Grußworte der Präsidenten
President’s Message
I hope that your summer has brought some interesting happenings or travel your way, and you are enjoying the season. For your Sister City Board, there was no summer off!
And we know that our counterparts in Paderborn, Otmar Allendorf and Bernd Broer, have also stayed active with organization plans.
Many friendships have been made over the years, so there are often private visits between Paderborner’s and Belleville area members taking place. This year was no exception.
V. President Ron Fritz and Theresa attended the National Convention in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in July, and returned home with enthusiasm for what Sister Cities mean to the promotion of peace and friendship throughout the world. He will share some of his new insight with us at the August meeting.
The youth Exchange program was completed in July, and we have heard only enthusiastic reports from the host families. The personalities of the 14 Paderborn youths who visited here were great. If you attend our August 16th quarterly membership meeting you will have the opportunity to hear from some of the youths and parents who hosted.
There is a report in this edition by the Youth Chairmen Katie McDowell and Doris Roach.
We always hope that the parents of these youths become active members of our organization to insure that the opportunity for future youth’s exchanges will always be possible. Ideas from new members and bring renewed strength to our SCI. It is our dream that youths involved in the exchanges, and any youth interested in German culture, form an organization that meets on a scheduled time to share experiences, and form friendships with a common bond.
An appreciation gift from Paderborn DAFK was presented to members who worked on the Youth Ex-change in the form of a beautiful, delicate, bronze peacock, made by noted artist Bernd Cassal. Beautiful thanks.
Three Paderborn youths will be staying with host families for three months at the local high schools. Two teachers from O’Fallon High, Patrick Hasenstab and Al Elfink made an exchange visit to Paderborn in June, hosted by the Paderborn teachers who were in O’Fallon last year. This is another important link in our understanding of our German culture.
We are looking forward with great anticipation to a visit from a twelve member delegation of Paderborn adults who will be here October 12th to 16th. You are invited to join the guests and hosts for a dinner and entertainment at Chicken’s Restaurant in St. Libory on Monday evening, October 15th at 6 p.m. Please come to mingle with and get to know our guests. Each of you, are an important link in achieving the aim of our Sister City relationship, by bonding one individual at a time. The cost for the evening is $12.95, which includes dinner, drink, dessert, tax and tip. Please reach for your calendar and mark the date now. Ruth Fritz is chair-man of the visit.
If you have a new e-mail address, it is important that you let us know. It is a quick, easy, inexpensive way to send you reminders for events. I know that it is easy to forget something three months after notice.
A nominating committee will be seeking candidates for officers to be elected at the November board meeting. Now is the time for you to think about becoming active on the board by offering to run for office, help with the news letter, making a float, etc. Our nominating committee is Herm Schoener, Jim Sheridan and Paul Reis. Indicate your interest to them.
Our two big fund raising events take place in September and October. The Oktoberfest on September 21 and 22 takes lots of help to man the food and beer stands, so we look for every able bodied person to offer a couple hours work. We want you to support and attend the October 7th Taste of Germany dinner at Fischer’s. Everyone can help by securing an ad for our program booklet at $30, $55 or $100. These fund raisers are necessary because they fund the $8,000 yearly cost of the youth exchange program.
Our Stammtisch Chairmen Steve and Hilda Koluch have generously presented a lucky winner with a bottle of German wine at each monthly event, an added bonus to meeting with friends. The summer Stammtisches were held at Roemertof’s and Chicken’s, both well attended.
No Stammtisch in September because of Octoberfest, but join us at ………..in October. We look for-ward to seeing you at the October l6th for the dinner and the meeting at 7 p.m. Join us at 5:30 p.m.
Norma Bergkoetter, President
News from Paderborn
Dear Friends in Belleville and Around
The Paderborn youth group who stayed in Belleville and around from June 21st thru July 7th has returned home with wonderful experiences of hospitality. On behalf of the board of the German-American Friendship Society Paderborn-Belleville (DAFK) we are grateful to everybody involved in this program, especially to the host families, Mayor Eckert who received them in his office and at his family’s home, BSC’s board and the chaperones Doris Roach and Katie McDowell. The group also had a trip to Southern Illinois where they had a great canoeing experience at the Cache River (see picture). We are looking forward to having the Belleville group here next year.
In June we had the pleasure of hosting three teachers of O’Fallon High School. They answered a teacher exchange that started last year with three teachers from the Paderborn Goerdeler Gymnasium who stayed there.
It won’t be long and a delegation of DAFK (12 people) will be in Belleville. We’ll arrive on October 12th and will stay thru 16th. Norma is active in organizing a program. The County Board Chairman of Paderborn, Landrat Manfed Mueller, is looking forward to his first stay in the US and Belleville and meeting with both the County Board Chairman Mark Kern and Mayor Eckert and the members of BSC. The DAFK is planning a three day tour to Dresden in August (there is an English version). 41 people will go and see a city that can be proud of it’s treasures of art and the rebuilt Frauenkirche.
Only a month ago we had a DAFK-group going to Kalkriese, a place where – as is assumed – the Romans were defeated in 9 A.D. by Cheruscans led by Herman.
On July 5th, 2007 a new museum dedicated to the emigrants mostly to the US was opened in Ham-burg. Here is a description from their homepage http://www.ballinstadt.de/en/index.php “Between 1850 and 1939, Hamburg served as the “Gateway to the World” for some 5 million European emigrants who left their homeland via the city’s port in search of a better life across the Atlantic. These people, many of whom were fleeing from political and religious persecution or simply wanted to escape a life of poverty and hunger, sought a new beginning, a better livelihood and the opportunity to make a fresh start in the “land of plenty”. And they all had high hopes of a better life. The BallinStadt (BallinCity) Museum is dedicated to these people. “
We are looking forward to having here a group from Belleville and around next year.
Sincerely,
Bernd Broer
President
Dr. Otmar Allendorf
Secretary