The Insider: 8.13.14

Ward Stare, who served as resident conductor of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra from 2008 to 2012, has been named music director of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. The appointment, effective Sept. 1, marks Stare’s return to his hometown.

Dr. Regis James O’Keefe has been named the new head of orthopaedic sugery at Washington University School of Medicine, effective Oct. 1. He’ll also serve as orthopaedic surgeon-in-chief at Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals. A leading orthopaedic oncologist whose work focuses on musculoskeletal development and repair, O’Keefe comes to St. Louis from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.

A recent survey of area nonprofits found nearly three out of four met their 2013 fundraising goals, with two-thirds saying they raised more money last year than in 2012. The percentages are the highest reported since before the recession, and 59 percent of nonprofits expect to raise even more money this year. The survey was conducted by local consulting firm The Rome Group in partnership with the Gateway Center for Giving and the Greater St. Louis Community Foundation.

Arts and Education Council recently announced recipients of its 2015 St. Louis Arts Awards. Honorees are Jill McGuire of Regional Arts Commission, Lifetime Achievement in the Arts; Warner Baxter and Tom Voss of Ameren, Corporate Leadership in the Arts; Ken and Nancy Kranzberg, Excellence in Philanthropy; Shakespeare Festival St. Louis and Denise Thimes, Excellence in the Arts; Jim McKelvey and Doug Auer of Third Degree Glass Factory, Arts Innovators; and Winifred Crock of Parkway Central High School, Art Educator of the Year. The event, chaired by Jim and Lynne Turley, takes place Jan. 19 at the Chase Park Plaza.

Jefferson National Expansion Memorial is one of 39 national parks to receive a 2014 America’s Best Idea grant from the National Park Foundation. The grant provides funding for in-park experiences that connect youth to America’s national parks, often for the first time. The $12,385 grant will fund summer camps for children on the autism spectrum. Campers, each with an adult aide, will explore the Gateway Arch and other park sites.

Ernesta and Wesley, two Mexican wolves born at the Endangered Wolf Center in Eureka, Mo., and four of Ernesta’s pups recently were released into the wild at the Gila National Fore st in southwestern New Mexico. Fewer than 90 Mexican wolves are known to exist in the wild, up from only five in 1977.