If you haven’t noticed all the green in Rolla this week you may have forgotten that today is the 102nd Annual St. Pat’s parade, which begins at 11 a.m. on Pine Street in downtown Rolla. Considered one of the largest and most well attended St. Pat’s celebrations in the state of Missouri, it is perhaps the most festive parade of the year in Rolla.
For me the St. Pat’s celebration festivities began on Wednesday, March 10 when I met with Dr. Robert Schwartz, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at Missouri University of Science and Technology, and Barry White, President of the Rolla Area Chamber of Commerce, at the downtown bandshell to officially greet St. Pat and his court as they made their grand entrance much like St. Pat and his Court made their official entrance in 1908 near the railroad tracks on 8th Street in downtown Rolla.
Regardless of the weather forecast for today, I’m sure we will see thousands of residents, Missouri S&T students and alumni, who return each year to Rolla to attend the St. Pat’s Parade and the many festivities planned for the weekend. If you haven’t already dug out your St. Pat’s green sweatshirt, or green beads, hat, or scarf, just make sure you have some item of clothing or accessory that resembles the color green, or you may feel a little left out as you witness an entire community decked out in the traditional St. Pat’s “Green.” If you are still searching for ideas, there’s no need to worry, as many Missouri S&T students will be selling St. Pat’s apparel at many of the local service stations and grocery stores in town today, and throughout the weekend.
Celebrations such as St. Pat’s are one aspect of our community that bring the residents of Rolla, visitors and Missouri S&T together unlike no other event throughout the year. And realizing the importance and significance of Missouri S&T to our town, and how it has elevated the image and reputation of our community on a global scale, it really makes me appreciate every year during St. Pat’s what a vital role Missouri S&T plays in the lifeblood of our community.
Missouri S&T has long been known for its cutting-edge innovation and technology, and is consistently ranked in U.S. News and World Report as one of the nation’s top graduate engineering schools. The rankings also list six Missouri S&T programs as among the best in the country, as stated on the Missouri S&T Website (www.mst.edu).
Among the many exciting projects occurring at Missouri S&T is the construction of the first building in Missouri S&T’s Innovation Park that will be located on 10th Street. The City’s Public Works and Community Development Departments have collaborated with Missouri S&T on the design and master plan of Innovation Park, and we consider this development to be a great asset to our community. In fact, the City is partnering with Missouri S&T and other businesses and entities as we move forward on what will eventually be one of the gateway entrances to Innovation Park at Bryant Drive and Kingshighway where a new traffic light and intersection will be relocated from Fairgrounds Road in August of this year. A development agreement is currently being finalized among McDonald’s Restaurant, Fairgrounds Chevrolet, Missouri S&T and the Missouri Department of Transportation that will provide for the right-of-way variances needed for this new extension of Bryant Drive off Kingshighway. The new Bryant Drive Extension will meander through the south end of Innovation Park and connect to Fairgrounds Road, alleviating traffic congestion that currently exists on Kingshighway at the Fairgrounds Road intersection.
Missouri S&T is growing in leaps in bounds in both stature and student enrollment, and with the City’s new DREAM (Downtown Revitalization Economic Assistance Missouri) Initiative status, the recent creation of a new Arts and Entertainment District, Benton Square, and an infusion of more than $8 million is private investment in the downtown business district, Rolla is gaining recognition among developers, investors, and businesses, as a City on the move!
No comments:
Post a Comment