National Urban League Selects St . Louis for 2017 National Conference
During its Gala in Ft . Lauderdale , Fla . on Aug . 1 , the National Urban League announced it has selected St . Louis as the host city for its 2017 Annual Conference . Assembled for the announcement were dignitaries from St . Louis and the National Urban League . ( pictured left to right ) Michael McMillan , president of the Urban League of Metropolitan St . Louis ; Ambassador Andrew Young ; Marc Morial , president of the National Urban League ; Mayor Francis Slay , City of St . Louis ; Kathleen “ Kitty ” Ratcliffe , president of the St . Louis Convention & Visitors Commission and Michael Neidorff , chairman , Board of Directors of the National Urban League and CEO of Centene Corporation .
“ We want to thank the leadership of the National Urban League for selecting St . Louis as the host city for their Annual Conference in July of 2017 . This event will bring more than 3,800 attendees to St . Louis , as well as their Youth Leadership Summit that will take place concurrently at Washington University for approximately 350 young people . Overall , it is projected they will use more than 6,000 hotel room nights , generating an economic impact of $ 3.2 million in direct spending for our region . It takes a team effort to secure a national event like this conference . Key to our successful bid was the steadfast support and hard work of several community leaders , including Michael Neidorff , Chairman , President and CEO of Centene Corporation and the Chairman of the National Urban League ; Michael McMillan , President and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St . Louis ; Mayor Francis Slay and Washington University for their support of the NULITES Youth Leadership Summit .
Most importantly , we appreciate the Urban League ’ s commitment to address the challenges faced by African American communities across the country , including here in St . Louis . This is a unique opportunity for our region to further participate in these important discussions , and we appreciate the confidence they ’ ve shown by selecting us as their convention home in 2017 .