HENDRIX TO RETIRE IN A YEAR; HAS LED CHAMBER HERE FOR 20 YEARS

In a profession where average tenure is less than five years, Bob Hendrix has far surpassed his job expectancy. He's been president of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce since 1972 - four times longer than the average stay of a chamber director.

Hendrix admits some luck has been involved but believes that most of it is due to surrounding himself with good people, having dedicated boards to work with, having a good community to sell, and a lot of hard work.

"Cape Girardeau is a fine community that has a lot of potential, a lot of which has not been recognized yet," said Hendrix. "It has been a challenge for 20 years; but this is not something you go brain dead with because there is a new challenge every day."

After bucking the odds for years as the chamber head, Hendrix has decided it's time to leave - on his terms. Two weeks ago Hendrix announced to his board of directors at the chamber's annual retreat that he would retire at the end of 1993. The announcement was made public at this week's First Friday Coffee.

In making the retirement decision public Friday, incoming chamber board Chairman Harry Rediger promised Hendrix his final year would not be one where he could rest on his laurels. "I can assure you, Bob, that 1993 will be one of your busiest and best years," said Rediger.

In discussing his retirement decision at his office, Hendrix rejected most overtures to reflect back on his career in detail because of a busy year ahead of him. He suggested the farewell story would be more appropriate a year from now and preferred to look forward.

"It's going to be business as normal. I won't give up any of my enthusiasm or workload," said Hendrix. "But this time next year I'll be sitting here grinning and saying it's all over."

Rediger said he intends to appoint a search committee to find a replacement for Hendrix, but it will likely be well into next year before a decision is made.

"There will be no difference for a while as a result of my announcement," said Hendrix. "The only difference is I'll be putting a lot more on paper and getting it out of my head. It is extremely valuable for the chamber that I know I am going and that they know I am going. It should be a very smooth, orderly transition."

Discussing his lengthy tenure with the chamber here, Hendrix said he and the community are very similar. "We are both conservative and believe in progress, but not progress at any cost," he explained.

"You have to work with the community at the speed the community wants to move. You have to constantly push to make things better, but you can sometimes push too hard. In fact, you don't always push but you nudge and nudge, nudge, nudge, and eventually get to the point where you need to be."

Hendrix said he has especially fond memories of the 21 board chairmen he has worked with over the years. "Those 21 people are very special in my mind because I got very close to all of them. Having a good board and good community to work in makes a big difference.

"I'd say my long tenure here is not all luck because luck is what you make it at times."

Born in Bowling Green and raised in Washington, Mo., Hendrix makes it clear that his home will always be in Cape Girardeau, even after retirement.

Over the years Hendrix has had opportunities to leave Cape and take jobs in other places. "But I have not found a city or job as good as Cape Girardeau ... I came close to leaving a couple of times but better judgment got me," he said.

About 10 years ago he received an offer to move to Ft. Walton, Fla. that was quite attractive. But, with four children in school here and his strong feelings for Cape Girardeau, he decided to stay put.

"I look at all the offers I had but I don't regret turning them down one bit," said Hendrix.

His predecessor as director of the chamber was Allen Robinson, who held the post for 14 years until the time of his sudden death.

"Allen Robinson was a good friend of mine, and after he passed away I came and looked over Cape Girardeau, talked with some people and decided to apply here. I was looking for a community to move to. Cape was a river community, which I was used to, and a medium-size town."

Clarence Lee Shirrell was chairman of the chamber board that hired Hendrix. Some of the other members of that committee, Hendrix recalled, were Charley Hood, A.R. Meyer and Vernon Fee.

Hendrix came to Cape Girardeau from Springfield, where he had served four years on the chamber staff as its director of legislative affairs.

At the age of 27, Hendrix got his first start in chamber work in Washington, where he had been active in chamber affairs as an insurance agent. He was executive director of the Washington chamber for five years before moving to Hannibal for a three-year stint.

During his career the 60-year old Hendrix has seen some significant changes in the role of a Chamber of Commerce executive. He recalls that in Washington his main function was running the county fair and an annual "Crazy Days" retail promotion for merchants.

"Nowadays you have to go to an institute on organizational management to be an effective chamber executive," said Hendrix.

"They used to say if you had a big laugh, could hold a cigar and martini at the same time, you could be a Chamber exec," he said. "But it's much more professional now; you have to know a little of everything from real estate to law and legislative issues."

Hendrix believes the biggest change he has seen in his job is the role of being a link between business and government. He said legislative action and governmental policies are having an increasing impact on the business community.

Though he is reluctant to be too reflective at this point, Hendrix does point to several projects with pride that the chamber has been involved in during his tenure. Those include starting the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority, starting Riverfest, working with the city to create a charter form of government, and attracting new industry to the area.

There are several industrial prospects still hanging that Hendrix hopes to nail down over the next year. He also hopes to work toward the acquisition of a new chamber office building and tie up loose ends on many projects before the new chamber president takes over.

Deciding to retire did not come easy for Hendrix, but he has considered it for quite a while. "I'd been thinking about it for a year or so, and my wife and I sat down and said let's do it."

Hendrix and his wife, Rosemary, have four children: a daughter and three grandchildren living in Cape Girardeau; and three children living in St. Louis, Warrensburg and Nashville.

Announcing his retirement a year in advance not only gives the chamber plenty of time to find a new leader, but it also gives Hendrix time to assess his future. "I'm too young to sit in a rocker and whittle," he laughed. "It gives me a year to figure out what I want to do.

"It was a hard decision for me to make because I love Cape and I like my job. I felt like I was doing a good job. But it got to the point where I needed a new outlook and the chamber needed a new face and leader. I'm at the point where I want to slow down and throw all my ties away."