Platform Is Not for Standing Still
Back in 2010, while serving as senior vice president of major gifts and planned giving, as well as senior vice president of marketing and communications for United Way of Greater St. Louis, I received one of the greatest honors of my career up to that point.
I was named to the St. Louis Business Journal’s 40 Under 40.
That recognition meant something to me.
It meant my gift had made room for me. My gift had created a way for me to be seen, to be visible, and to be taken seriously in rooms I had once only imagined entering.
But it meant something else, too.
When you studied the people who received that honor, you saw a certain trajectory. These were not people whose careers simply fizzled out. These were professionals who had distinguished themselves, leaders who were being recognized not only for what they had achieved, but for what they might yet become.
There was a certain expectation attached to the recognition.
It was not just a plaque. It was a platform.
And platform matters.
Platform gives you visibility. Platform gives you credibility. Platform gives you proximity to people, institutions, and opportunities that can shape not only your life, but the lives of others. But here is the challenge: too many people receive a platform and then use it only to protect what they have already gained.
They use it to lock up value.
They use it to secure a title, preserve comfort, and stay positioned in the safe middle of an organization or community. They become excellent at managing what is already in front of them, but never fully step into the larger assignment connected to their gifts.
I believe we are called to more than that.
You are a professional by virtue of the position you hold.
You are a leader by virtue of what you do beyond the position.
That distinction has always mattered to me.
When I attended the 40 Under 40 event, I remember looking around the room and thinking, “There is not a lot of diversity here.” That observation did not come from criticism alone. It came from imagination. It came from a question that has followed me throughout my career: How might we do this differently? How might we create a platform where more young Black and brown professionals can see themselves in the leadership landscape of St. Louis?
At the time, I had been working to diversify United Way’s affinity strategy. We had a strong Next Gen program, and I was thinking deeply about how we identify, develop, and celebrate emerging leaders. Not just professionals. Leaders.
So I went to Dr. Donald Suggs with an idea.
What if we created a recognition platform through The St. Louis American Foundation that celebrated young leaders of color who were not only achieving professionally, but also serving, building, connecting, and lifting community? What if we created something rooted in the tried-and-true rhythm of The St. Louis American, but focused on the next generation of leadership?
Dr. Suggs thought it was a good idea.
Then he said what visionaries often say after hearing a good idea: “We need funding.”
At that time, David Farr, then CEO of Emerson, had been deeply connected to United Way. He had served as campaign chair and was a major civic leader in our region. So I went to David and asked if Emerson would sponsor this effort.
He said yes.
I believe that original investment was $25,000. Emerson sponsored the effort for a number of years. United Way also came alongside and provided support. And through the years, no matter where I have served — at United Way or later at Midwest BankCentre — I have remained close to this work and committed to supporting it.
People and organizations have come and gone from a sponsorship standpoint. That happens. But my support has remained consistent.
Why?
Because consistency is part of stewardship.
It is one thing to help start something. It is another thing to keep showing up for it. It is one thing to believe in an idea when it is fresh and exciting. It is another thing to stand with that idea year after year, as it matures, expands, and begins to bear fruit you may never personally harvest.
That is leadership.
That is stewardship.
That is what it means to run through the tape.
The Salute to Young Leaders has become powerful because it has never been simply about professional achievement. It has never been merely about someone getting a title, a promotion, or a seat at the table. Those things matter, but they are not the full measure of leadership.
The deeper question is this: What are you doing with the platform you have?
Are you using it only for yourself?
Or are you using it to create room for others?
Are you using it to advance your own career?
Or are you using it to advance the community?
Are you using it to be seen?
Or are you using it so others can see what is possible?
Did you catch that?
A platform is not just a stage. It is a responsibility.
When young Black and brown professionals are honored through the Salute to Young Leaders, they are being told something important: You belong in the leadership story of this region. Your gifts matter. Your service matters. Your imagination matters. Your presence in these rooms matters.
And just as importantly, they are being challenged.
Do not stop here.
Do not confuse recognition with arrival.
Do not allow success to make you small.
Do not settle into the comfortable middle when your gifts were designed to serve a larger purpose.
There is a kind of success that can quietly become a ceiling. You get the title. You get the recognition. You get the invitation. You get the seat. And then, without realizing it, you begin to organize your life around protecting the seat instead of expanding the table.
But gifts were never meant to be buried.
Scripture reminds us that a person’s gift makes room for them. But once the gift makes room, the question becomes: What will you do in the room?
Will you simply enjoy the room?
Or will you change the room?
Will you open the door wider for others?
Will you build something that lasts beyond your own moment?
That is the spirit behind Salute to Young Leaders.
It is about recognizing excellence, yes. But it is also about calling forth responsibility. It is about reminding emerging leaders that their careers should not be reduced to personal advancement alone. Their leadership should create community impact. Their influence should multiply opportunity. Their visibility should help somebody else believe they can rise, too.
Now that I have crossed a significant Rubicon in my own life and career, I find myself looking back with gratitude. I think about all the good that has come from this platform. I think about the honorees who have gone on to lead institutions, build businesses, serve communities, mentor others, and shape the civic life of St. Louis.
I am grateful to have played a small part in helping birth something that others have continued to shepherd, strengthen, and sustain.
But I am also reminded of a larger truth.
The work we do with our gifts may not always return to us immediately. Sometimes the harvest takes years. Sometimes the return does not come in the form of money, title, or public credit. Sometimes it comes in the form of impact. Sometimes it comes in the form of a young person seeing themselves differently. Sometimes it comes in the form of a community becoming more confident about its own future.
And over time, what you pour out has a way of coming back.
Not always from the same place.
Not always from the same people.
Not always on your schedule.
But it comes back.
That is why we must be faithful. That is why we must be consistent. That is why we must use all of our gifts — not some of them, not the safe ones, not only the ones attached to our job descriptions — but all of them for the betterment of others.
Because leadership is not just what you achieve.
Leadership is what you make possible.
Platform is not for standing still.
Platform is for lifting others, building community, and running through the tape.
Originally published in the Saint Louis American in May of 2026 by Orvin T. Kimbrough, Chairman and CEO at Midwest BankCentre