October 2022

AGP Stammtisch in Birmingham

Come join us for AGP "Stammtisch":

Wednesday, October 5, 2022

5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Carrigan's Beer Garden, Birmingham

Come out to network! This is a great opportunity for German expats to meet and for other German-speaking/practicing to improve your German. Speaking German is encouraged but not required. We meet every month (every other month will be in Birmingham).

Carrigan's Beer Garden has a great selection of beverages and food for purchase. Family, kids and dogs are allowed. 

What does "Stammtisch" mean? A Stammtisch is an informal group meeting held on a regular basis, and also the usually large table around which the group meets. A Stammtisch is not a structured meeting, but rather a friendly and casual get-together.

SAVE THE DATE! German-Style Homebrewing Contest in Northport

Save the Date:

Saturday, November 5, 2022

11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Rolf's Deli, Northport

We are in search of homebrewers that are up for the competition. The homebrewers will compete for the bragging rights of the best German-Style beer. We will invite AGP members and supporters to attend and vote for the “AGP People’s Choice 2022” and also have an official panel of judges for “AGP Best in German-Style Homebrew 2022”. Please reach out to our office for information on how to participate in the competition and to sign up. Ready - Start - BREW! 

The ticket sale will open soon! 

Dankeschön to our PATRON Members:

Alabama Sends Trade Delegation to Germany

By Business Alabama

Alabama trade officials, led by Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield, are in Germany to help develop trade partnerships for Alabama-based businesses.

“The journey to Munich and nearby Augsburg is the Alabama Department of Commerce’s first trade and business development mission since before the pandemic, when an Alabama team traveled to the United Arab Emirates in September 2019,” Commerce said in announcing the trip.

The trip is a collaboration with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Trip participants will participate in the EU-US Small and Medium Enterprise Best Practices Workshop, which focuses on “SME’s Rising: Recovery Together on Both Sides of the Atlantic.” That gathering takes place in Augsburg.

“Through our Office of International Trade, we are leading the charge to ensure that Alabama companies are directly connected to the resources they need to access foreign markets and develop export opportunities,” said Greg Canfield, secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce.

“We are committed to strengthening Alabama’s international ecosystem and working with our trade partners on every level to foster a healthy climate for international business,” he added.

Alabama businesses that are participating in the trade mission are Huntsville-based Gene Capture, BLOC Global Group from Birmingham, EV hospitality company Domestique, Birmingham industrial engineering firm Adah International and ASHIPA Electric of Birmingham.

German partnerships have been particularly important to Alabama in the last quarter century. Since 1999, German firms have invested nearly $10 billion here.

AlabamaWorks Recognize Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, Inc.

By AlabamaWorks

AlabamaWorks! is pleased to recognize Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, Inc. as this year’s Innovator Award recipient for region 3 for their role in helping to launch the Modern Manufacturing Program at Brookwood High School. Mercedes-Benz staff serve as advisors to the program where they share the vision of MBUSI and the workforce needs with the students. This year MBUSI added to their commitment by breaking down barriers to implement a youth apprenticeship program for 16–18-year-old students.

The awards were developed to highlight people and programs across the state that take an innovative approach to solving workforce challenges and help advance Governor Ivey’s Success Plus attainment goal of adding 500,000 highly skilled workers by 2025.



German state celebrates ties to Commerce with partnership award

By Made in Alabama

An organization promoting economic ties to the German state of Niedersachsen recognized the Alabama Department of Commerce as its “Outstanding Economic Development Partner of the Year” at an international trade show in Chicago.

The award from Invest in Niedersachsen reflects Commerce’s strategic efforts to build close relationships with companies and business organizations throughout Europe but particularly in Germany. Commerce maintains a business development office in Stuttgart, and Germany is Alabama’s No. 1 international investor.

“We opened our European office in 2019 to raise Alabama’s profile and make the right connections within the business community there,” said Greg Canfield, Secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce.

“This much-appreciated award from our friends in Niedersachsen shows that our efforts are paying off, and we’ll work hard to expand our relationship with them,” he added.

Read Made in Alabama's Full Story



Goethe-Zentrum Grand Opening in Atlanta

Last month more than 350 guests as well as dignitaries from Atlanta City Council President Doug Shipman to German Consul General Melanie Moltmann to a representative Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs joined the celebrations of the grand opening of the new Goethe-Zentrum center.

Goethe-Zentrum and their partner Alliance Française d’Atlanta moved into their new offices in Downtown Atlanta at the Franco-German center. The center offers an inviting library, an event space, and 10 new classrooms. 

Learn more about Goethe-Zentrums programs. 

Delta Reconnects Atlanta with Germany

By ThePointsGuy.com

Atlanta is Delta's largest hub and it will be reconnected with Germany in the spring. 

