REMARKS AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY - SANDY K. BARUAH, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF COMMERCE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT - EXCELLENCE IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AWARDS PRESENTATION TO ST. PATRICK CENTER ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2006

AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY

Introduced by Dan Buck, CEO, St. Patrick Center

Thank you, Dan.

In 1991, President George Herbert Walker Bush designated the St. Patrick Center one of his “1,000 Points of Light.” Today, as I stand here representing President George W. Bush at the close of 2006, the St. Patrick Center is not just a Point of Light, but a super bright, xenon-powered spotlight.

Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Jay Hein tried to be here today but was unable to depart Washington due to mechanical problems with his plane. I know his thoughts are with us.

Archbishop Burke – I’m honored to be in your presence today.

Mayor Francis Slay – thank you for your hospitality this afternoon.

Congressman Lacy Clay – thank you for being here.

Let me also thank U.S. Senator Kit Bond, who was here earlier, but had to depart for a funeral service.

Of course, we wouldn’t be here today without the leadership and visionaries of the St. Patrick Center: CEO Dan Buck; Board President Raymond Wagner; Director Emeritus Leo Paradis; Founder and Director Emeritus Edith Cunnane; and the entire team here at the St. Patrick Center.

It is my pleasure to represent President George W. Bush today in celebration of the St. Patrick Center – a model faith-based institution making a real difference in the lives of real people.

Faith-based and community organizations have a long tradition of helping Americans in need. Yet, all too often, the Federal Government has build barriers that prevent these important social service delivery organizations from accessing Federal assistance available to other types of organizations.

The President believes that this is not right, and through his Faith-Based and Community Initiative has moved to correct this discrepancy and help these organizations like St. Patrick Center who are helping others.

Now, what we all know here today is that the St. Patrick Center is a national leader in economic development. Soon a lot of other folks will know this, because today, I am proud to announce that the St. Patrick Center is the winner of the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration “Excellence in Economic Development Award” for 2006.

Each year, EDA bestows the “Excellence in Economic Development Award” on the best and brightest examples of economic development strategy and results. Award winners are selected by a distinguished and independent panel of economic development leaders, noted academics and government officials from across America. Believe me; the competition for these awards is intense as the bar for creative and innovative economic development initiatives gets raised every year.

This year, the winner of the Excellence Award for Community and Faith-Based Social Entrepreneurship is right here in St. Louis.

The St. Patrick Center has established itself as a national leader among faith-based organizations in changing the lives of people in need. The work of this Center is projected to have a multi-million dollar impact on the economy within its first few years of operation, turning low income citizens into self-sufficient taxpayers.

A key part of the Center’s strategy is its strong partnership with the private sector, which includes the support of Wells Fargo, Anheuser-Busch, Bank of America, and over three dozen St. Louis-based companies. Partnership with the private sector is critical to any successful economic development effort. While governments at all levels can be important players in economic development, let’s not forget that it is the private sector that is the most important element of any successful economic development strategy. Unless the private sector is ready, willing and able to invest in a community – economic growth simply will not occur regardless how much government spends.

St. Patrick Center’s ability to partner with the private sector is one reason why EDA will invest $3.5 million to help support the creation of a business incubator and training facility right here in this location to provide St. Patrick Center’s clients with training and job placement as new businesses are launched at the center. We know a good project when we see it. But government assistance is only part of the solution.

EDA, I am proud to say, has assisted not just the St. Patrick Center, but 192 faith-based and community organizations across the country since 2001 – investing over $150 million, which will leverage $3.5 billion in private sector investment.

Again, I would like to thank all of you for being here today at this important ceremony. And now, the moment we’ve been waiting for, the presentation of the award.

Congressman Clay will now join me in presenting the 2006 EDA Excellence in Economic Development Award for Community and Faith-Based Social Entrepreneurship to Dan Buck and Raymond Wagner.

It is now my distinct pleasure to present on behalf of President George W. Bush the 2006 EDA Excellence in Economic Development Award for Community and Faith-Based Social Entrepreneurship to the St. Patrick Center.

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