GAHS
Junifest fund raiser patio dinner enjoyed by 60 members and
guests
Huntleigh,
MO
– It was a perfect June patio dinner party for 60 German
American Heritage Society (GAHS) members and guests on
Saturday, June 13 at the lovely home of GAHS Vice President of
Events, Isabelle Coovert.
Assisting Coovert with the event, was a
multi-talented ”crew” of GAHS volunteers: GAHS Board
Secretary, Barbara Nahlik; GAHS Vice President of Membership,
Roy Leimberg; Harrison Billy; Gary & Traude Wilson; Terry
& Jeanne Carmack (assisted by their granddaughter
Madelaine
and her friend Audrey); Michael Orzell, Tom George; Ilona
Wilken; and new members James & Jessica Martin. The crew
prepared and served an evening of hors d’ oeuvres,
beverages, a sumptuous buffet dinner and a homemade apple
crisp dessert topped with ice cream.
The evening’s entertainment was provided by
accomplished accordionists, GAHS Vice President – Legal
Affairs, Hermann Eisele; Joe Hoffmann; and Michael Orzell, who
each performed solo as well as a group. Eisele also led the
attending GAHS members in traditional German songs.
The annual Junifest fund raiser patio dinner helps
support the organization’s many grants, including several
German student studies abroad though area colleges and
universities.
for
photos by Janet Krekeler...
for
more photos by Janet Krekeler...
GAHS
Maifest held at Grant's Farm
GAHS Maifest was held on a beautiful sunny day at Grant's
Farm.
Virg & Marti Mueller with grandson Joey
Virg, Brad, Ashlyn, Paige, Marti Mueller
Travis, Cathy & Joey Hoffmann
Dr.
Uwe Siemon-Netto honored by The German American Heritage
Society of St. Louis
St. Louis, MO - The German American Heritage Society (GAHS) of St.
Louis honored Dr. Uwe Siemon-Netto (right) with its Friedrich
Hecker Freedom Award on March 7, 2009 at the organization’s
19th Annual Founders Banquet. The black-tie
event is held each year at the historic Racquet Club-St.
Louis. The award is named for an 1848 German revolution
leader, who immigrated to America
and later fought in the Civil War as a Union officer. It is
presented each year to an outstanding individual who has
worked for the promulgation of cooperation and understanding
between
Germany
and the United States.
The award was presented by GAHS President, Lansing Hecker
(left).
Dr. Siemon-Netto is
the director of the Center for Lutheran Theology and Public
Life (CLTPL) at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. He is also a regular contributor to leading English and
German-language publications, notably The
Atlantic Times.
Dr. Siemon-Netto, born in 1936 and a native of Leipzig, has
been an international journalist for 52 years, covering the
construction of the Berlin Wall for The Associated Press, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassination of
President John F. Kennedy, the Civil Rights Movement, the
Vietnam War (five years), and the Six-Day War in the Middle
East in 1967 for the Springer
Foreign News Service of Hamburg, Germany.
He then became Stern
magazine’s North American correspondent and subsequently
managing editor Hamburger Morgenpost, a daily newspaper. Before joining Concordia
Seminary in 2005, Dr. Siemon-Netto served for four years as
religious affairs editor of United Press International in
Washington,
D.C.
In mid-career, Uwe Siemon-Netto turned to theology, earning
his M.A. degree from the Lutheran School of Theology at
Chicago
, and his Ph.D. degree in theology and sociology of religion
from Boston
University. In 2004, Concordia Seminary
awarded him an honorary Doctor of Letters (D. Litt.). His
published works include The
Acquittal of God, A Theology for Vietnam
Veterans; The
Fabricated Luther, a refutation of the cliché that Luther
was Hitler’s progenitor; and One Incarnate Truth, The Christian Answer to Postmodern Confusion.
Equally fluent in English, German and French, Dr. Siemon-Netto
and his British-born wife, Gillian, divide their time between
St. Louis
and their home in southwestern France. They have been
married for 46 years.
David
Gast honored with the Stemmler-Hecker Founders Award
David Gast (left) was also honored at the event with the
Stemmler-Hecker Founders Award for “exceptional service to
the German American community”. Presenting
the award was Lou Stemmler (right), whose father, the late
George Stemmler, was the organization’s founding executive
director for 12 years. Mr. Gast has served as the organization’s
Treasurer for the past decade. This
year’s Founder Award recipient is an exceptional individual,
who is an actively involved philanthropist with
Washington
University
, the St. Louis ZOO, The Repertory Theatre, and many St.
Louis
charitable organizations. To help the German American Heritage
Society build a lasting legacy for the next generation, Gast
helped establish and grow the GAHS Endowment Fund.
The German American Heritage Society (GAHS) of St. Louis invites anyone
with a heritage from a German speaking country (Germany,
Austria, Switzerland and Alsace-Lorraine), as well as
companies founded by German immigrants, owned by people of
German heritage, or companies with business relationships with
Germany and the United States of America. The GAHS is actively
involved in exploring and preserving German heritage with
other German American organizations in the
St. Louis
region, the state of
Missouri, the United States of America
and the Federal Republic of Germany.
For
more photos….
photos
by Joan Hecker...
For More Information, Contact the GAHS office at gahs-stl@sbcglobal.net
Weihnachtsparty
at the World
Trade
Center
For
story...
Marti
Mueller honored at GAHS “Taste of Germany”
Benefit Dinner & Auction

For
story….
von
Humboldt's 239th Birthday Celebrated
for
picture..
Tom George Hosts Successful Advisory Board Picnic