Rich Kellum knows what it’s like to be a small business owner in Albany, Oregon. He’s worked in the Albany area for 38 years, been in business for 28 years and has owned a store in Albany since 1993.
And, he knows what it takes to add jobs to the local economy.
“We are losing heavy industrial jobs and replacing them with service jobs,” Rich says. “We should focus on getting the paper mill, Wah Chang, Selmet, National Foods kind of jobs – each one of those makes seven service jobs!
“Ask the question, ‘What product in your industry is needed, that someone can make, that you do not now make, that uses your product as a starter or base?’ The answer to that question is where those jobs are.”
Rich’s business experience helps him be proactive in his approach to dealing with fellow citizens and job creation.
“As long as we remain reactive instead of proactive to problems we will struggle,” Rich says. “If you want a base job creator, you must first have a place ready for that job creator to land, quickly, with little trouble. Lowe’s is not built yet and it has taken years to get this far – that is unacceptable in business.”
And, Rich knows how important communication is to getting work done.
“We can either decide to make sure that people know what is going on, or we can put up with them misunderstanding what the facts are. To that end, a regularly published list of issues with a timeline showing when actions are needed should be established and continually updated.”
This November, vote for Rich Kellum for Ward 3 and Think Differently!!