Winter Reporter 2022

District 821–Sterling Heights, Michigan

More District pictures 821–Sterling from the zoo Heights, event can be Michigan found on the Altoona District 45 page of the GBU Life Member Community.

Dear Members and Friends,

District 45–Altoona, Pennsylvania

Our district officers hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving, a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. With any luck, everyone took time to reflect on everything they have to be thankful for and celebrated the true meaning of Christmas.

Winter officially arrived on December 21 so please drive with caution as you are out and about this winter.

We had a full slate of events through the summer, fall and holiday season. You can find a full recap of them along with more member photos on the GBU Life Member Community (community.gbu.org) in the District 45-Altoona, Pennsylvania, group.

We joined with the Unter Uns for a Family Christmas Party at the

Unter Uns Club in December. The activities included food and fun as well as a visit from Santa himself.

Congratulations Corner

Congratulations to the 14 District 45 Scholarship Award recipients for the 2021-2022 academic year. The officers are pleased to announce the members that have received scholarships to

help with their post-secondary education: Evan Arnold, Lily Bowser, Karas Foreso, Kayla Letscher, Jordon Rhone, Andrew Rigney III, Kelsey Rigney, Anna T Schlecht, Gavin Schlecht, Kyle Schlecht, Ashley Steinbugl, Maren E Steinbugl, Riley Steinbugl, Angela Wharton and James R Wharton. We wish everyone a successful year.

We welcome into our GBU family the new members that have recently joined GBU and District 45. We hope you have the opportunity to participate in one of our many activities and have the chance to meet some of our other members. Please feel free to contact me if you would like a copy of the District Calendar of Events or check our site out on the GBU website.

We continue our GBU Cares project as we collect personal hygiene items to donate to the local shelters and Shriners Hospital for Children. To have a donation picked up contact our treasurer, Betty Richardson (943-6655) or me. Motel-size or full-size bottles of shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, etc. are greatly appreciated.

The Spring Pie Sale orders to benefit the Miracle League of Blair County baseball organization and Dreams Go On therapeutic riding stable will be due on Monday, March 28 and the order comes in on Saturday, April 9 for the Easter season. Meringue and fruit pies are available to order as well as pecan pie, pumpkin rolls, nut logs, Easter bread and banana bread. Call me to place an order. The Miracle League provides support to children that love the game of baseball. Many may be confined to wheelchairs due to muscular dystrophy or cerebral palsy. Others may be coping with Down’s syndrome or autism. The mission of Dreams Go On is to provide therapeutic horseback riding sessions to adults and children of Blair County who are physically challenged, receive mental, behavioral health or family therapy services.

We will be mailing out our District 45 Scholarship Request letters in the near future along with the Calendar of Events for 2022. If you do not receive these, let me know and I will make sure you get them. Scholarship donations may be sent to our treasurer, Betty Richardson, 2524 W. Chestnut Ave., Altoona, PA 16601. Please make checks payable to GBU District 45 and denote District 45 Scholarship Fund in the memo line.

Please join us at our monthly meetings. They are held at 6 p.m. on the second Wednesday of the month at the Unter Uns Club located at Van Buren Ave. and 14th Street in Altoona. NO meetings in January, July, November, or December. (Your officers will be having officers’ meetings instead to plan for upcoming activities.) Come, learn, support, and get involved in the fraternal activities, and join us for refreshments. Please contact me before heading out to our meetings, due to Covid-19 the meetings may become virtual. Be sure to sign up for access to the GBU Life Member Community page to be able to participate in many fun activities and keep up-to-date with activities sponsored by the Home Office and District and to see photos from past events.

Your officers for 2022 year are:PresidentVice PresidentFraternal/Recording SecretaryTreasurerTrustees

Auditors

John KesslerJoseph LetscherRobin KesslerBetty RichardsonDebra PicanoAlbert (Butch) SchlechtTeresa (Terri) WeaklandChantel DeGennaroMarissa Kessler

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District 45–Altoona, Pennsylvania

GBU referral agents waiting to hear from you: Robin Kessler (814-943-4481); Mary Kessler-Adams (814-942-5362); Kay Balestino (814-687-3296); Mark Bomeisl (724-681-5244); Mary J. Brant (724-989-1773); or agents Eric, Brian or Michael Irwin (814-941-4411).

Please contact a representative if you need to update your information. Are your beneficiaries up to date? Do you need to change your address? Is your representative up to date?

- Robin Kessler, Fraternal Secretary 814-943-4481 or rob1jon@atlanticbb.net

District 84–Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Hope everyone had a happy holiday season. We had more fun and success this year; I hope we can continue that into 2022!

District 84 extends to Carol Mays a BIG thank you for all the time, effort and leadership in our district. Thank you, Carol Mays, for serving as our president for all these years.

Back in August, we had our Mini-Golf Outing then afterward had ice cream at Scoops. We didn’t have the greatest weather but had a bunch of people turn out.

District 146–Johnstown, Pennsylvania

Greetings & a Happy New Year !!!

