As you can probably tell from the photos, our Maifest was a great success. Many hours of thoughtful planning have gone into making this celebration a fun event for young and old. I want to thank all out volunteers. Not just the ones who helped with the event, but also those, who have helped with fundraising events in the past, which made it possible to fund this Maifest. I also want to recognize and thank the Enzian Schuhplattler Group, who went above and beyond to keep us entertained and create a fun atmosphere, as well as Angelika from the German Corner Restaurant in Lacey, who cooked our delicious Schnitzel dinners. Already people are asking when we'll do this again, and I guess the answer depends on how many of our members will step up and join the Maifest Committee. It takes a lot of people to put on an event of this magnitude and I hope we will be able to have a Maifest again in 2011.
With the annual meeting and election behind us, we look forward to another busy year. The next few events to look forward to are Spring Arts Walk in Olympia and our Maifest at the Berghaus at Mount Hyak. We're always looking for volunteer who would like to help plan and execute events.
According to our by-laws it's time again for our annual meeting and board elections. This year the positions of club president, treasurer and 2 general board officers are open for elections. These positions are currently held by Sandra Nelson as president, Angelika Breaux as treasurer and Daniela Bremmer, as well as Sabine Anderson, as general officers of the board. Our by-laws also allow for another general board officer position, which was previously not occupied.
Every club member can run for office or can submit another member for election. This meeting is set for the last Saturday in January, which falls on the 30th of January this year. The location of the meeting is the location of our monthly get-togethers, Wagner's European Bakery in Olympia. The time of the meeting is at 3:00 p.m.
The requirements for a board position are not extraordinarily demanding. It is merely expected that a board member attend a majority of the meetings and takes on an active role in club events.
Volunteer work can be very rewarding and can be useful experience for future job applications.
The atmosphere on our board is friendly and casual and our club can only profit from new growth.
I hope many of you will be able to attend and will submit themselves for one of the opening board positions.
See you soon.
Sandra
Our preparations for the start of a Christmas market in Olympia are in full force. A big "Dankeschoen" goes out to Sabine Anderson and her team of Evergreen University students, who have prepared a detailed, professional business plan for the Christkindlmarkt venture. The next big step will be to build our first market booth, which will happen during the summer. We invite anyone who is interested to participate to join us.
"Thanks" also to Heidrun Francis, who organized the May Day hike, which had a big turn-out.
Our club website is gaining in popularity as seen on this recent visitor map:
I know there are a lot of Germans living in South America. Where are those visitors?
For anyone living in the South Puget Sound area, come visit our next monthly get together on Saturday the 20th of June at 3:00 p.m. at Olympia's Wagners Konditorei.
Our next big event will be German Movie Night in July. Check the Events Page for details.
I hope to see you soon.
Sandy
The German Club Olympia completed its first official fundraiser. We operated a food stand at Olympia's annual Arts Walk festival, where we sold sausages, Curry Wurst, Sauerkraut and baked goods. We received support from the MIX 96 radio station, Mathias from Einmaleins, Hess German Bakery, and Tumwater Party Rentals. "Thank You" to all the dedicated volunteers who planned this event, helped set up and operate the booth and the many members who have donated baked goods. Our fundraiser netted $650, which will go toward our planned Christkindlmarket project. This fundraiser was good test-run for the Chrsitmas market, where we plan to operate a food booth and market stand. The big goal is to establish a European Christmas market in Olympia that will draw crowds and offer a cultural venue for the city. The biggest aim is to raise enough money to eventually have our own property for a "Vereinsheim" where we can meet and have celebrations (anybody know a generous donor?).
Board of Officers 2009
At the March German Club Get-Together we held the annual membership meeting that established the board officers for the year 2009. I want to express my gratitude to all the members who so graciously agreed to continue to serve on the board. Thank you for your volunteer spirit, the time you serve planning and executing, and your dedication to the German Club Olympia.
The current board consists of:
Officers:
Sandy Nelson - President
Heidrun Francis - Vice President
Angelika Hagen-Breaux - Treasurer
Simone Martel - Secretary
Members:
Daniela Bremmer-Washington - Public Affairs Coordinator
Iris Aguilera - Member at large
Sabine Anderson - Member at Large
Our Association Bylaws accommodate for up to 8 board members. If anyone is interested to fill the vacant spot, please don't be bashful. We welcome any club member who would like to participate and help shape our fairly new organization. No special talents are required, just the intent to participate in meetings and events.
Achtung: Krisenvorsorgeliste
Alle Deutschen, die - auch nur vorübergehend - im Amtsbezirk des Generalkonsulats San Francisco leben, können in eine Krisenvorsorgeliste gemäß § 6 Abs. 3 des deutschen Konsulargesetzes aufgenommen werden.
