.gazette 02/03 - Verband der Deutsch-Amerikanischen Clubs e.V.

Images and Impressions
56th Annual Convention Federation of German-American Clubs
Dresden, May 2 – 4, 2003, by Mary Louise Murray-Johnson
Official minutes and reports of board members,
committee and regional chairpersons are for another
“gazette” article.
This is one person’s (woman’s) reflections on what
she experienced from May 2 - 4, 2003 in Dresden as
an American Liaison to the Federation of German-
American Clubs, and, as a long time transatlantic
commuter between both nations.
First, how amazingly fortunate for all of us in attendance
to be doing our important work for German-
American fellowship and understanding in a city
which could almost be a focal point for all the horrors
of World War Two, and, at the moment when
German-American reconciliation is even more poignant
as this particular weekend of May 2 - 4, 2003
was also the historic time of the blessing and first
string of the seven newly cast bells for the
Frauenkirche the beloved symbol of Dresden which
had been destroyed in the fire bombings of February
13 and 14, 1945 along with the rest of beautiful
Dresden, and is now a centrepiece of present day
international cooperation in its rebuilding.
Who of us who listened to the recitations of
Friedrich Schiller’s “The Song of the Bell” and heard
parts of Haendel’s Messiah and Beethoven’s 9th
Symphony at midnight May 3, could ever come
away from that convention without thinking about
the futility and inexplicability of war and the misunderstandings
among mankind.
The above leads me to what I consider to be the
Federation’s most important work, i.e., our youth
exchange, our student exchange and the development
of our Federation’s membership through
increased recruitment of younger members, both
men and women, in all of the thirty-four member
clubs, and hopefully more.
These thoughts became especially strong while I
listened to Dr. Elisabeth Wittig and Dr. Heide Geiter
who work with great heart and diligence for the student
exchange program, which this year sent
twenty-eight students to the U.S.A.
Having just returned from Arizona where she and her
forty German teenagers had a warm welcome and
fun filled cultural experience, I could only surmise
that in the coming years they, both American and
German, would all become articulate ambassadors
and perhaps future leaders with keen international
understanding and diplomatic skills, traits that had
perhaps been lacking in past governments and in
the interactions of certain government leaders
Title
during the difficult years 2002-2003 in the U.S.A.,
Germany and elsewhere.
We, in the Federation
can be proud
that our programs
are in the forefront
of producing incipient
government
leaders who will
hopefully not be
boundary bound in
their views and
policies.
Lars Kyrberg and Boris Altrichter together...
...with Mary Louise Murray-Johnson
In this regard I feel a special responsibility to seek
out new members from the younger generation, and
in my daily activities I am always also trying to make
connections for the good of the Federation and the
international relationships.
An example may be the bringing in of two promising
young attorneys, Lars Kyrberg, and Boris Altrichter,
who will become members of the Federations Clubs
in Munich and Dresden respectively.
Both men, born, raised and educated in Germany,
interned in New York City law firms and already have
a grasp of the importance of international friendships
and an interest in the furtherance of mutual
understanding between Germans and Americans.
Lars and Boris attended the Federation’s Saturday
evening celebratory dinner where our president,
Bruni Pütz, introduced them to general membership
and guests. We look forward to great things from
them.
As no organization can do its work in a vacuum,
public relations is a tool to be developed and
improved. Here the Federation is fortunate to have a
new dedicated participants and board member, Mr.
Thomas Schaller, a former Federation exchange
student and an expert in media relations working for
the American Consulate in Frankfurt a.M..
Mr. Schaller enlightened the delegates on how to
work with and handle the media, and his ability to
place articles in the press about the Federation’s
activities is a strong new asset to “getting the word
out” about who we are and what we do.
Of course there are also Federation problems, which
in my opinion, can be defined by the word “money”.
Whether the subject is gazette budgeting, individual
club’s dues structure, the need for a central office
and part time paid executive, the idea that the
Federation should perhaps be restructured,
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