CLAYTON, Mo. (KMOX) - It’s a new way of marketing the St. Louis region as a whole.

Government and business leaders from the city and county gathered Friday to announce the formation of the St. Louis Economic Development Council.

Rodney Crim will be its president, “This really helps us with a unified vision of job creation, job retention, expansion, and entrepreneurship. We’re really excited about this opportunity.”

Scott Wilson, the CEO of local contracting business S.M. Wilson and representative of the Regional Business Council, took part in the announcement, “It’s about time. We’ve talked about this for a long time. We’ve known this is the right way to go, and now we’re there. This is about propelling our region forward. This is about being a top-tier city.”

The formation of the St. Louis Economic Development Council requires approval from the St. Louis board of aldermen and the St. Louis County council.

The hope is to have that done by July 1.