Thoeming announces resignation as Downtown District program manager

Jesse Thoeming has announced his resignation as the program manager for the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance’s Downtown District, but he maintains his relationship with the organization he’s served since March 2018 has remained a positive one. “My time at the Economic Alliance has been without question the highlight of my professional career,” Mr Thoeming said. “I had a really rewarding career up until the point that I got this role five and a half years ago. But there's not enough superlatives out there to describe, not just my time and experience with this organization as an employee, but also as a member previously, and everything that it's done for the business community and the community at large for that matter for several years now.” Mr. Thoeming announced his resignation Sept. 27 at a meeting of the downtown Self-Supported Municipal Improvement District (SSMID) Commission. The resignation is effective Oct. 6. Mr. Thoeming, who has served in several local business roles and with a host of community groups since moving to Cedar Rapids in 2004, said he had been considering his Downtown District resignation for “a few weeks.” The move comes as Cedar Rapids leaders consider revamping the city’s overarching downtown vision plan, which could come before the city council in early November. “I just felt like the time was right to hand the baton off and get some new energy and some fresh ideas in here with a new roadmap,” Mr. Thoeming said. “I just felt the stars aligned and it was the right move for everybody involved.” Doug Neumann, executive director of the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, who headed the Downtown District before Mr. Thoeming’s arrival, offered effusive praise of Mr. Thoeming’s work with the district through several transformative events, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the August 2020 derecho. “Jesse Thoeming loves Cedar Rapids and especially downtown more than anyone I’ve ever met,” Mr. Neumann said. “Everywhere you look downtown, you can see his fingerprints on successes. We’re going to miss the hard work and dedication he poured into everything he touched, and we wish him well as he pursues some big dreams. We have posted the job opening and will look to replace him as soon as possible so we can keep our downtown team at full strength and continue the momentum Jesse has been such a big part of building.” Among his career achievements, Mr. Thoeming was named one of the Corridor Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40” honorees in 2019. Mr. Thoeming said he’s uncertain of his future career plans, noting that he and his wife enjoy traveling and may consider relocation as part of those aspirations. “There's been a couple of places that have really caught our eye over the years,” he said. “We went on this amazing vacation together just a couple of weeks ago to Greece celebrating 10 years of being together. The thought just kept coming up that if we're both fortunate enough to make it into our 80s and 90s, I don't want to look back with regret and say that I really loved moving to Cedar Rapids as a professional, making my mark here and never leaving. You never know. That’s certainly not guaranteed, but we're going to weigh everything out and make the best move on the chessboard.” For the near term, Mr. Thoeming said he’s focusing his attention on publishing his second novel, provocatively titled “God Bless You, Mr. Trump.” The book, in the works since 2017, is set several years in the future, but isn’t dystopian as most futuristic novels tend to be, he said. “It’s a tip of the hat to Kurt Vonnegut’s book, ‘God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater,’ which was one of my favorites,” Mr. Thoeming said. “It might sound politically charged and controversial in that respect, especially in this climate that we're living in. But really, it’s just the title that's provocative. It’s meant to be a positive meditation on the United States of America 25 to 30 years from now. I have a lot of high hopes that it has at least a modicum of success next summer.” Regarding future career plans, Mr. Thoeming said he’s considering a variety of options, including those outside the economic development realm. “This has certainly been more rewarding than anything else I've ever done,” he said. “I'm going to see if there's something out there that would be a good fit. On the other hand, too, it's really grinding work in that it's not a 40-hour week kind of job. So that's another thing I've considered, especially with the notion that I want to focus on the publication of my book. But if the right thing comes up, I probably would jump in, because I really have enjoyed the strong majority of the work that I've done during my time as the downtown guy for the Economic Alliance.”