Meet Chris
Chris Thieneman was born and raised in Southwestern Jefferson County. Louisville has always been his home. Growing up, Chris did not have to look far to find a hero; he wanted to be just like his Dad. Whether it was tossing the football in the backyard or visiting construction sites, Chris has modeled his life from the lessons he learned from his best friend and hero, his dad Tom.
At the age of 10, Chris’ dad took him to Super Bowl X to watch their beloved Dallas Cowboys. Even at a young age, and being one of five children, Chris knew that hard work and determination would get results. On media day, Chris knew he wanted to get the autograph of every single Cowboy, and set out to do just that. At the end of a long day, with his autograph book in hand, Chris told legendary Cowboy coach Tom Landry that he would one day play for the coach. Coach Landry told him to work hard and Chris took that to heart.
Chris went on to graduate from Bishop David High School. He was a member of the National Honor Society and an All-State football player. During his senior year, Chris had a decision to make. His football talents had gotten the attention of some major college football coaches. But Chris knew he loved Louisville. After much consideration, Chris decided to use his homegrown talent at the University of Louisville. While at U of L, Chris earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management, with hopes of one day taking over the family business. For his accomplishments on the football field, the Associated Press selected him as a football All-American.
In 1988, Chris’ dream came true, he signed with the Dallas Cowboys. Just in time, it was Coach Landry’s last year before retirement. Chris played professional football for six years, ending his career in the Canadian Football League.
Having prepared for life after football for some time, Chris began working with the family real estate business. Chris obtained a real estate license to better serve the company. In the coming years, Chris took over operation of the family business from his father, and established his own development company. Some of Chris’ developments are Smyrna Crossings Subdivision, Valley Station Town Center I and II, Sun Valley Medical Center, and the Champions Trace Business Center.
Chris is a small business owner. He knows what it takes to have a vision and have the courage and ambition to make that vision a success. He meets a payroll every month, and he knows the importance of making and keeping a balanced budget.
Chris was a partner in the Louisville Fire organization, a semi-professional football team that played in the Arena Football League 2. Under his leadership and guidance, the Fire played in the 2005 Arena Cup.
Chris admired his dad for founding the Pleasure Valley Lion’s Club. The Thieneman family has been blessed by the city of Louisville, and Chris’ parents instilled a desire in him to give back to the community.
In 1996, Chris co-founded the Derby-eve event, The Mint Jubilee. Chris was told the event would not raise a dime, so he set his sights on making the event a stellar success. Since its inceptions, the Mint Jubilee has raised over $1 Million for cancer research at the James Graham Brown Cancer Center.
Following the Arena Cup in 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of the gulf coast. In an effort to do something to help, Chris co-founded The Joseph Project. The Joseph Project was intended to give displaced families an opportunity to relocate and build their lives here in Louisville. So Chris chartered an airplane, and flew to Shreveport, LA. The arena that in weeks previous held the Arena Cup was now a shelter for thousands of displaced families. Over the course of a few days, families were selected and the group was flown back to Louisville. Through Chris’ efforts, more than 20 families found a home in Louisville. Several families are still in the community, and one young man displaced by Hurricane Katrina recently graduated from the University of Louisville.
In the professional world, Chris is member of the Young Professionals Association of Louisville, Louisville Home Builders Association, and Louisville Apartment Association, Kentucky Manufactured Housing Institute, and former Self Storage Association Southeast Regional Board Member.
In 2007, Chris founded the “Support the Library, Not the Tax” campaign. It was a grassroots effort that saved the taxpayers of Jefferson County millions of dollars a year that would have otherwise been a blank check for the mayor’s office. Chris understands and supports a comprehensive effort to rejuvenate our library system; but giving the mayor’s office a blank check at the taxpayer’s expense was not and is not the solution.
Chris also stood up for the people of Louisville with the “middle of the night” sale of the Southfields Police Training Facility. The mayor’s office and the metro councilman in the district of the training facility orchestrated a plan to sale the facility for significantly less than the property was worth. Chris stood up against the system and in the end, made the city $250,000 more than what was intended on the original sale of the property. And Chris never even got a thank you note from the mayor’s office.
Most recently, Chris exposed Mayor Abramson’s sketchy deal with The Cordish Group, a Baltimore based development group. While some candidates running for signed confidentiality agreements and voted in favor of it, all the while admitting that they were concerned about the details of the ordinance, Chris sought the truth.
The mayor gave millions of dollars in the form of a grant to this company to do minimum remodeling at a downtown social locale. Chris set out, at his own expense and on behalf of the people of Louisville, to bring transparency to this deal. Once the deal was exposed, people in the community realized Chris was on their side. It was with this support and urging that Chris decided to run for mayor.
Outside of Chris’ civic and professional accomplishments, the greatest blessings in his life are his two beautiful daughters, Camryn and Sydney. According to his former wife, whom he shares equal custody with, she says “I think a lot of people don’t know what to expect of him as a father, but he’s a great dad.” She goes on, “The funny thing is that he was this big, strong, athletic football player, and having these girls just brought him to his knees.” In their time together, Chris and the girls enjoy going to the movies, playing games, and spending time skiing at Paoli Peaks.
