Last week after the St. Louis Rams officially became no more and opted to move to Los Angeles, the Missouri History Museum sent out a little email. It read:
“While some organizations are leaving St. Louis, we’re staying. Today we’re launching the #staySTL campaign. We need you to join with us and show the world how much we love the St. Louis region. Visit Facebook, Twitter, change your profile picture and help us share the #staySTL logo.
“Let us rise above the noise and spread the word about how great St. Louis truly is.”
The email prompted responses across the social media realm. On Tuesday’s “St. Louis on the Air,” the Missouri History Museum’s Online Communications Coordinator, Sam Moore, discussed what the social media responses have taught him about St. Louis pride from institutions and individuals alike. Jody Sowell, the museum’s director of exhibitions and research, conceptualized the idea and also joined the show.
Over one thousand people and organizations have contributed their submissions about why they stay in St. Louis. It will continue as long as people contribute, said Moore.
"The hope was that people would sit around and talk about what makes this city so great," said Sowell. "That is not to ignore the tougher things, the bad things. That's something I'm also very impressed with by our own visitors at the history museum. They are able to both say 'these are the wonderful things about this city' and also recognize there's things that need to be worked on."
"It takes a moment like this, hitting some hard times to realize what you have that's so great," said Sowell. "St. Louis has an interesting mix. We are very proud of some things and we do have an inferiority complex. ... St. Louis is both very proud and we take some of these losses incredibly hard as well."
Here are some examples of #staySTL submissions:
#staySTL St. Louis has a long history of fostering original, creative innovators #STLModern https://t.co/jf3NSIAv9L pic.twitter.com/spFhENvPMu
— Saint Louis Art Museum (@StlArtMuseum) January 15, 2016
We're proud of our role in STL's history & are excited to be a part of its future. #StaySTL #slu1818 pic.twitter.com/QWDl7p4EDd
— Saint Louis University (@SLU_Official) January 15, 2016
Why do you #staySTL? Tweet us your thoughts at @STLonAir or email us at talk@stlpublicradio.org. We’ll include your answers in this post.
St. Louis on the Air brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. St. Louis on the Air host Don Marsh, and producers Mary Edwards, Alex Heuer and Kelly Moffitt give you the information you need to make informed decisions and stay in touch with our diverse and vibrant St. Louis region.
