What we EARN: Keeping up with the Jones', et al.

A cross-section of Tri-State salaries shows how others fare

How much do you make? It's not a topic easily broached in conversation - even among family members or close friends. For many, the numbers printed on the paychecks passed out every week are the most closely guarded secrets of the workplace.

But, deep down, we still want to know. We want to compare what we're making to how much our co-workers - and our bosses - earn.

Near the top of Evansville's salary scale are executives such as Niel Ellerbrook, who as chairman, president and chief executive of Vectren Corp. made $1.38 million in salary and bonuses last year.

But even Ellerbrook is out-paced by Jasper, Ind., native Scott Rolen, who will make more than $12 million this year as a St. Louis Cardinal. Rolen even admits, "It's a lot of money, no matter what."

At the other end of the pay scale are people like Stephanie Parra, an assistant manager at the Cross-Eyed Cricket, who makes $3.15 an hour plus tips.

Parra's pay largely depends on how customers rate her service. She estimates she makes $250 to $300 a week, for an annual pay of $13,000 to $15,600.

"It really varies from week to week," Parra said. "Right now, it's a hard time for us because people are outside and aren't coming in to eat."

So, Evansville, here's how we're doing, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

- The average annual salary for workers in the Evansville metro area was $33,110 last year. Nationally, it was $37,870.

- The highest paid occupations in Evansville last year were physicians and surgeons. The 170 people classified in this category made an average of $177,870 in 2005.

- Only four other occupations out of the area's 440 different job classifications averaged at least $100,000 in annual pay. They were dentists ($157,560), internists ($154,480), family and general practitioners ($137,630) and chief executives ($132,880).

- The area's lowest paid occupations were dining room attendants and bartender helpers, who made an average of $13,310 last year. Other food service occupations dominate the low end of the pay scale.

- Wages in Evansville are rising, but slowly. Correcting for inflation, the average worker made $530 more in 2005 than in 2001, an increase of 1.6 percent in five years.

Of course, the picture is different in among occupations and industries.

Nonprofit organizations provide a wide range of salaries - from part-time jobs for a few bucks an hour to high-profile jobs such as university president, which can top $200,000 a year, plus benefits.

The law requires nonprofits to release salary information on tax forms for positions that pay more than $50,000 per year; most such organizations do not have anyone making that much.

Jeffrey Gruszewski, managing director of Tales & Scales, a national touring musical storytelling troupe based in Evansville, said he puts in 60-hour weeks for $30,109, plus a couple of thousand dollars in health benefits. He said the work is "crazy" but worth it.

"It's a great thing," Gruszewski said. "What could be better than bringing music and performing arts for kids?"

It took Ann Ennis, now the executive director of Keep Evansville Beautiful, eight years to work up to $12 an hour as the group's program director. Now, she makes about $45,000 - with no benefits - a salary similar to what she made while leading Habitat for Humanity.

At the top end of the nonprofit spectrum is University of Evansville President Stephen Jennings, who earned $247,288 in salary, according to tax forms for the 2004-2005 school year. University trustees say Jennings' compensation is less than the national median for top university administrators.

Jennings' counterpart at the University of Southern Indiana, President Ray Hoops, was paid $190,000, plus benefits equal to about 25 percent of his salary last academic year.

Martin Rowland, president of Junior Achievement of Southwestern Indiana, said high salaries for nonprofit work are often justified, due to years of experience or expertise.

"You can't carry out a program without people," he said.

Rowland said his own salary depends upon fundraising and performance. He was paid just less than $50,000 in 2004, but was up to $60,000 in 2006. Rowland retired from Boy Scouts of America in 1997.

"We do attract and employ highly qualified people," Rowland said. "Their main motivation is helping kids. They're attracted by our mission. There's only two reasons you have not- for-profits: One is to change lives, and one is to build stronger communities."

In professional sports, the disparities can be wide. Jeff Goldbach of Princeton, Ind., learned that in a matter of months.

When the Chicago Cubs drafted him in the second round of the June 1998 draft, he received a signing bonus of $450,000. Soon afterward, as a player on the Cubs' rookie team in Arizona, he earned $800 a month.

"It's barely enough to get you through the summer," Goldbach said.

Goldbach, now a designated hitter for the Evansville Otters, makes $1,200 a month, the most any Frontier League team can pay a player, said Otters general manager Steve Tahsler.

"Almost everybody that plays either works in the off-season or goes to school," Goldbach said.

In St. Louis, Jasper native Scott Rolen, a six-time Gold Glove winner and a four-time all-star, is in the fourth year of an eight-year, $90 million dollar contract with the Cardinals. Rolen, drafted in 1993 by Philadelphia, signed his first big contract in 1998, a four-year, $10 million extension.

"That was the first time, really, it caught up, and I thought, 'Whoa, that's pretty good, too,'" Rolen said.

But Rolen felt the other side of that big money in 2002 when his reluctance to sign a contract in the middle of the season brought the wrath of Phillies fans and led to his eventual trade to the Cardinals.

"In Philadelphia, I get run out of town for money," Rolen said, later adding, "It's a lot of money, no matter what. In baseball, you're in a world of your own. If you're a $9 million worth, a $2 million contract isn't going to cut it."

Rolen's $12.5 million salary for 2006 isn't even among the top 25 in Major League Baseball, and it's second on the Cardinals' roster to Albert Pujols, who received $14 million this season.

In the National Football League, a hard salary cap keeps downward pressure on salaries.

Miami Dolphins safety Deke Cooper, a North High School graduate, recently signed a deal for $585,000. But football also has several minor leagues, including United Indoor Football.

Evansville BlueCats players work under much different circumstances than Cooper. Of 30 players on the roster, five don't get paid at all. Four get $50 a week. The 21 players who make the game day lineup get $200, plus a $25 bonus for a win.

"That's a league rule," general manager Don Hess said.

Salaries for Evansville's college and high school coaches fall between the minor and major league pay levels.

Steve Merfeld, the University of Evansville mens' basketball coach makes $179,135 in base salary. Pay at Division I schools, like UE, is generally higher than other levels because of increased television exposure.

Division II schools, such as the University of Southern Indiana, don't have that luxury.

"We have strict budget restraints, and we can't go throw a lot of salary dollars at individuals just for the sake of doing it," USI Athletic Director Jon Mark Hall said.

USI men's basketball coach Rick Herdes, with a $65,060 base salary, is the school's highest-paid coach, in part because of his 13 years of experience with the school and his 129-34 record as a head coach. Because basketball is USI's top revenue sport, Herdes also has many fundraising responsibilities.

"He's the key point person in making those things happen," Hall said.

For high school coaches within the Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corp., salaries depend much on experience.

Will Wyman, Harrison High School boys' basketball coach, has been a teacher for 16 years and has a master's degree, two important factors in his $58,130 salary. That includes a $6,544 stipend for coaching basketball, which was closer to $8,000 in the 1990s.

"With high school coaching, you're not going to make a whole lot of money coaching anyway," Wyman said. "You're not going to go hungry. You know you're not going to get rich, either."