MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
Albert Fullenkamp
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We are well on our way to a great year for Kettering Sister Cities. We will run through the significant events later in this article but now the big item is we need “Host Families” for the upcoming visit by the Students from Steyr. See the accompanying article on “Host Families” to see what is involved and what a great learning experience it can be for your children or grandchildren.
We finished last year with a great get-together at Polen Farm for the “Wine Tasting” event. Whoever thought Austrian wines could be so good. A big “thank-you” to Joyce Conner and John and Sue Barber for doing so much to make it such a success.
We started this year off with another great Annual Meeting kickoff at Mamma Disalvo's Party Room. A wonderful turnout and fantastic food made for a delightful evening with Friends and much discussion on everyone's Austrian/European travels.
June will be a very busy month with the Kettering Community Block Party on June 12
th
(6 pm to 8 pm) and our largest annual fundraiser “SpassNacht” a fun Austrian Evening on June 19
th
from 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm. Both of these events will be held at Lincoln Park Civic Commons. So invite your friends and bring yourself out to have a wonderful time.
In July Students from Steyr will be visiting beginning on July 3
rd
and they will be in Kettering for about two weeks. During that time we will show them Kettering and the entire Miami Valley at its best. Later in July (17
th
thru the 19
th
) the Sister Cities Annual Meeting will be held in Houston.
There will not be much time for rest as Labor Day and the end of summer will be right around the corner. Labor Day means the Holiday at Home celebration and Kettering Sister Cities plans on being there once again with our Beer and Pretzel Booth.
Profits from these fundraisers allow us to defray the costs for Kettering students to travel to Steyr and allow us to help host and celebrate Steyr Students here in Kettering.
Our Fall program, Pub Night, usually in October allows us to celebrate Kettering, England, our second Sister City. The local governments in Kettering England are presently going through a major restructuring and we will stand by them throughout these turbulent times. For more information on this please go on line at
https://kettering.gov.uk/public_service_reform
.
We also want to highlight “Mamma Disalvo's Resturant” for being our first “Business Member” This is a great beginning as we wish to get many more local businesses involved in this program.
Thanks to all again for your support for Kettering Sister Cities and we look forward to seeing you at one or more of this years events.
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Come see Sister Cities friends at the Kettering Block Party which will be held on Wednesday, June 12 from 6:00- 8:00 p.m. at Lincoln Park Civic Commons/Fraze.
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Contact Sister Cities Committee
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If you would like to participate or have ideas to share, we would like to hear from you! Please write or contact:
- Kettering City Council Office at 937-296-2416
- Al Fullenkamp, Chairperson at 937-293-6263
- Ed Hatch, Steyr, Austria subcommittee at 937-298-6124
- Janet Bolton, Kettering England subcommittee at 937-293-6556
Kettering Sister Cities Committee
Kettering Government Center
3600 Shroyer Road
Kettering, OH 45429
www.sistercities.com
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Welcome New Board Members
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We welcome the following new board member added in the past year:
- Mark Schweikhart
- Claudea Welles
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Kettering Mayor & Council
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Don Patterson, Mayor
Bill Lautar, Vice Mayor
Jacque Fisher, At Large
Rob Scott, District 1
Joe Wanamaker, District 2
Tony Klepacz, District 3
Bruce Duke, District 4
Mark Schwieterman, City Manager
Steven Bergstresser, Assistant City Manager
Council Office- 296-2416
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Upcoming Events |
SPRING & SUMMER 2019
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Kettering Community Block Party
6:00 - 8:00 PM
Lincoln Park Civic Commons
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Spass Nacht:
Austrian Fun Night
5:30 - 9:30 PM
Lincoln Park Civic Commons
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Steyr Students Visit
July 3-17
Various Locations
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Have you seen the new Kettering Sister Cities website? Last year, Kettering Sister Cities Chair Albert Fullenkamp facilitated the complete upgrade of our website. It is now full of pictures and information about upcoming events. You can even find copies of archived Kettering Sister Cities newsletters! Visit
www.keteringsistercities.com
today!