Es handelt sich hierbei um eine freiwillige Maßnahme. Das Generalkonsulat rät, von dieser Möglichkeit Gebrauch zu machen, damit es - falls erforderlich - in Krisen- und sonstigen Ausnahmesituationen mit Deutschen schnell Verbindung aufnehmen kann. Die Aufnahme in die Krisenvorsorgeliste erfolgt ab sofort passwortgeschützt im online-Verfahren.
Wir bitten Sie, Ihre Daten möglichst bald über das Internet einzugeben. Sie werden künftig automatisch in regelmäßigen Abständen aufgefordert werden, Ihre Angaben zu bestätigen bzw. zu aktualisieren. Damit sollen Vollständigkeit und Aktualität der Registrierungen im Sinne einer wirksamen Krisenvorsorge und --bewältigung sichergestellt werden. Bitte beantworten Sie die Ihnen automatisch zugehenden Aufforderungen deshalb im eigenen Interesse.
Registrierung: http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/de/__PR/R__Wash/2008/11/26__Elefand__PR,archiveCtx=2022460.html
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Generalkonsulat San Francisco
Here are some events in our area that will help get you into the Advent spirit:
Adventsgottesdienst
am 07. Dezember um 11.00 Uhr
Wir laden Sie hiermit recht herzlich zu unserem Adventsgottesdienst ein! Wir werden uns über den Ursprung und die Bedeutung des Adventskranzes unterhalten und Kinder aus der Gemeinde werden ein kleines Bühnenstück aufführen. Zur Einstimmung auf die Weihnachtszeit werden wir Advents- und Weihnachtslieder singen und danach wird es ein Kaffeestündchen mit Adventsgebäck geben. Im Anschluss sind die Kinder recht herzlich dazu eingeladen mit uns Adventskränze zu basteln.
Wir freuen uns auf Ihr Kommen!
Um Rückantwort wird gebeten, damit wir uns angemessen für den Gottesdienst und die Adventskränze vorbereiten können. Vielen Dank.
Adresse der Kirche: 1107A E Howell, Seattle, WA 98122
Kontakt: Jason oder Kerstin Gackle, 206-325-7664, gacklejr@hotmail.com or gacklekh@hotmail.com
ADVENT CONCERT
Gesangverein Arion
German Singing Society since 1910
Under the direction of Florence Mesler
Saturday, December 6, 2008
German House
613 - 9th Ave, Seattle
Doors open at 6 pm - Concert starts at 7 pm
After the concert dance to the music of
The Happy Hans Band
Admission $20.00
Dinner is included
Deutscher Weihnachtsgottesdienst
am 23.12.08 um 19 Uhr
in der St. Benedict Episcopal Church
Bowker St. Lacey
The business cards for our board members are finally completed and have been distributed. I lost the original jpeg file and had to re-draw the logo from scratch, but everybody seemed pleased with the way the cards turned out.
The board decided to offer the German Movie Night event only quarterly.
The next film night will be on 1 November 2008.
The next committee meeting for the planning of a Christkindlmart has been set to 12 November 2008.
The ballots for a new club logo have produced a winner:
In democratic fashion, the majority of our members present at the last meeting, have selected the colorful bridge motif from among six logo choices.
I think this logo makes apparent part of the mission of our association:
To foster a cultural exchange between two countries.
A bridge is a powerful symbol that connects and transcends and patches where there is a gap. I hope that our bridge is on a strong footing and proves to be a dependable and lasting pathway of friendship, engagement and support for our members and the community in which we live.
Christkindlmarkt Project
The next meeting to work on the Christkindlmarkt Project will be on the 27th of March 2008 at 7:00 PM. The meeting will take place at 1917 Franklin St. Olympia, WA 98501.
Anyone interested in supporting this project and volunteering is invited to attend. Please call or email to let us know you're coming: (360)789-7505 sandy.nelson@comcast.net
Susanna Haynie has offered her talents in the public relations sector and is looking for members' personal impressions, recountings and memories of what a Chrsitkindlmarkt means to them. If you have memories to share, please send Susanna an email: susanna.haynie@gmail.com
If you have any pictures or photos of a Christkindlmarkt, please attach those as well.
Advertising
Advertising links on our web site's "Resources" page will now be available for sponsors for a fee of $50.00 per year. If you offer services, or know someone who offers services that are of particular interest or value to the members of our association, such as German products, restaurants, or German-speaking service providers, please contact us. The fee is a minimal amount to pay to show affiliation and support for our organization and to gain exposure to our site's visitors. Even though this website is still a web infant, it has grown in popularity. Here are some visual statistics of our site visits from the past 7 days:
Please help make our site even more popular by sending the link www.germanclubolympia.com to anyone you think might find value in our site and by posting it on any blogs or forums you participate in.
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