For 15 years, Jason Thieme has been involved in some form or fashion with the YMCA. At one time a program director, a membership director and a health and wellness director, Thieme now finds himself as the branch executive for the Kewanee YMCA.

“I’ve pretty much done a little bit of everything over the years,” he said.

But it was future possibilities for the local organization that drew him to Kewanee. A colleague of his recruited him, luring him to town with a unique opportunity.

“He knew this opportunity was coming and he thought it would be a good fit,” Thieme said. “There’s a level of potential here that was very intriguing.”

The idea has been around for awhile, he said, lurking under the surface, but Thieme has been given the chance to make it a reality. The goal is to build a brand new YMCA facility, an opportunity, Thieme said, that will allow him to lay his stamp upon the community.

Moving to a new town and making such big plans hasn’t proved to be difficult for Thieme. He grew up in a town just a little larger than Kewanee and residents here have been accommodating.

“Everyone here has been really welcoming and excited by the fresh prospects. Everyone I have been talking to has been very supportive,” he said.

Since he first started his job on Jan. 2 of this year, there have been some changes. The Kewanee YMCA recently merged with Two Rivers YMCA in Moline. The two organizations have been collaborating on different services, and the partnership has proved beneficial.

“It’s a means to lift one organization up to the level of the other,” the branch executive said.

In addition to the merger, the membership base at the YMCA in Kewanee is higher now than it’s been in the last five years.

“Our program participation has been exceedingly high,” he said, especially the swim lessons, youth sports, and tumbling. “The activity level is incredible and on the upswing.”

The current YMCA facility was built in 1931-32 by architect Chester H. Walcott and is, according to a Star Courier article by Dave Clarke, the fourth location for the YMCA since it received its charter in 1888. The facility’s systems are antiquated and have been patched together for decades.

The task of building a new YMCA to accommodate the community is a giant undertaking, but Thieme appears to be up to it. How much capital will need to be raised has yet to be determined, but the price tag will be in the millions, he said. There is no location in mind for the new facility yet, but Thieme said that ideally, it will be in town.

”We would want to keep it in a central location, inside the downtown city area,” he said.

As far as what the building will look like, a 3-D rendition is in the works that will be unveiled sometime later this summer.

“It will be more accommodating to the needs of the community, more accessible to what the needs of the community are and what will accommodate them.”

He would like to see the new facility include a competitive pool, child care services and updated athletic facilities, and said the YMCA will be partnering with other local agencies to formulate some ideas.

“We want to be a reflection of the community’s needs,” said Thieme.

Strategic planning is underway, and once that’s accomplished, Thieme said a building will be on the horizon.

A leadership forum is scheduled for the month of April at the Stables. Community leaders will be invited and the new YMCA facility will be a topic that will be sure to come up, he said.

“Our goal right now is three to five years out. That’s fast. That moves quickly,” said Thieme. “It’s a pretty aggressive plan.”