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COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON LIST
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1967 – 1968 Gary Shepherd
1969 – 1970 E. Beryl Ketchen
1971 – 1973 Jocelyn Feeman
1974 – 1976 Betty Jane Silas
1977 – 1979 Al Laughrey
1980 Helen M. Drummond
1981 Correne Patterson
1982 William Merrell
1983 Correne Patterson
1984 Donald Hibbs
1985 David Abbot
1986 Patricia Mastbaum
1987 Walter Pettit
1988 Paul Doty
1989 Janet Niekamp Bolton
1990 – 1991 Helen Smith
1992 – 1993 William Gray
1994 Cynda Kehl
1995 – 1996 Janet Niekamp Bolton
1997 – 1998 Patricia Mastbaum
1999 – 2000 John Rininger
2001 Phyllis Worthman
2002 – 2003 Lynda Hohnhorst
2004 Sue Dabbelt
2005 – 2006 Vernon Hentz
2007 – 2008 Gary Busch
2009 – 2011 Robert Van Leeuwen
2012 – 2013 Paul Fleitz
2014 – 2017 Emily Zimmer
2018 – 2019 Albert Fullenkamp
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CONTINUOUS SUSTAINING MEMBERS FROM 1977
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Carl and Roberta Beyer
Gerald and Irene Busch
Julie Gilmore
Robert and Judith Hadley
Edward and Elke Hatch
Marty Hibbs
Jean Judge
Joe and Pat Mastbaum
Dinah Miller
Correne Moran
Thomas and Marilou Smith
Richard and Constance Thomas
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Baker, Earl and Sherry
Barber. John and Susan
Bayless, George and Charlene
Beyer, Carl and Roberta
Bolton, James and Janet
Brandt, Michael and Maria
Busch, Gary and Susan
Busch, Gerald and Irene
Conner, Joyce
Dailey, Richard and Brynne
Fullenkamp, Albert and Sue
Hadley, Robert and Judith
Hartmann, Richard and Mona
Hatch, Edward and Elke
Hoge, Franz and Margaret
Hohnhorst, Lynda
Judge, Jean
Laughrey, John
Lawless, Bill and Jackie
Maletic, Mike, Julie, Steven and JT
Mama Disalvo’s Italian Restorante
Mastbaum, Joe and Pat
Meers, Bill and Mary Lou
Meyer, Brian and Monica
Miller, Dinah
Moran, Correne
Murphy, Barbara
Nordin, Carol
Pokorski, Joseph and Linda
Rathweg, Andrew and Courtney
Schneider, Carl and Judy
Schweikhart, Mark, Stacy, Jake and Quinn
Schwieterman, Mark and Mary
Shaw, Brian
Steward, Doug, Chris and Sophia
Stumpf, Theresa and Grant
Timmer, Don, Penny, Katie, Wally and Mira
Webb, Ashley and Emily
Welles, Claudia
Wittman, Robert and Robin
Zimmer, Robert and Emily
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KETTERING SISTER CITIES SEEKING HOST FAMILIES FOR SUMMER YOUTH EXCHANGE
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Kettering Sister Cities is currently looking for host families for the annual youth exchange program. Austrian students will visit from our Sister City, Steyr, Austria from July 3-17, 2019. Sister Cities organizes a Polen Farm picnic, Dragons Game, Dayton City bike tour, Kings Island trip, and more!
Interested families should contact Emily Zimmer at emilyczimmer@gmail.com for more information.
Schedule for Steyr Student Visits
July 3 -Wednesday– Arrival of Steyr guests
July 9 –Tuesday- tour of Kettering Police station 6:00pm
July 9 –Tuesday- Official welcome at the City Council meeting - 7:30
July 10 - Thursday – Polen Farm Picnic Dinner
All Host Families and Kettering Sister Cities members will receive an invitation to this potluck dinner in the mail.
July 15 –Monday- afternoon bike tour of Dayton
Austrian students will bike to Deeds Point, then through downtown, Sinclair, UD, Woodland Cemetery, and the Historic Oregon District.
July 15 –Monday- evening Dragons Baseball Game
July 17 – Wednesday- Austrian guests depart
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This special event held in November was a fun way to celebrate the Austrian tradition of Fasching, a celebration held throughout Europe. The Community room at Polen Farm was transformed into a Wine Tasting room. There was lively conversation and laughter as we sampled fine wines from Austria.(Those present seemed to prefer the white wines.) We enjoyed delicious specialty cheeses as well.
President Al Fullenkamp welcomed the Kettering Sister Cities members and guests and Bloom Beloved explained the Fasching tradition. Emily Zimmer presented an outstanding slide show about the Student Exchanges.
The evening of fun and fellowship was cost free, thanks to the generous donation of wine by John and Sue Barber, who also made all the contacts with Arrow Wine. The donations from those at the event will be added to our budget for the Student Exchange.
Thanks to City staff who helped plan and set-up at Polen Farm, Mary Lou Meers for decorations, and especially to Sue Barber, co-chair, for taking an idea and making it a reality.
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Forty four Kettering Sister Cities members joined us for our Annual Dinner on March 20, 2019 at Mama DiSalvo’s Ristorante.
The highlight of the evening was a presentation by member Mike Brandt who recently traveled to Steyr, Austria. He made a presentation to Mayor Don Patterson from the Steyr Burgermeister. Kettering Sister Cities Chair Albert Fullenkamp introduced the Mayor and Council members and also presided over a brief committee meeting.
Once again the menu was exceptional. Dinner started with delicious bruschetta during the social hour. A salad and warm bread were served before everyone went to the pasta buffet featuring fettucine alfredo and lasagna. Cookies topped off dinner.
A big thank you to the committee: Janet Bolton, Sue Fullenkamp & Mary Lou Meers for their part toward making the evening a success. Thanks goes to Bill Meers who gave the devotion before dinner and to Chair Albert Fullenkamp. Also thank you to those who attended and made it a fun night of fellowship.
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