CG
Wolfgang Drautz, Dr. Robert Koetting Honored at GAHS
Banquet
St. Louis
– This year's recipient of the 2008 Friedrich Hecker Freedom
Award was the German Consul General from Chicago, Wolfgang
Drautz. He was honored in front of
almost 90 members and guests at the 18th Annual German American Heritage Society (GAHS) of Saint Louis
Diplomatic Reception & Dinner on Saturday, March 8 at
The Racquet Club -
St. Louis
on Kingshighway. The evening’s hostess was GAHS VP Events, Isabelle
Coovert.
Left: Award recipient,
Consul General Wolfgang Drautz
The award is
presented each year to an outstanding individual who has
worked for the promulgation of cooperation and understanding
between
Germany
and the
United States
.
Even though
Consul General Drautz’s jurisdiction covers 13 central and
upper Midwest states,
St. Louis
has been fortunate to have his active participation in many area
German-American events since his appointment in September 2005.
After being in office only ten days, Drautz made his first St.
Louis visit to attend the German American Heritage Society’s
2005 “Taste of Germany” Benefit Dinner & Auction.
Since then, he
has also dedicated a German immigrant statue in New Melle; paid
an official visit to
Missouri
’s Governor; actively participated in the first of ten annual
“German Days” at the SEM; and just recently, he was the
keynote speaker at the
St. Louis
convention of the Model United Nations, as well as addressed
students at
Soldan
International
Studies
High School
.
After
serving as both a lawyer and a judge early in his professional
life, Drautz joined the German foreign service in 1976 and has
held many interesting posts at German Embassies, including twice
in Moscow (1980 and 1994), and later in London (1998). As his
first posting in the
United States
in 1984, Drautz has served as the Deputy Consul General in
Atlanta
. In 1989, he was appointed as
Germany
’s Permanent Representative to NATO in
Brussels
. Throughout his career, he has served on a variety of key
Federal Foreign Office desks in
Bonn
and
Berlin
, including as the Head of the Department for Consular
Assistance before arriving in his present
Chicago
post as Consul General.
Also
recognized at the event with the GAHS Founders Award for,
“special service to German American friendship”, was Dr.
Robert A. Koetting. In addition to being a GAHS Charter
member for 18 years and a member of the GAHS board of directors,
Dr. Koetting has also served as an officer and board member of
the
St. Louis
– Stuttgart Sister Cities organization. He will be helping
this group celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2010.
Dr. Koetting’s continued, enthusiastic support of many
German-American (and a few French-American) events over the past
two decades has been exceptional and sincerely appreciated.
Above:
GAHS Founder Award Recipient, Dr. Robert Koetting, and presenter
Lou Stemmler
Professionally,
Dr. Koetting is a visionary in the world of Optometry,
pioneering the use of contact lenses. In 1999 he was honored
with the American Optometry Association’s Distinguished
Service Award and was named one of the “Top O. D.’s of the Decade,”
as well as the “Most Influential Optometry Doctor in Practice
Management in the 20th Century.” Dr. Koetting
authored four books, including Marketing and Managing of Contact
Lenses (Butterworth's).
He's the only person to
chair the American Optometry Association’s Contact Lens
Section and the
American
Academy
of Optometry's Contact Lens Section simultaneously.
Special
guests at the black-tie event included: the German American
National Congress (DANK) national president emeritus, Ernst
Ott and his wife, Alexandra; the new president of the
German American National Congress in Chicago, Bill Fuchs
and his wife Darlene; representing St. Louis County
Executive, Charlie Dooley was Joanne Gladney, who
honored Dr. Koetting with a special letter; our honorary
German consul emeritus, Anna Mayer Beck and her husband Walt;
four members of the Polish American Cultural Society of
St. Louis including their president, Robert Szydlowski,
and immediate past-president, Marianne Szydlowski.
Other special quests
included: former Maplewood Mayor, the retired president of the
German American Committee and the Bavarian Benevolent Society,
the Honorable Josef Hammes; the president of both
the German American Committee and German Cultural Society, as
well as a Freedom Award honoree, John Pappert; the
president of the St. Louis – Stuttgart Sister Cities and GAHS
Board member, Susanne Evens, along with past presidents Joe
Worzer, as well as Wilma Prifti who is also a GAHS
Board member; and GAHS VP Membership Roy Leimberg, who was the
2007 Freedom Award recipient.
Also
attending was Dr. Hamid Azimiaraghi and his charming
daughter, Gabriela. Dr Azimiaraghi recently hosted the 48th
annual Midwest Model United Nations conference in
St. Louis
that was attended by college students from 55 mid-west colleges
and universities. He also hosted the Soldan International
Studies Summit for high school students. Consul General Drautz
spoke at both events.
Above:
Dr. Hamid Azimiaraghi, daughter Gabriela, Consul General
Wolfgang Drautz.
Other special guests were: St. Louis Strassenfest, Lou
Mueller, as well as past president Michael Wendl;
German Professor and Coordinator of the University of
Missouri-St. Louis German Culture Center, Larry Marsh; former Freedom Award honoree, University of
Missouri professor, accomplished author
and recently…the Fulbright Distinguished Chair of Cultural
Studies at the University of GANZ in Austria, Dr. Steven
Rowan.
Below: GAHS new members, James Key and Mike
Moore with GAHS VP Membership, Roy Leimberg
At the event, our two newest GAHS members, James Key and
Mike Moore, officially received their membership pins from VP
Membership and 2007 Freedom Award recipient, Roy E. Leimberg.
Retiring board members, Tom George, Don Middendorf and Dr.
Robert Koetting, were officially recognized for their years
of dedicated, active service.
As required by the by-laws, as slate of new board members,
who serve rotating three-year terms, was presented to the
general membership for approval by VP Legal Affairs and
Nominating Committee Chair, Hermann Eisele, Esq. The
newest board member was John Wittenberg.
Through its annual donations, the GAHS also helps support the
UMSL
German
Culture
Center
, the UMSL and Webster University Student Studies Abroad
Programs, the Deustchheim Verein in
Hermann
,
Missouri
as well as other designated area organizations and programs
dedicated to preserving German heritage. The GAHS invited
members 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
Black-tie of
St. Louis
photos…
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photos by Marti Mueller and Joan Hecker-page 1...
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even more photos by Marti Mueller and Joan Hecker-page 2...
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even more photos by Marti Mueller and Joan Hecker-page 3...
For more
information on the German American Heritage Society, please
contact Carolyn Humphries at (314) 862 - 1733.
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