Congratulations to the 2022 district officers:PresidentVice PresidentFraternal Secretary/TreasurerRecording SecretaryTrustees

Gary WeimerJack OrrisBarbara WeimerJohn ConstableDennis RibblettSteve CsehoskiMark Jones

We chanced-off this Steeler assortment in the clubroom to help raise funds for Operation Reach Out.

It went very quickly, so another similar assortment was chanced off to help with our annual holiday donation.

Having fun golfing

Relaxing with our ice cream.

At our September meeting, we discussed the rest of 2021 plus 2022. Our meetings will now be held at 1 p.m. on the third Sunday of the month, except April due to Easter, at the Millersville VFW Post There will be no meetings in June, July and August.

The Roller Skating Party at the Castle was canceled and replaced with a luncheon at Centerville Diner. Our popcorn fundraiser was from September until November. I will have the totals next issue. Our Christmas Party-December meeting was also at Centerville Diner.

We had nominations of officers. The following people were nominated:

PresidentVice PresidentSecretary/TreasurerMarshalSentinelTrustee

Terry Suter, Jr. (TJ)Christine BossertEdna SuterTerry Suter, Sr.Sam BiskingSonny Gerlach

Please note that Ed Danz and Jeremy Mays are still elected trustees. Nominations were reopened at our November meeting, and elected officers were sworn in at the December 4 Christmas Party.

Upcoming Events Saturday, January 29 Bowling at Leisure Lanes Sunday, February 20 Monthly meeting/Social Sunday, March 20 Monthly Meeting/Social

You can always get details on district events by calling district President Terry (TJ) Suter Jr. (717-283-3628 or steelerstj13@gmail.com) or Secretary/Treasurer Edna Suter (717-333-9388 or ednasuter65@gmail.com), Facebook (GBU District 84), or by going to our district section of the GBU website (reporter.gbu.org/member-news).

- Edna Suter, Fraternal Secretary/Treasurer 717-333-9388 or ednasuter65@gmail.com

In addition to our annual donation to the Needy Children Shopping Tour, we supported the Tribune Democrat Santa Fund, the Women’s Help Center Angel in Shelter Program and a donation was given to the St. Vincent De Paul Food for Families. The local Salvation Army has an Angel Tree Program which has tags from children and senior citizens with their wishes for Christmas. We fulfilled the wishes of four seniors this Christmas.

January’s activities are usually down due to unknown weather conditions. Meetings second Monday of each month, 7 p.m. at the Moxham Beneficial Home Association, 40 Bridge Street, Johnstown, PA 15902

Happy Valentine’s Day!March brings our fundraiser to benefit Muscular Dystrophy.

For life insurance or annuity needs, contact one of our sale agents: Frank Betsch (215-947-9190), Mike Malley (814-443-0991), Lee Williamson (814-255-4852), Joseph Carpenter (814-534-4445), Ed Christensen (814-262-9496) or James Kiepert (814-421-7058).

- Barbara Weimer, Fraternal Secretary/Treasurer 814-255-4710

District 291–Summerhill, Pennsylvania

It was a busy end of summer for a lot of our members. Between summer gatherings, vacations and back to school, a lot happened. Events in December included the social club’s Early Bird Party and our district Christmas Party.

On August 28, District 291 and the Home Office hosted a Movie Night. Approximately 40 adults and children took part in this event. Although originally scheduled to be held at Summerhill Park, weather forced us to make the call to move the event to the fire hall. However, as luck would have it, we were still able to have the movie outside and it turned out to be a wonderful venue and community event. Thanks go to Jack and Linda Bodenschatz and Cindy Friedman for picking up refreshments, Becky Templeton for tech support and the use of video and sound equipment, and Carm Seder and Helen Slonac for help setting up. We hope to host two of these events next summer starting in May or June and hosting another closer to back to school.

Kids having fun playing.

38Winter 2022

District 291–Summerhill, Pennsylvania, continued

Kids attending Movie Night.

One of our community pillars, the Summerhill Borough Volunteer Fire Department, held its largest annual fundraiser during the September 18 and 19 weekend at New Germany Grove. The Festival of Arts and Crafts brings together hundreds of crafters and even more people to take part in the festivities. Several members volunteered their time and talents to cook, set up and help make this community fundraiser a success.

District 510–Toledo, Ohio

Greetings from District 510. We hope that everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday season with family and friends. We wish you all good luck, health, and happiness in 2022.

It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we share the news that longtime District 510 member, officer and friend Adolf Ruelke has passed away. Adolf, along with his wife Hildegard, were very active in GBU and the German-American Festival Society. Adolf and Hildegard tirelessly volunteered to help at our district meetings and social events. Adolf served in the alternate marshal position for many years. Adolf and Hildegard have been regulars at the District 510 children’s parties. Adolf would always pitch in to help. Many of us will remember Adolf separating the seemingly endless rolls of raffle tickets at the children’s holiday parties. Adolf will be missed by all his friends.

Meetings resumed in August and ran through December. Please check with district members for a schedule of other activities or stop in at the Summerhill Social Club, located at 514 Main Street in Summerhill.

