Nearly 1,000 of Des Moines’ most powerful and influential citizens will gather Thursday night at the Polk County Convention Complex to both celebrate past success and hear a call to work harder still for the coming years.

Leading the cheering at the Greater Des Moines Partnership’s annual dinner will be Suku Radia, the Meredith Corp. chief financial officer who is stepping down from his one-year term as chairman of the economic development group. Issuing the challenge will be his successor, Des Moines attorney Steven Zumbach.

“This community has accomplished a stunning achievement,” Zumbach said. “There are also a lot of things that need to be done.”

Zumbach, 53, is taking the Partnership’s reins at a delicate time. There is little argument that the group’s first three years, under former President Mike Blouin and past chairmen Teresa Wahlert, John Forsyth and Radia, has been a success. The fruits of their labors can be seen in the construction work that abounds in downtown Des Moines.

Central Iowa’s ability to speak as one voice when it comes to economic development, particularly to politicians, has landed it a disproportionately large number of development projects, including the Iowa Events Center, the new Science Center of Iowa, the Principal Riverwalk and the new Des Moines Public Library.

Over the past three years, Greater Des Moines has attracted 27 new businesses and 60 business expansions that have led to $608.4 million in capital improvements. More than 4,653 jobs have either been created or retained as a result, according to a recent newsletter from Radia.

Now, however, it falls on Zumbach and Wahlert, who has returned to the Partnership to serve as its president, to map out what comes next for Central Iowa. Area executives said Zumbach is bringing his skills to the organization at the perfect time.

“Steve is not the sort of individual who will grab on to what’s already been done,” said Steven Chapman, president and chief executive of ITA Group and one of the Partnership’s founders. “He’s a very deep thinker. He has the education and the experience to decide whether what’s being done is right and what more we can be doing.”

Zumbach, a senior partner at one of Iowa’s most prestigious law firms, Belin Lamson McCormick Zumbach Flynn, brings unique skills, a history of community service and a deep bench of contacts to the Partnership.     In addition to being an attorney, he is a certified public accountant and has a Ph.D. in economics from Iowa State University.

His focus, he said, will be threefold. First, he wants to make sure that the Partnership doesn’t stop the work it has been doing to attract new companies and jobs to Central Iowa.

Second, he plans to begin a $17 million fund-raising campaign by asking for the Partnership’s original sponsors to open their wallets once more, as well as finding new contributors.

Lastly, he wants a road map created that will take the Partnership into 2009. Other issues include the possible consolidation of the governments of Des Moines and Polk County, Radia said.

Planning for at least part of the Partnership’s future has already begun.

Six task forces have been created to study various aspects of development in Central Iowa, including workforce development, quality-of-life issues, infrastructure, health care, human services and public finance.

“Steve understands business in this community,” Radia said. “He’s bright and articulate and he’s a can-do individual.”

Zumbach acknowledges he’ll face challenges, which could include fund raising and the economy. The Partnership’s past accomplishments should help in winning new donation pledges, he said.

The Partnership is likely to get a strong boost from two sources. The first is from Blouin, who spent three years as the group’s president and is now stepping up to become director of the Iowa Department of Economic Development. Second, Gov. Tom Vilsack has designated Iowa’s economy as his chief focus during his second four-year term.

“Success is infectious,” Zumbach said. “Let’s do it again, only this time let’s do it bigger and better than before.”

Zumbach’s resume, particularly his list of community involvement, stretches for pages.

Among the highlights, he is the co-chair of the fundraising committee for the new Science Center. He serves on Iowa State University’s board of governors. He is a past chair of the Greater Des Moines Chamber of Commerce Federation and a past president of the Iowa Pork Alliance. He has twice in the last 15 years been part of the presidential search committee for Iowa State University.

In addition to community service, he is a prolific author of professional papers on topics ranging from tax and estate planning to corporate strategy.

“Steve is liked and well respected,” Chapman said. “He’s a tireless worker.”