AFTER 21 YEARS, BOB HENDRIX RETIRES

After 21 years as president and chief executive officer of the Chamber of Commerce, Bob Hendrix has decided it's time for retirement.

Hendrix in December announced his retirement, which becomes effective at the end of this year.

During the months leading up to his final day on the job, he will be working with whomever is selected the chamber's next president to help ensure a smooth transition.

"We are looking forward to having at least 90 to 120 days for me to be able to bring him or her up to speed on everything," Hendrix says.

The new president will need to know about contracts with the city for the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the state for the License Bureau; the five or six corporations which are under the chamber, like the Greater Cape Girardeau Development Corp.; and the 15 to 17 chamber committees and task forces.

"There is so much to learn," Hendrix says. "It would be really difficult for someone to walk in cold and know what's going on. I will be here to fill him or her in on the background on all these areas and help them get off on the right foot."

Hendrix says the biggest challenge for the new president is going to be learning about Cape Girardeau what it has been and where it is heading. "He or she will have a lot of people to talk to, meet with, and motivate. But we hope to have all the kinks worked out before I leave."

Hendrix looks forward to getting away from the daily pressures of the job and the deadlines he works under. But he also will miss the fun of new things happening every day. "I'll also miss talking with people daily and working with them. But I'm not going to retire completely; I'll find something to do in the community."

He plans to stay in the area because he has been here longer than anywhere he has worked.

"I'll probably also stay involved with the chamber as a member after retirement," Hendrix says. "I've been in chamber work for 33 years, and I always said the day I got bored I would quit. But I'm not bored, just worn out."

During the past 21 years Hendrix has seen many changes in the Chamber of Commerce and in the city itself.

Hendrix says the biggest change in the chamber is its membership. "In 1972 we only had 325 members, and right now we have almost 1,200. And the biggest change in Cape is the size of our market because it's not just to the city limits anymore. Now, we also cover Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky."

In terms of business expansion, Hendrix has seen development of West Park Mall and the Show Me Center. The medical profession here also has expanded, he says, mentioning St. Francis Medical Center being built to replace the old hospital.

"We have also been both progressive in our thinking and recruitment of doctors and services that the hospitals offer, like full emergency rooms, neurosciences, heart programs and MRIs, just to name a few. All have expanded our market."

In addition, industries like Dana Corp. and Biokyowa have opened plants in the area and Procter and Gamble and M&W have created new jobs.

Tourism has also became a major program in the area, Hendrix says. "Many years ago we had a fish fry to pay for the first tour brochure, and that fish fry turned into Riverfest.

"Riverfest was a tremendous success. I never thought it would get as big as it is now; it's bigger than I ever expected."

Another reason tourism took off in the area was enactment of the hotel-motel and restaurant tax in 1983, Hendrix says. "It was at this time that the city agreed to fund a convention tourism bureau. The city council asked us to take the management contract for it, and we've done that ever since."

Hendrix says tourism will continue to be a big part of Cape Girardeau's economy as long as the national economy stays healthy. "As an industry, tourism is based on the national economy, and, if people have extra money at their disposal, then they'll travel."

Southeast Missouri State University also has changed since Hendrix arrived in Cape Girardeau.

"When I first came to Cape, Southeast had an enrollment of 6,000, and now it has about 8,500 students," he says. "The university is the biggest payroll and money generator in the city limits of Cape. Between the money the students spend in town and the faculty payroll, it adds up to millions of dollars a year."

Hendrix recalls that the first project he worked on when he came here was getting a new Mississippi River bridge. It now is near.

"It was even discussed for years before I got here, so it's been discussed for a long time," he says. "I just hope I live long enough to walk across it."

The bridge, he says, "is going to give us a lot more accessibility, especially for truck traffic, because they avoid the narrow bridge now. When the safety is increased by widening it, then that market will be extremely important."

Under Hendrix's leadership this year the Chamber of Commerce put out a buyer's guide for its members. "It met with success from the members. It gives easy access to the businesses in the area in which they work," he says.

In addition, names of members and their places of employment are also listed alphabetically. "It turned out to be a good tool for the chamber members to use, and it met with great success.

"The buyer's guide will probably become a yearly thing, and we're updating it quarterly now," says Hendrix. "Next year we'll have to redo the whole thing again."

The buyer's guide is just one project in a long career of chamber work for Hendrix. Looking back over his years with the chamber, he says more than one thing stands out.

"There are so many things I remember, like the move of our office to the building where we are now, the Show Me Center and West Park Mall opening up, and Riverfest turning into a full-blown event. I can't distinguish one as being the greatest."