For all your insurance or financial needs, please contact our GBU referral agent Tara McIntyre (814-472-6830).

- David Templeton, District 291 member Dtemp902@hotmail.com or 814-244-8243

District 402-Minneapolis, Minnesota

Dear Friends and Members,

With 2021 coming to an end, the officers of District 402 decided to also retire. Our district has been active for 110 years, a long time. We hope to find member(s) who would be interested in continuing efforts to support local and national organizations that are doing great things to help our communities. Please contact GBU District and Special Projects Coordinator Mary Koczan (mary.koczan@gbu.org or 800-765-4428) if you are interested.

The retiring officers had fun running the district. We thank all the District 402 officers for the support they have given the district over the years. A big thanks go to all the volunteers over the years; we could not have done any of this without you. We can think back on all of the good times, and we will keep these in our memories. A special thanks to our treasurer, Helga Gehrke, who made life much easier.

Adolf and his lovely wife Hildegard.

Our annual District 510 Member’s Picnic was held on July 18 at Tom and Marilyn Riedeman’s farm. There was a wonderful selection of fabulous foods as everyone brought a dish to share and GBU furnished the meats and drinks. There was so much good food that many of us went back for seconds and thirds. A short meeting was held to primarily discuss the GAF’s Feed the Workers event and the Shipshewana Bus Trip. Many thanks to Tom and Marilyn for their gracious hospitality.

For any member that has been feeling ill or is recovering from an operation, we send you wishes for a speedy recovery and hope you’re feeling better soon.

For information regarding GBU insurance or annuity products, contact sales representative Phil Klein (651-246-4024).Special thanks to him for bringing new members into our district. He will still be there to help you.

We hope we can get rid of COVID soon, and we hope you remain in good health.

We hope all our members and friends had a merry Christmas and a safe, happy New Year.

Thanks again for all of the support; it was a pleasure to serve you. I wish everyone for peace and happiness.

- Paul Wittig, Fraternal Secretary 612-866-7496 or hwittig@aol.com

On the Tuesday before the German-American Festival, District 510 members cooked and served lunch and dinner for the GAF volunteers performing the set up. We served 55 people for lunch and 55+ for dinner. Chefs Marilyn Riedeman and Lynne Shoup prepared delicious meatloaf, potatoes, corn on the cob, green beans, salad and desserts. A big thank you is extended to the kitchen crew and servers for helping with this endeavor.

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District 510–Toledo, Ohio, continued

District 510 held a Steak Roast prior to our September monthly meeting. The Steak Roast and meeting were held in the Swiss Picnic Building due to the threat of rain. Attendees enjoyed steak, baked potato and salad. A variety of tasty desserts were also available to choose from. Many thanks to everyone who helped, and special thanks to Marilyn Riedeman for procuring the steaks, and to Lynne Shoup for the baked potatoes.

District 510 held a Halloween Trunk-or-Treat event. GBU members got together at the GAF Oak Shade Grove parking lot and decked out their trunks and truck beds with Halloween decorations. The children, dressed in their Halloween costumes, walked from vehicle to vehicle collecting candy and treats. Thank you to all who helped make this event a success. A special thank you to Lynne Shoup for donating the pumpkins. In November, members and guests travelled to Shipshewana. Members and guests enjoyed snacks and beverages on the chartered bus, browsed the numerous shops of Shipshewana, and took in a dinner theater Christmas show.

We had a delicious turkey dinner with all the trimmings at our November meeting. Special thanks to Marilyn Riedeman for preparing the sumptuous feast. Election of District 510 officers was held at the meeting. The body voted to keep the same officers who served in 2021. Roberta Gacsal was elected to the open Alternate Marshal position. Ten turkeys were raffled off at the meeting.

Upcoming Events

We would like to thank all officers for accepting their positions and wish them a successful year. The first scheduled monthly meeting in 2022 is Tuesday, February 15.

For current news on GBU District 510 events, please check the GBU District 510 Facebook page. Looking forward to seeing everyone at our future meetings. If you have not been to a meeting lately, please join us for a light dinner and fellowship followed by our monthly meeting. Our regular meetings are held the third Tuesday of each month at the GAF. The meal is served starting at 6 p.m. and our meeting starts at 7 p.m.

Please contact one of our sales representatives for any of your life insurance or annuity needs, or any changes to such. They are Robert Billings (419-697-0041), Frank Dobnikar (419-561-6800), Brad Meister (419-592-5059), Diane Miller (419-475-6402), Christina Renz (419-262-3536), Craig Riedeman (419-360-6060), Marilyn Riedeman (419-855-4192), Brent Shimman (419-693-9000), Chad Walton (419-419-3322), and Jennifer Lindsay (419-931-0749).

- Jacqueline Martin, Fraternal Secretary 419-350-6684 or Toysrmonica@sbcglobal.net

Birthday celebrants Bob and Elise.

Anna, Jerry and Elise delivered the school supplies that we had collected money for earlier. We made sure we had lots of facial tissues as the principal said these were always in high demand. Notebooks, lunch bags, backpacks, pencils, etc. were donated items as well. The staff was very grateful for the donations.

