He helped bring in the outlet mall, keep Oshkosh Corp and grow chamber membership. Now, John Casper is ready to retire
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OSHKOSH – When John Casper started at the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce, "the internet" was unheard of and the Fox River's waterfront was hardly accessible in Oshkosh.
That was back in 1987, when he was hired as its director of commercial development. He retired Dec. 28 as its CEO, a role he held since December 1990. Rob Kleman, the chamber's former vice president of economic development, has since taken over the helm.
Things have changed a lot during Casper's 35 years with the chamber, including the organization itself: Membership grew more than 50%, reaching its all-time high of 1,157 members, and he led the chamber to earn its first accreditation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 1993. It has received accreditation every year since, including achieving 5-star accreditation, the highest available, for the past 18 years.
Kurt Bauer, president and CEO of the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state's chamber, said Casper was "one of the first phone calls" he made for advice on his new role 12 years ago.
"He has served as a role model and mentor for scores of younger chamber executives as they've come up the ranks," Bauer said. "John is a leader among leaders."
Earlier in December, Casper sat down with the Oshkosh Northwestern to reflect on his time with the organization, how the role of a chamber has changed in a community and his retirement plans.
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Casper helped grow the chamber into a successful association
Back in the 1990s, Casper said the Oshkosh Chamber's membership was "smaller than it should have been for a community of our size." Casper helped grow that membership, reduce its debt and refocus its vision.
"It's a business association, and we should run like a business," he said. "The state (of the chamber) is in far better shape than it was when I took it over."
As of December, the chamber had 900 members. Of those, 585 have 25 or less employees.
He and his staff also worked to update the organization's programming model to make it more inclusive of the variety of businesses that join a chamber, from retailers to service professionals and manufacturing.
Casper has been a huge advocate for educating the public on what a chamber's role is in the community, including writing a 2014 column about it for the Northwestern.
The chamber operates around four pillars: economic development, workforce and talent development, advocacy and programs. At its core, a chamber is an advocate for its businesses,.
"Businesses don't vote, so there's got to be an organization that has its pulse on what's going on," he said.
Bauer said Casper is the longest-serving chamber executive in Wisconsin and a respected leader among the statewide business community.
Tricia Rathermel, president of Greater Oshkosh Economic Development Corp., said the chamber has been a reliable partner in local developments.
"The Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce is an extremely well-established chamber, and he's been at the helm for most of that," she said. "The work the chamber does is very important to the (business) environment we have here, so I appreciate the partnerships with his organization."
Oshkosh Corp., Interstate 41 among his proudest accomplishments
The chamber business was a 360-degree pivot from his previous sales jobs; whereas he saw results there at the end of every day, at the chamber things took a little longer.
Looking back, though, he can see that the efforts by him and his staff paid off.
"The riverfront and waterways have been reclaimed; all the things going on are pretty cool," he said. "And I'm proud of the fact that we touched a lot of that stuff. We weren't the sole or exclusive purveyor of all that, but we certainly had our hands in it."
Several of his biggest accomplishments include the redesign of former highway 41 and its 2015 designation as an interstate.
The chamber worked closely with the state Department of Transportation as well as the governor's transportation commission for multiple years to get funding for that project. It took time, but it led to major development of local and chain businesses along the frontage roads and helped connect Oshkosh with communities from Milwaukee to Green Bay and beyond.
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"It's there, now, just part of the fabric of the landscape, but I can say the chamber was pivotal in making that happen," he said.
Another project the chamber advocated for was the Oshkosh outlet mall. Though its gone through recent financial struggles, building it along the highway made it a destination for shoppers when it opened in November 1989 as the Manufacturers Marketplace. A Northwestern article from Nov. 5, 1989, quoting then-Chamber vice president Tim Casey, estimated about 60% of its shoppers would come from "more than a 50-mile radius."
Casper recalled the chamber reaching out to outlet stores about opportunities and learning that they "would all be in Oshkosh tomorrow if (they) could be next to Oshkosh B'Gosh's outlet store."
So, Casper said his team met with Oshkosh B'Gosh, which at the time had an outlet store downtown. They got developers involved, identified some land and within a couple years, the mall was there.
More recently, Casper recalled the chamber's help in bringing Oshkosh Corp.'s main offices to the city — something that raised quite a bit of controversy when the company proposed to use the former Lakeshore Municipal Golf Course location in 2017.
According to Oshkosh Northwestern archives, Casper and the chamber advocated at that time to use the land for Oshkosh Corp., which otherwise was speculated would move its headquarters out of the city or even out of state — losing an estimated 600 Oshkosh jobs, and 400 Wisconsin jobs if it moved out of state.
"There was a lot of pride in that golf course, but certainly what we have now brings far more long-term value for the community," Casper said. "And I'm a huge golfer. I haven't met a golf course I didn't like, but that was the right thing to do."
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While he's proud of the big projects the chamber has been involved in, some of his favorite moments are small ones, such as helping a local business get started or grow.
"All business is big business," he said. "I still get people who say they wouldn't be here if it weren't for the chamber of commerce."
New CEO will focus on developing programming, partnerships
Kleman, whom Casper hired 31 years ago, has almost as much experience as his predecessor.
"Rob is in a good position where he certainly knows the players and knows the politics of the community, so there should be no breakdown from that standpoint," Casper said.
Kleman is excited to use the knowledge he's gained in his new role and furthering community and business partnerships.
"He's been a great boss," Kleman said. "It's big shoes to fill, but I'm looking forward to that challenge. It's a fun challenge, too."
The chamber is in a good position to continue growth, he said, as well as look at where they could improve. One of his first goals is to reach out to members and learn what's working well and what they'd like to see more of.
Though the COVID-19 pandemic forced Casper to cut five positions in 2020, Kleman said they are doing a "major restart" in 2023 as they refill those with reorganized roles.
Julie Davis recently came on as the education and talent management director, and Colan Treml replaced Kleman as its economic development director. The organization also filled its events coordinator position.
Kleman said staff are working on rebranding the chamber, including a new website that will be unveiled at its Jan. 19 annual meeting.
The new year also marks a revisit to the chamber's strategic plan, which Kleman said they update every 3 to 5 years. The plan looks at what initiatives they should focus on in the next few years.
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"There's a lot of problems to be solved, whether it's daycare, the workforce crisis ... or affordable housing issues," Kleman said. "Those are all areas we need to be engaged in and supporting."
As for Casper, while he thinks his first week not working "is going to be different," he has no plans of sticking around after his last day and won't stay on any of the chamber's committees.
He wants to let Kleman have his opportunity to shine. But, he said, "if he has a question, I'll certainly answer it."
His immediate plans for retirement include golfing and a trip to somewhere with warmer weather. After that, he's not sure.
"If the right thing comes about, I'd certainly consider going back into the world of work, but it won't be the chamber anymore," he said. "Or, I might just like doing whatever, playing golf. I can do that."
Contact Katy Macek at kmacek@thenorthwestern.com or 920-426-6658. Follow her on Twitter @KatherineMacek.
This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Oshkosh Corp., outlet mall, I-41 among retiring chamber CEO's feats
