Herzlich Willkommen

 12/31/2021

This past year was a challenge for us all, but not as difficult as compared to 2020.  The pandemic still impacted us for the first 5 months of the year and now again seems to be taking an unwanted turn with the latest variant.  We have been able to successfully navigate through this unprecedented time with your help.  

This coming year I know will be better and easier.  This past year was a learning process for myself and other board members, new to their roles.  We began and will continue to document what we do, how we do it and when we do it to provide a guide to future boards to follow.   We will continue to look at ways to allow everyone to get back together, safely.  Stay tuned to our newsletter, social media news reports and our website as we announce our up-coming events in 2022.  

Here is a recap of 2021

Our board was eager to get things moving and we could not wait to see you all in person.  We spent a lot of time working hard to get organized, coordinated and procedures/policies in place to allow us to open, and keep our people and guests safe!  We tried new things this year to allow us to bring in some funds in addition to our festivals and usual functions.

In January, we decided and agreed to purchase an additional 3 acres of land behind the Reuther Soccer field.  We also had discussions about selling memorial pavers at the Virgin Mary monument.

In February and March we held our first event in over a year!  It was the annual fish dinner fund raisers.  Due to the pandemic, we chose to make this a take-out only event.  We had a customer and volunteer friendly setup.  The event, for our first of this kind, was a great success.  Thanks to the groups, the kitchen and all the helpers for making this run so smoothly.

Our other events were:

April: 

• Spring cleaning.  The Spring cleaning was inside and outside of the club.  This helps get the club ready for the up-coming year.  
• Beer & Brats Night.  This event was dine-in and take-out.  We took reservations for the dine-in, which had socially distanced seating, and we did not turn tables.

May:

• Vienna Night.  This event is one  of our more traditional events.  It was different than our previous years due to the restrictions, but we had live music and a performance.  We had a video and picture Vienna night organized by the Halls and youth group.  It included past performances from the groups over many years.  It really was an outstanding video with the Youth Group coming out at the end to sing Edelweiss.  I recommend taking a look.
• Memorial Day Weekend Soccer Tournament.  We hosted the Donauschwaben Soccer Tournament.  We had teams from the German Clubs throughout America.  It was a great weekend of soccer.  The comradery of the players, coaches, fans and referees was really amazing.  

June:

• We held our Old European Days & Kirchweih festival.  This was our first major festival in a year and a half.  It was a huge success.
  • We changed our setup: added more seating, wash stations and a new band, Schnickelfritz
  • We re-dedicated the Virgin Mary monument after the Kirchweih mass.  We paid tribute to the Rickerts and thanked Frank Ganz & Mike Petzger for rebuilding the monument.  

July 31st -August 1st:

• We hosted the Meindl-Leisner Soccer tournament with 19 teams & 2 ladies exhibition teams.  This was the largest they have ever had.  This was the first ladies teams to play too, at least in a really long time.  It was another great weekend of soccer.

August: We held our family picnic for all.  We didn't have the largest turnout, but those that came enjoyed themselves.  The activities for the kids was a big hit!

September:

• On labor day weekend:  we participated in the Landestreffen in Cleveland.  This was my first time as president attending the various meetings.  It was a great event and good to see all the people from around the country wanting to come out and see one another, while passing along their heritage, and traditions.
• Betty Leipold was recognized with the Culture Award presented by the Verband/Stifftung of the North American.  This honors someone for their dedication to helping pass along the traditions and heritage of the Donauschwabens.
• Oktoberfest.  Wow, what a great crowd we had.  We set another record.  We continued with a modified setup we used in June, moved Ernst Licht to a new location, added more tables & chairs, and limited entrance based upon parking.

October:  German Day and our Ladies 60th and Club's 65th anniversary.  It was a nice evening honoring your contributions to our country, the anniversaries, and service of our membership to the board.

November:

• Traubenfest.  This was a fun evening, allowing all to taste various wines, eat the wonderful food prepared by the volunteers and participate in the tradition of stealing items hung from the ceiling over the dance floor.  
• Christmas Craft bazaar.  Our first in-person bazaar.  We had lots of different vendors and great participation from the community.  We not only had paid booth participants, but the club sold:  crafts, drinks, Gluhwein and food (Sarma & Sausage).  It was a success and we received a lot of positive feedback from all our vendors.  Thank you to the organizers of this event to make it all possible.

December:

• Board Christmas Gathering.  The club's way to thank you to the board for their time during the year.
• Children's Christmas Program.  The Children and Middle Group did a fantastic job, again, this year with their programs.  It was great to see all the participation and we had a surprise visit from Santa Claus too!

I would like to thank you and your family for continuing to make the German Family Society a priority in your lives and your children's lives.  The comradery, friendships, and teaching we provide cannot be found anywhere else and last a lifetime; just look around.  The dances we teach, the songs we sing, the traditions we share and the enjoyment we provide really make the GFS special.  Our organization cannot survive without your help.  Keeping our children active will only help to strengthen us for the long term.

I would like to say a special thank you to Fred Leipold who is stepping down from the board with over 30 years of service.  Fred is here, probably from Betty's pushing, but is always willing to help out in any manner he can.  He plays accordion for us and the groups, whenever needed.  He plays for our sing alongs and helps with the grounds crew every week.  In addition, I would like to thank Rudy Stagl who is stepping down from the board after 20 years of service this year too.  Rudy has held many positions here on the board including VP, President and lastly House Manager.  Thank you Rudy for your dedication to the club and helping me transition into President this year.

I wanted to thank Angie Charles and Carolyn Langenfeld for their help with the anniversary booklet, along with the groups and people that wrote articles for the book we put together.  Without your help this would not have been possible.  I would also like to thank Carolyn for her assistance this year as I took on this new role.

Lastly, I would like to thank the board and the GFS members who assisted us throughout this past year, helping to keep our club in repair and volunteer at our functions and festivals.  Your hard work helped to save us a lot of money and make money at our festivals.  It is your assistance that allows us to continue.

Thank you!

Awald Langenfeld,

President