We made our annual donations to four community groups once again: Salvation Army, Food Finders, Caregiver Companion and YWCA program for Domestic Intervention and Prevention.

We continue to remember our members who are not able to attend our meetings and will always keep them in our thoughts and prayers.

Stay healthy and safe.

- M. Elise Thoennes, President/Recording Secretary 765-447-3249

District 630–Ann Arbor, Michigan

Dear Members,

I hope you are all well and continue to be safe as we resume “normal” activities with COVID still present and active. In these trying times we need to remain strong and remember all that we have to be thankful for.

For any member that has been feeling ill or is recovering from an operation, we send you wishes for a speedy recovery and hope you’re feeling better soon. Please let one of our officers know if you are ill or recovering from a surgery so we can send you well wishes from the Sunshine Committee!

Several members joined the Schwaben Verein of Ann Arbor on the October 8-10 Bus Trip to the Put-in-Bay Oktoberfest. They enjoyed lots of German food and desserts, beer and entertainment and had a great time celebrating German heritage and cuisine under a big tent. We had some younger members in attendance and a couple of older members that have been struggling healthwise. I am so glad they were able to get out and enjoy.

District 536–Lafayette, Indiana

We held our annual Picnic at Happy Hollow Park. It was a very nice day, and we had a small group who enjoyed food and visiting. Mid was accompanied by her son, and we were happy she got to attend once again.

Picnickers.

Bob Ketterer and Elise Thoennes celebrated birthdays. Bob's daughter had baked a cake and we all enjoyed this delicious dessert. Jerry Lamborn brought barbecues for sandwiches.

Tammy and Richard Ebenhoeh.

40Winter 2022

District 630–Ann Arbor, Michigan, continued

District 684–Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Greetings from District 684.

We have been enjoying some beautiful fall weather and looking forward to the holidays and hoping the New Year brings back our regular meetings and events for 2022!

We held a district meeting on October 19 at Frisch’s restaurant. We had a wonderful buffet and held our elections of officers for 2022. Our new slate of officers are as follows:

Hans and Marianne Rauer, Heidi Hively, Traudel Kummer and Brigitte Mutthig.

At our October 17 regularly scheduled meeting, we held our election of officers for 2022 followed by a Potluck.

On October 19, members volunteered at Peace Neighborhood Center cooking and serving food to the children enrolled in the after-school program.

In November canned goods that our members had donated, along with our district’s annual monetary gift, were delivered to the Ann Arbor Food Gathers annual Rocking for the Hungry. As you know, this year marks Peace Neighborhood Center’s 50th anniversary. We are proud of the impact we have had and are grateful for our volunteers and donors who offer their time and generous support. In the spirit of giving, we donated turkeys for Thanksgiving and gift cards for Christmas for the Peace Neighborhood Center families and this year’s annual Thanks For Giving Dinner held on November 18. Peace set a big goal this year to raise one million dollars. It is very rewarding to be a part of the Peace family and work together to support its mission. Please let Susan Weber know if you are interested in becoming one of our volunteers.

In addition, we made our annual monetary donations to the Hope Clinic, St. Andrews Breakfast Program and Safe House and donated fall centerpieces to Hillside Terrace Nursing Home.

In support of our troops, we donated to Operation Reach Out. We are thankful and appreciate all those that serve! The Ladies of the Evening group and the Ladies of the Afternoon group have resumed meeting.

President First Vice President Second Vice President Third Vice President Fraternal Secretary Recording Secretary Treasurer Marshal Sentinel Trustees:

Maria Moore Tina Madison Joann Pukansky Linda Wagner Jackie Alaimo Diann Warznak Diane Gallagher Ralph Gutshall, Jr. Sandy Wagner Art Noble Ruth Noble Barb Stoker

Our Breakfast with Santa was held on November 28 at South Hills Country Club. We hope to have some good photos to share in our next article.

Our upcoming 2022 meetings and events and more member news can be found in the GBU Life Member Community and our district section of the GBU website (reporter.gbu.org/member-news). Our officers are very enthusiastic and have some great ideas.

- Jackie Alaimo, Fraternal Secretary 412-720-4801 or alaimo614@aol.com

District 699–Frankenmuth, Michigan

Fraternal greetings from GBU District 699 in Frankenmuth!

Good riddance to the year 2021! May 2022 be the recovery year we all thought 2021 was going to be.

As a district, we still were very active in 2021. Being mindful of COVID-19 dangers and large groups, we basically had dinners and officers’ meetings and not much in the way of events.

More member photos can be found in the GBU Life Member Community and the districts section of the GBU website (reporter.gbu.org/member-news).

For information regarding GBU insurance or annuity products, contact one of our GBU referral agents: Christine Wohnus-Theros (810-231-2064) or agent Karl Schumacher (734-834-8895).

Check out GBU’s new member referral program—earn $100 for each new member.

Hopefully, everyone had a safe and happy Thanksgiving, a merry Christmas, a warm-and-cozy winter and the happiest of New Year’s! Stay safe and healthy!

