Dale Perkinson

“Dale and his wife, Lorraine, have touched 28 years of my professional career,” said 2007 MGA President Larry Chapman in personal recognition of his friend and mentor. “He has not only given me an education and perspective that cannot be learned at any school, but also a passion for a business that I truly love.”

Most famously, Dale Perkinson is attributed with the successful innovation of Earth City – arguably one of the most visionary, ambitious and successful commercial real estate developments St. Louis ever witnessed. Now, more than 40 years later, Earth City continues to grow, a testament to a man whose first company, Linclay, rapidly became one of the largest commercial real estate development companies in the Midwest and at one time ranked among St. Louis’ 100 largest privately held companies. In short, Dale’s contributions to regional commercial development are too numerous to count, though the impact is apparent.

Ray Wittcoff

Ray Wittcoff’s company, Transurban Corporation, was responsible for a number of Downtown St. Louis developments. In particular, Ray worked closely with long-time CBS CEO, Frank Stanton, to develop the Gateway Tower Building. Subsequently, CBS TV and Radio maintained a 25-year lease on the space. At the time, the Gateway Tower Building secured leases with heavy-hitters such as Price Waterhouse, the Union Electric Headquarters and Darc’y Advertising, one of the largest advertising firms in the country and manager of the Coca-Cola account, among others. Later, he developed the Bank of America Building and Thomas Jefferson Building, which is now home to the Drury Hotel. Plus, Ray consulted on the Boatmen’s Tower for Equitable.

A current resident of Scottsdale, Arizona, Wittcoff could not attend the MGA luncheon and will be presented his award at a later date.