FreightWeekSTL puts teachers and industries together to brainstorm future

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - Captain Kevin East has been living his childhood dream — taking charge of the ship Tom Sawyer on the Mississippi River. Thursday, he took a full cargo of teachers, industry experts, Argentine government officials and a First Alert 4 crew out onto the river.

He took the engers on a tour of the Ag Coast of America, which is a center of transit and exports around grain and fertilizer. The St. Louis Regional Freigthway says the city’s ports were listed as some of the most “efficient inland port districts” in their review of recent numbers.

Along with the captain and industry folks, a number of educators from around St. Louis were on-board meeting with other teachers and learning more about the opportunities for recent graduates to find work.

One counselor told First Alert 4 they were excited for an opportunity for finding “hidden” careers for students not bound for college. Both industry and teachers agreed there needs to be more of a spotlight on jobs in freight industries for students at younger ages.

The trip was part of FreigthWeekSTL, celebrating the industries surrounding transport in this region. Much of the discussion groups were available online this year, but a major event was the “Riverboat Cruise through the Ag Coast of America.”

This cruise, which operates on the first of every month, highlighted key freight opportunities and operations in the St. Louis region — of rail, water, air and land transport.

Those on the cruise today included a number of industry groups from railroads to logistics, all connected by the freight networks around St. Louis.

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