- Christina MacKellar, Fraternal Secretary 734-646-9388 or christina.mackellar@gbu.org

September meeting attendees.

We were still able to do Hands Across America on May 1 and as a group, cleaned up a park/campground in town that is run by the local church.

We were also able to do One Week One Street starting June 22. A local Saginaw church picked one street in a distressed part of Saginaw to clean up yards, paint houses, repair fences. Our team was tasked with building a shed for a family’s backyard.

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District 699–Frankenmuth, Michigan, continued

If you need information on any GBU products, please contact one of our sales representatives: Steven Zak (810-982-0530) or Ed Foltz (989-652-6104).

- Dan Pierce, Fraternal Secretary 989-482-9020 or dan.pierce@mail.com

Building the shed.

We did have some great dinner meetings at daVinci’s, Slow Bones BBQ, Harvey's, Lucky’s Steak House, Zehnder’s Restaurant and the Riverside Inn. Many good steaks, seafood, burgers and pies were consumed in the name of fraternalism!

Hope you were able to join our Christmas Party at our home restaurant, daVinci’s. Due to COVID restrictions, our usual caroling activities at the local assisted living facility had to be cancelled.

However, many of our members were able to attend the German Christmas Songfest at the St. Lorenz Lutheran Church this past November, and commented on how enjoyable it was to attend with fellow members. Thanks goes out to Dan Haubenstricker for bringing this event to our Membership’s attention.

We even had an officers' meeting to put together our 2022 calendar at the local Frankenmuth Burger King which has a meeting room so that we could enjoy some fast food and create a fast calendar to make 2022 an exciting year with many outings and fellowship meetings.

District 701–Pontiac, Michigan

I hope everyone had a very healthy and happy Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s! As we ring in 2022, let’s first congratulate Matt Blistan on his retirement and thank him for his many years of leadership and hard work to bring GBU to where we are today. All our best to you, Matt, and enjoy your next adventures!

In early November, GBU Regional Sales Manager Chris Russen drove from Ohio and met with me to discuss GBU’s ongoing growth and big plans for 2022 and beyond. Are you aware how many states GBU does business in? You may be surprised! Thanks for making the trip Chris, it’s positive reinforcement to see the efforts of Home Office to build GBU to another 100+ years.

Fortunately for District 701, we’ve been meeting every month; holding our meetings as if it’s just another day. We’re especially fortunate to have such a beautiful park-like setting at the DASV for our Christmas in July and our summer Picnic in August.

First annual kings’ luncheon.

This past fall’s DASV Octoberfest was a HUGE success!

We hope you and yours had a wonderful and safe holiday season and are hoping for a better 2022 .

I would like to remind everyone that a district officer's position is the place to be if you wish to help “steer the ship” that is your district. Manfred Schwarz has been our District 699 President for the past 10 years. He has done a wonderful job in leading us through the many changes and challenges that face all districts. He has decided to step down as president and move to the position of marshal. We would like to thank him for his tireless efforts and his time devoted to GBU 699. Christine Pfeffer has decided to step down as an officer. We thank her for her many years of service in many positions.

Our officers for 2022 are as follows: President

Leo Ohlendorf First Vice President Regina Pierce Second Vice President Lindsey Pierce Fraternal Secretary Dan Pierce Recording Secretary Cassandra Rutkowski Treasurer

Tim Weiss

Marshals

Manfred Schwarz Evelin Mertz

Sentinels

Ralph Haubenstricker Connie Berlin Susan Weiss

Trustees

Gerda Jones Kaitlyn Pierce Marian Ludlum

We look forward to all our future activities and fraternal fun with all our members. If you are a District 699 member wishing to partake in one of our meetings or events, please contact me at dan.pierce@mail.com.

42

Early in the night.

Octoberfest, under the lights.

At our November meeting we voted our election of officers for 2022 and again agreed to hold all officers “as-is” for another year. Current members who haven’t attended a meeting recently are encouraged to drop in!

Remember, charitable giving is another way to help out during the winter months. Those household goods you may not have room for are a nice way of giving back to the less fortunate. District 701 members are continuing our effort to give often.

Over at the DASV, it’s worth mentioning that aside from being the nicest bunch of people, the DASV is and was about the only group in the area celebrating anything (fun) since spring of 2020. Many members donated their time and thoroughly cleaned and updated the DASV clubhouse for its Coronation Ball this past fall which was a huge success. Check out the DASV's website (www.dasv.org) for its for their next coming events and to see past festivities. Talk to them about joining the group too!

Appreciation goes to GBU for the creation of the new “community” page (community.gbu.org). Although there “may” be a few tweaks to work out, it’s a nice place to catch up with what’s going on within the districts (members only).

Upcoming Events

February March 1 April 5

no meeting, winter break (at the beach) monthly meeting, DASV clubhouse, 11:30 a.m. monthly meeting, DASV clubhouse, 11:30 a.m.

Winter 2022

District 701–Pontiac, Michigan, continued

Please consider joining us the first Tuesday of every month at the DASV clubhouse or simply make a phone call to inquire about what GBU can offer you. New members are what keeps GBU strong and maintains our fraternal recognition.

