Old Town Cape exec takes Illinois job

Old Town Cape executive director Catherine Dunlap will resign on Aug. 25 to take a new job heading up the Main Street downtown redevelopment effort in Bloomington, Ill.

Dunlap is to begin as executive director of Uniquely Bloomington on Sept. 1.

Uniquely Bloomington is a newly formed organization that is applying to be part of the Main Street program in Illinois. Bloomington is a city of about 60,000 people.

"I will miss Old Town Cape and Cape Girardeau, but this is an excellent opportunity for me," she said Tuesday.

Dr. Steven Hoffman, president of the not-for-profit Old Town Cape redevelopment organization, said he and other volunteers will handle the day-to-day operations of the organization until a new director can be hired.

The Old Town Cape board of directors is conducting a national search for a new director. The application deadline is Sept. 10 and the board hopes to have a new director hired by December.

Dunlap has served as the first director of Old Town Cape since November 2000. The organization's goal is to help promote and redevelop Cape Girardeau's downtown.