Do you ever think about telling someone thank you and then forget to do so? Perhaps you intend to write a note of thanks but then get busy with life and you later think the moment has passed.

I’ve been reflecting on this often lately as I recently celebrated my 10-year anniversary as a member of the Greater Des Moines Partnership team in various roles, including nearly two years as president and CEO. I’ve been thinking about where I am, how I got here and who helped me along the way.

I am filled with gratitude. Gratitude for the opportunity to serve this organization and our Greater Des Moines region. Gratitude for wonderful investors, affiliates, members, board members and team. Gratitude for those who have helped guide and support me and our organization for many years.

It’s inspiring to think about how far our region has come over the last several decades, and I am thankful to have had a front row seat to see game-changing projects, large and small, advance to help ensure Greater Des Moines is among the best places in the country to live, work and do business.

A little over a decade ago, we published a book commemorating our organization’s 125th anniversary dating back to our founding as the Des Moines Chamber of Commerce Federation in 1888. That book was appropriately named “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants,” and detailed big-ticket projects that shaped our community and the people who drove progress on these projects.

Over the last 10 years, we have collectively added more projects to this list.

The Iowa Confluence (ICON) Water Trails project is now making headlines on a seemingly weekly basis. Before it got to this point, it was an idea with a vision. It took multiple organizations and leaders who believed in the potential of the project to work together to lay the groundwork and inspire others to take action, and it took support from public, private and nonprofit partners to buy into the vision.

The Lauridsen Skatepark was an idea that community members had been hoping for since the early 2000s, and this project is an example of persistence. Nobody gave up on the idea. When the right people came together at the right time to build the skatepark at the right location – it happened. We now have the largest skatepark in the country that serves people of all ages and has hosted signature events like the Dew Tour and an Olympic qualifying event, right here in Greater Des Moines – and our entire region benefits from the tourism and economic impact it creates.

The Des Moines International Airport’s new terminal project is more than a decade in the making. Once complete, the airport will be positioned for additional growth in the future and provide a best-in-class experience for locals and visitors. The airport project also helps further position our region for economic growth and additional tourism.

These are a few of the many major projects the Partnership has contributed to and worked on, and there are so many more that also demonstrate the success and impact our team has had working with investors, affiliates, members and stakeholders. I love to show impact through results, so here are some key numbers:

• Our regional footprint has grown to 12 counties and more than 400 investors, more than 6,700 affiliate chamber members – making us the third-largest regional chamber in the country – and we’re still growing!
• We have worked with local, regional and state partners to complete more than 300 economic development projects since the beginning of 2015.
• We have hosted thousands of college students at the DSM Intern Connection, including a record 374 at the kickoff for 2025 a few weeks ago.
• To further strengthen the region’s talent pipeline, we worked with Principal Charity Classic and Sammons Financial Group to launch The Legacy Project: Career Ready Collective in 2024 for high school students, and we have more than doubled registration in 2025 with more than 265 registrants.
• Year after year, we have one of the nation’s largest fly-ins to D.C., with at least 170 leaders advocating for our region with one voice on our DMDC trip.
• The Spark DSM Business Incubator that we created in 2022 has helped more than 100 small businesses sell their products and connect with customers at Partnership-produced major events.
• We have hosted more than 260 Saturdays of the Downtown Farmers’ Market over the past 10 years, drawing millions of people to support local vendors. And this year, we are celebrating the 50th season of the market, and a footprint that is larger than ever before due to the growing number of vendors and attendees.
• Nearly 500 people have become U.S. citizens during the naturalization ceremonies since 2018 at the World Food & Music Festival that is produced by the Partnership.
• More than 300 people from throughout the region attended the inaugural Regional Summit. Make sure to save the date for Sept. 17 for this year’s Summit.
• The Partnership has been a partner on Capital Crossroads, which has had several iterations as the region’s vision plan for the Greater Des Moines region and has celebrated hundreds of successes.
• More than 8,000 people contributed to the Downtown DSM: Future Forward Vision Plan & Action Plan that helped shape the most inclusive, comprehensive plan in downtown’s history.

None of this would have happened if not for public, private and nonprofit leaders from around the region stepping up and working collaboratively, and my colleagues (past and present) at Team Partnership working to support and activate upon the needs of Greater Des Moines.

I have learned a lot through my journey so far. One of the most important lessons I’ve been reminded of recently is to tell people you appreciate them when you think of it. Don’t wait. Take every opportunity to share your gratitude with those around you.

With that, I want to thank you again. Thank you to all who give their time and talent and invest in the future of our region. I am grateful to have worked with so many dedicated teammates and community leaders over my last 10 years at the Partnership. We’ve accomplished so much together already, and I can’t wait to see all we accomplish in the years to come.