As fraternal secretary, I can tell you ways that your participation with GBU can help your community and yourself. Deutsch sprechen? GBU wird sogar helfen, die Kosten für das Erlernen JEDER Sprache zu bezahlen! [GBU will even help pay the cost of learning ANY language!]

- Richard A De Arment, Fraternal Secretary 248-709-4949 or MetroDetroitBroker@gmail.com

District 707-Grand Rapids, Michigan

We are excited to welcome in a new year and hope you are all doing well. We enjoyed many fun events during the last quarter of 2021.

We held our annual summer Picnic on August 1. It turned out to be a beautiful day filled with good food, bingo and lots of conversation and laughs. We enjoyed music provided by Dan Bizon.

Some members joined the Senior Neighbors group for a Boat Trip that left from Holland, Michigan. They had a beautiful day and great scenery to enjoy along with food and music!

We held our annual Octoberfest Dinner/Dance on September 26. Some members wore their German outfits. We had an authentic German band that played some great German music. Food was wonderful as usual, and everyone seemed to have a great time.

A few of our members also signed up to volunteer at Sixth St. Hall to prepare food for Pulaski days. Marie Byl, Jean Benedict and Judy Cwiklinski worked for hours preparing the potatoes for the weekend’s Polish event. Our volunteering was very much appreciated for the big Pulaski weekend.

District 707-Grand Rapids Michigan, held its annual Christmas party for members and nonmembers on November 7, 2021. We had a small turnout due to all the increased COVID worries. Our fundraiser was for Toys for Tots. We received many wonderful gifts for the kids and, of course, monetary donations for this organization. Jim Weber volunteered to take these to the collection site. Marie Byl also hosted a silent auction of beautiful gift baskets with proceeds going to Degage Ministries for its holiday needs. Even though it was a smaller group than usual, we enjoyed each other’s company, good food and wonderful entertainment by Living the Dream band. We even had a visit from one of Santa’s elves, Garrett Pourron, who passed out treats to all the good “boys and girls.” Our group always enjoys chocolate treats!

At the tables we all signed Christmas cards for the veterans at Grand Rapids Home for Veterans. So many of these vets enjoy receiving a special Christmas greeting and an acknowledgement that we are so thankful for their service! God bless them!

More photos from our all events can be found in the GBU Life Member Community and the districts section of the GBU website (reporter.gbu.org/member-news).

District 707 meets at 6 p.m. on the fourth Wednesday of each month at Sixth Street Hall. Come join us to learn what we are doing and give us your ideas. Any questions, please call me. We want you there to help us keep our district strong and be a blessing to our community.

If you need information on any GBU products, please contact one of our referral agents: Terry Vander Laan (616-723-3441) or Mary Jane Shrauger (616-450-7451).

- Judy Cwiklinski, Fraternal Secretary 616-454-6026

District 815–Dayton, Ohio

Thank you to our GBU family for making the Liederkranz Germanfest such a success. Barb DeLong, Paula Boehm, Trudy Campbell and many others also donated their time.

Some members in German attire.

More members in their German outfits.

We even had a group picture taken of our “over-90” members! How blessed we are to have such faithful members!

Richard Haber and Anne Pepiot helped with peeling these potatoes.

Over 90s group.

We proudly presented a check for $1,350 to the Dayton Liederkranz because of our GBU Volunteer in Action hours.

(L to r) John Koerner, Debbie Venys, Margie Lewis, Judy Schneider and myself.

The Kettering Children’s Choir received a $2,000 donation. As a fundraiser through the choir’s leaders $1,000 was raised, and $1,000 was through Matching Funds from the GBU Give Back Program, thanks to Judy Schneider’s leadership.

The Reporter 43

District 815–Dayton, Ohio, continued

The Choir practicing.

During October, we featured our FOUR District 815 Scholarship recipients in weekly conference calls. Our four scholars are Jeri Lyn Brooks, Chlöe Brzozowski, Jack Culley and Christian Peek.

District 817–Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Happy New Year! Hopefully your Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays were safe and happy.

The COVID-19 virus had prevented us from having district meetings, but we were able to have our October meeting with our Halloween Costume Party afterwards. Our December meeting was followed by Christmas Dinner.

Our district has been busy contributing canned goods to the local food pantry and donating socks to Declan's Socks for the Streets (socks for the homeless) in addition to continuing to contribute to the GBU Scholarship Fund.

Socks for the homeless.

We look forward to increasing our fraternalism and community contributions in 2022.

As you can tell we are very proud of them! At this time, we still meet via conference calls. We look forward to meeting in person in the near future. The GBU Conference Bridge is the telephone line we have been using to keep our members informed. All we do is call the long-distance number, provide the four-digit bridge number, then enter a four-digit PIN,

Thank you to Richard Haber and Barb DeLong for representing us at the Relay For Life.

- Julie Davis, Fraternal Secretary 215-870-6585 or bjb7241@verizon.net

District 821–Sterling Heights, Michigan

Unfortunately I have to start with the sad news that our long-time fraternal secretary, Adele Reinke, passed away. She diligently, and always in the timely manner, took care of our district article news in The Reporter. I am sure you saw her name in every issue reporting the news of our activities.

