Missouri Department of Economic Development
• Missouri Partnership
• Arch to Park
• Saint Louis University
• University of Missouri Center for Geospatial Intelligence
• T-REX/Geosaurus
• Geospatial companies, including: Woolpert, Harris Corporation, Planet Federal, Esri, SAIC, Bae Systems, and Booz Allen Hamilton
• Office of the Missouri Military Advocate
• Downtown STL, Inc. 

About Alliance STL:

The St. Louis Regional Economic Development Alliance (AllianceSTL) is a business led economic development organization that promotes the economic growth and development of the Bi-state region. AllianceSTL was launched in March 2019 to stimulate sustained regional growth by aggressively pursuing and attracting competitive business investments. AllianceSTL operates in conjunction with a CEO-led board of directors, which includes leadership from top St. Louis corporations and respected local organizations such as Civic Progress, the Regional Business Council and the St. Louis Regional Chamber. This highly regarded leadership team reflects a unified commitment to drive significant area economic growth by providing compelling, customized business solutions, insight and assistance that will serve as a magnet to organizations – while underscoring St. Louis’ competitive economic advantages and quality of life. To learn more, visit  www.alliancestl.com. 



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