STRICTLY BUSINESS: BILL OLIVER TO MAKE DIFFERENCE

Bill Oliver wants to "make a difference" at Carbondale.

Oliver, a native of Chaffee and formerly of Cape Girardeau, has some ideas for this Southern Illinois city of more than 27,000.

"We need to work on attracting new jobs," said Oliver, who is the new president of the 400-member, Carbondale Chamber of Commerce.

He points to some labor statistics.

"A recent survey indicates that seven of 10 people are employed in either the retail or public service sectors," he said. "That's a figure that really jumped out at me. We need to work on attracting different types of industry, such as high-tech and-or manufacturing interests."

University big asset

The town also needs to explore ways to capitalize on the university's resources, said Oliver.

"Southern Illinois University, which has more than 20,000 students, already provides a readily accessible hiring pool to staff a high-tech industry corridor," said Oliver. "The university is a tremendous asset. It would be nice if we could identify ways to tap that resource and keep more students in Southern Illinois."

Bill Oliver has been im the Carbondale area the past 24 years.

Oliver was born in Chaffee but moved to Cape Girardeau at an early age. He attended St. Mary's and Notre Dame schools here and is a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University He wears the SEMO Red hat when the Indians play SIU-Carbondale.

"I still play golf in the Cape Girardeau area," said Oliver. "I have family and friends there."

Oliver founded Oliver & Associates Insurance Co. in 1980 and has an 11-person staff. He has worked in the insurance industry throughout his career.

"My father (Lawrence Oliver) and grandfather operated independent insurance offices at Chaffee," said Oliver. "I'm the third generation of the family to be in insurance."

Chamber strategic plan

"We want the chamber here to become a voice for the business community," said Oliver. "I consider the chamber membership driven, but I have found that some members do not feel they're getting value for their membership dollar."

"We want to fix that," said Oliver. "The coming year will be a transition year."

The Carbondale Chamber has a new salaried executive director, a "refined" mission statement and its first strategic plan.

Pat Brown, a retired military man, is executive director.

"We have established more committees to address a number of topics," said Oliver. "This creates more member participation.

"And, we're going to work to create more pride in Carbondale," said Oliver, who has long been involved in chamber activities.

A more impressive web site is included in those plans.

"When people look at towns for expansions, they go to the Internet," said Oliver. "We have to create a more impressive web site."

The chamber is also bringing in guest speakers for some monthly meetings. State Treasurer Loleta Didrickson was a recent guest.

Area cooperation

Another part of the retooling process will be to forge regional relationships with other chambers and complement each other's efforts.

"We want to represent Carbondale and we want to represent Southern Illinois," said Oliver. "What's good for Carbondale is good for Southern Illinois. Likewise, what's good in Marion, Herrin or elsewhere in the Southern Illinois area, is good for Carbondale."

Oliver noted that although the city is 27,000 population, as many as 60,000 to 70,000 people are in town on any given day.

"It's a lot like Cape Girardeau," said Oliver. "A lot of people from the surrounding area work in Carbondale."

Cape Girardeau may be more diversified in its work force, with more than 7,500 people in the manufacturing sector.

A new business

"Actually, we probably have less than 2,000 manufacturing jobs in Carbondale," said Oliver.

However, Carbondale recently received word that West TeleServices Corp. of Omaha, Neb., will open a center next month that will provide from 150 to 400 jobs.

The company is moving into an existing building at 2311 S. Illinois Ave. The company will rank as the eighth largest Carbondale employer and offer jobs in the $7- to $12-an-hour range.

Among other large employers in the city are the university, Memorial Hospital, Wal-Mart, Nutrition Headquarters, Illinois Department of Transportation, the City of Carbondale and the Carbondale Clinic.

Meanwhile, Southeast Missouri area employers remain upbeat about their staffing plans, according to findings released last week by Manpower Inc., a temporary help firm.

Manpower's quarter Employment Outlook Survey, is based on employers' intentions to increase or decrease the permanent work force. During its 22-year history, the survey has been a significant indicator of employment trends.

Hiring to improve

Hiring is expected to improve during the second quarter, according to the Manpower survey.

The survey report found that 36 percent of businesses in Southeast Missouri is expected to increase employment in April, May and June. Forty-five percent of the businesses surveyed do not expect to recruit more workers, and 16 percent of the firms have not finalized their plans.

Job opportunities are seen this year in construction, manufacturing, wholesale-retail trade, education and public administration, said Peggy Gates of the local Manpower office.

Average increases of employment in the state are expected to be about 30 percent, ranging from 13 to 16 percent in the St. Louis and Kansas City metropolitan areas to more than 50 percent in Central Missouri.

Nationally, the struggle to find additional workers will continue another three months, as 30 percent of 16,000 participating companies say they will increase employment.

B. Ray Owen is business editor for the Southeast Missourian.