We had our Picnic on July 18 at the St. Peter’s church grounds. Everyone shared food, fun, games and stories. On that day, Adele enjoyed herself!

We as the district were very involved with many community activities this summer and fall, mostly helping and supporting with attendance.

The DASV was thankful for the Members in Action program’s $850 matched fund, which I was able to raise for them.

We have selected the Five Rivers Metro Park’s Foundation Wesleyan Metro Park’s Adventure Central Kitchen as our District in Action Project for 2022. The center empowers youth to be their best. We are very excited about this opportunity.

The GBU Life Member Community site (community.GBU.org) continues to grow. Thank you, Jácque Slater, for being our administrator.

GBU Preferred 8 Annuity interest rates are 3.10%. Upcoming EventsTuesday, January 18

Tuesday, February 15

44

Meeting through GBU's Conference Bridge, 4:25 p.m.

Meeting through GBU's Conference Bridge, 4:25 p.m

Our Select Series term insurance plans provide important life insurance coverage with very affordable premiums.

For assistance with your insurance and financial needs, please contact referral agent Chris van Breukelen, FIC (937-885-4784) or sales agents Perry and Paul Groves (937-335-9797).

- Chris van Breukelen, FIC 937-885-4784 or wvanbreukelen@compuserve.com

September 10 was our first meeting after the losses of Vice President Peter Herrmann and Fraternal Secretary Adele Reinke. We haven’t been able to fill the positions yet, although Ingrid Stein was willing to be vice president. Thank you, Ingrid.

September 10 was also the first Oktoberfest of the DASV. It was a Friday evening with dinner, drinks and music, lots of good, old German music played by the Rhinelander. Thank you President Jim Binder and Wendy, Ronny Arndt and others.

Knitted/crocheted blankets and caps our GBU ladies made for the Children's Hospital in Detroit. The ladies have made these blankets and caps every year for the last few years and then they get them all blessed at St. Peters Lutheran Church.

Winter 2022

District 821–Sterling Heights, Michigan, continued

Many of our members were involved working before, during and after the Carpathia’s Oktoberfest, October 1-3, a three-day endeavor. Thank you for all your help.

The Seniors Get-Together at St. Peters Church included a nice lunch, singing and a few stories from members.

The seniors at the German church meet regularly two times per month. Lore Kopp is always part of the kitchen crew having a tasty lunch available, and Renate Rotellini is always involved in a variety of ways. Johann Benesch has the nicest and mostly educational videos ready for our entertainment.

Our German-American day celebration was this time on Sunday afternoon October 10th. It pleased many of us seniors who rather be home early. We had a very nice program with the Michigan Sängerbezirk (GBU, Carpathia and Schwaben Male choirs) singing the German and American national anthems, plus two well-known folk songs Kein schöner Land and Rennsteig Lied. The Carpathia youth group and Kinder dance group performed very nicely. We named the new German-American of the Year: Mr. Erwin Rauschendorfer, a very deserving man. The Edelweiss dance group performed beautifully honoring him for his many year as president of the Edelweiss Club and the very special music done by the Siasswasser Tanzlmusi added to a time of Gemütlichkeit.

Edith Kuplent and Siegfried Charrow took a few of our GBU able-bodied members to Fort Custer in Battle Creek, with a wreath from the GACC President Ingrid Stein, ordered for the fallen WW2 German soldiers who are buried there. The Michigan Sängerbezirk choirs are alternately singing at this event every year.

District 2000 Scholarships Awarded

In 2021, District 2000 awarded 14 scholarships totaling $7,000. Each student received a $500 grant toward tuition costs. Congratulations go out to the following scholarship recipients: Hailey Biehl, Holly Critchley, Kelsy Cross, Benjamin Ferrara, Haleigh Gronwold, Gage Krumlauf, Gabrielle Lucas, Kevin Mealwitz, Matthew Mealwitz, Courtney Pier, Emma Pringle, Jack Pringle, Emma Sanders and Clark Visca. District 2000 Scholarship applications will once again be available early next year with a June 30 deadline.

District Fraternal Donations

District 2000 offers several fraternal programs to assemblies and officers that provide financial support to charitable organizations and those in need. Assembly 126 from Massillon, Ohio, took advantage of these programs in making financial contributions to the following organizations:

A monetary donation was given to Apraxia Kids. This contribution was made to their “Walk for Apraxia” in which GBU members participated. Childhood apraxia is defined as a neurological speech sound disorder that makes it difficult for children to speak. Children with the diagnosis generally have a good understanding of language and know what they want to say. However, they have difficulty learning or carrying out the complex sequenced movements that are necessary for intelligible speech. More information on their great work can be found at www.apraxia-kids.org.

I wish for all of you having a pleasant and blessed remaining wintertime and keep healthy! Any financial questions concerning your retirement living, children and grandchildren’s future, frustrations with your investments—let me help if you please. Happy New Year 2022!

- Marianne Krenzer, Acting Secretary 586-776-7058 or mekrenzer@hotmail.com

District 2000–ULS

District 2000-Sponsored Bowling Tournament Is Back!

Our district-sponsored Bowling Tournament for all GBU members is back on schedule and we’re ready to bowl on Saturday and Sunday, April 23-24, 2022. This two-day event will be held at the Meadows Casino in Washington, PA. GBU members from all districts are invited with the option to bowl in any three-game event, or if you love to bowl, participate in all events both days. If interested, email jdhauser1@comcast.net for registration information or call tournament manager Melanie Kilgore (330-936-4411).

A second donation was directed to Save 22. This group of like-minded veteran friends is working together in raising awareness for and the prevention of veterans and active duty service men and women suicides. Shown is Tom the owner and founder of Save 22 for Veterans accepting our donation. You can visit their website for more information and funding at www.save22.vet.

Assembly Activities

Assembly #62 in Hermitage, Pennsylvania, held a meeting at Trinity Lutheran Church to discuss future activities. The group decided to have a take-out membership dinner available for pick up in March of 2022 due to the popularity of the event which was held last summer. Members also voted to continue to cosponsor the annual General Election Day Bake Sale in addition to discussing the possibility of attending a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game or attending an area musical event during this summer.

The Reporter 45

A T T E N T I O N A L L G B U B O W L E R S

Bowling

T O U R N A M E N T

S P O N S O R E D B Y D I S T R I C T 2 0 0 0 - U L S

District 2000–ULS, continued

Assembly 62 officers and members discuss ideas.

Saturday & Sunday, April 23-24, 2022

at the Meadows Casino in Washington, PA

After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our Bowling Tournament is back on schedule.

Once again, members and non-members will have the option to bowl in any three-game event or participate in all events, both days. If interested, email Jerry Hauser at jdhauser1@comcast.net for registration information or call tournament manager Melanie Kilgore (330-936-4411).

Assembly 9 had a food drive supported by members of Dr. Martin Luther Lutheran Church of Brooklyn, Ohio. All the food collected was given to Redeemer ICH Crisis Center in Cleveland, Ohio. As church members came in they were given a “sermon snack” from Assembly 9, as a thank you for their donation. Pictured is Jim Slough, secretary of Assembly 9.

Assembly 9 made a donation to the youth shelter of Lutheran Metropolitan Ministries of Cleveland, Ohio. Pictured is Assembly 9 President Debby Voldrich with LMM representative.

More member news and photos can be found in the GBU Life Member Community and the districts section of the GBU website (reporter.gbu.org/member-news).

Life Insurance, Annuities, IRA, Fraternal Benefits

Check out the GBU website (gbu.org) for more information on the above products and benefits. For access to an agent or district representative in your area, contact the GBU Home Office.

Until next time!- Jerry A. Hauser, Treasurer

46Winter 2022

District 3000–HRFA

Submitted by Jonathan Naser.Thank you, Rev. Martin.

This year marks Rev. Leslie Martin's 21st year of service to HRFA and GBU District 3000. He served 11 years on HRFA's Board of Directors and 10 years as a District 3000 district officer including the past three as president. While he will not continue in an officer role, he will continue to be an active GBU member.

From my first meeting, the officers quickly encouraged and supported me to get involved and grow personally and professionally. Rev. Martin has provided consistent encouragement and advice, helping me grow in my role as a district officer and later as a Home Office employee.

Rev. Martin was instrumental in guiding the merger and early years of the partnership with GBU. His guidance and leadership have been crucial for the integration of District 3000 into GBU while retaining our Hungarian heritage and identity.

Best wishes Rev. Martin in retirement, thank you!

MAKE-A-DATE

Due to varying COVID-19 restrictions, please check with one of the district’s officers to see if the event is still being held.

Date

Dist.

Event

January 29

84

Bowling, Leisure Lanes

29

84

Bingo game

February

26

84

Bowling, Leisure Lanes, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

March

28

45

Spring Pie Sale orders due

April 9

45

Spring Pie Sale orders come in

10

510

Children’s Easter Egg Hunt, 1 p.m.-3 p.m.

23-24

ALL

District 2000-Sponsored Bowling Tournament, Meadows Casino in Washington, PA. See district article for registration info.

Linda and Rev. Leslie Martin at GBU’s 35th National Convention.

District 4000–Sokol USA

Lodge 26 in Guttenberg, New Jersey, was holding its annual election of officers on December 4. Please contact Brother Buddy Burkhardt (aburkh2130@gmail.com) for future meeting times and locations.

Sokol Lodge 130 New Kensington member, Margaret Gaydac, turned 100 years old in December 2021.

We wish her a belated happy 100th birthday! She no longer lives in the area and has moved away. We truly miss her at our lodge 130, she is a sweet and nice person! It is a milestone birthday to be celebrated. Best wishes always from Lodge 130 members!

More member news and photos can be found in the GBU Life Member Community and the districts section of the GBU website (reporter.gbu.org/member-news).

- Kristin Greenberg, District Secretary knmerker@gmail.com

The Reporter 47