The first will be service to Stuttgart Airport (STR) beginning on March 26, 2023. This business-focused route connects Mercedes Benz's in the Southeast with their main offices in Germany. It was last operated in March 2020, according to Cirium schedules.

Next up, Delta will restart flights between the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and Dusseldorf on May 9, 2023. This three-times-weekly service last operated in March 2020.

Check here for Delta's other new connections.

GACC South Annual Dinner in Atlanta

Save the date for German American Chamber of Commerce's 26th Annual Gala at St. Regis Hotel in Atlanta on Saturday, October 29, 2022. 

This year, they aim to bring the German-American business community together to reignite the dialogue between the U.S. and Germany across all sectors.

Casino Royale will be this year's signature black-tie celebration & fundraiser. Guests will enjoy an exquisite evening of entertainment and prime networking opportunities—all centered around the theme of “Casino Royale".

This event will feature elegant casino classics, including a red-carpet experience, a martini bar, a live show band, blackjack, craps, roulette, and more! At the end of the evening, guests will have the opportunity to redeem their game chips for a unique gift or experience in our raffle!

Some raffle prizes include: Stays at one of the luxurious Grand Bohemian hotels (based in AL, GA, NC, and SC), a private family portrait session, and many more!

Dankeschön to our SUSTAINING Members:

Welcome New AGP Member

Please help us welcome our new member:

CORPORATE - REGULAR

McKenzie Handling Systems Inc

Cooper McKenzie

President

McKenzie handling Systems provides complete, fully engineered material handling systems in one total package. They custom design, build, install, and service integrated systems using the most advanced technology available. They are problem solvers at McKenzie Handling Systems and enjoy the challenge of designing total conveyor and material handling systems; they can objectively recommend the best system for you.

McKenzie Handling Systems is a full-service Materials Handling solutions provider. They have in-house capabilities to design, engineer, manufacture, install and maintain systems for products such as with their Quick Ship Conveyor Program, which offers a wide range of aluminum, painted mild steel, and stainless steel conveyor systems, they can meet these needs fast. They stock all standard components and sections, enabling them to ship your order without delay...sometimes even overnight! Whether the task is a simple transportation conveyor or a complex handling system, everything you need is available through McKenzie Handling Systems.

As an AGP member, you can connect with them through the AGP membership database.

Learn more at: www.mckenziehandling.com

CORPORATE - ASSOCIATE

Darby Enterprise Global Solutions

LaVa Darby

CEO & President

Darby Enterprise Global Solutions is the entity of Darby Enterprise which is headquartered in Hoover, Alabama. They strive to deliver the highest quality service to their customers. The services are performed in a manner that illustrates their high level of competencies and their desire for the highest standards of business ethics and integrity.

Darby Enterprise Global Solutions has assembled a world-class core of staff members performing all services in the mentioned manner. Their senior management team has over 25 years of experience performing a myriad of projects for both government and commercial services within the United States and Internationally.

As an AGP member, you can connect with them through the AGP membership database.

Learn more at: www.darbyenterprise.us

EDUCATIONAL - PROFESSIONAL

Edward Meehan

Professor Emeritus

University of Alabama in Huntsville

German Unity Day

German Unity Day is the National Day in Germany, celebrated on 3 October as a public holiday. It commemorates German reunification in 1990 when the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic were unified so that for the first time since 1945 there existed a single German state.



W.I.L.D Weekend

ATTENTION ALABAMA LANGUAGE TEACHERS & GERMAN STUDENTS

WILD - Weekend Immersed in Language Development.

This is such a fun opportunity for high school students who have taken at least Level 1 German. They will get immersed in the German language from November 4 to 6 at the 4H Center, Columbiana AL Students always leave with increased confidence in their language ability and they will have a lot of fun. REGISTER BY OCTOBER 8th! 

LEARN MORE! 

Sisters who survived Holocaust together die 11 days apart in Birmingham

By Greg Garrison for ALcom

Two sisters who survived the Holocaust together, and made it their mission to share their memories with the world, died in Birmingham 11 days apart.

Featured in picture, Ruth Scheuer Siegler, 95, died on Saturday, Sept. 3 and her funeral took place at the Temple Beth-El. 

Her sister, Ilse Scheuer Nathan, 98, died less than two weeks before, on Aug. 23.

“They were always together,” said Ann Mollengarden, education director for the Alabama Holocaust Education Center. “When Ilse died, I think Ruth was ready.”

The sisters were among the first to take part in an exhibit by photographer Becky Seitel and artist Mitzi Levin called, ‘’Darkness into Life: The Birmingham Area Holocaust Survivors Through Photography and Art.’’ It went public in 2007 and remains on display at the Holocaust Education Center.

In 2011, Ruth wrote a detailed and heartbreaking memoir, ‘’My Father’s Blessing,’’ full of family pictures that were saved and papers that documented her journey in surviving the Holocaust.

In a 2011 interview with The Birmingham News, she recalled the reasons for writing the book. ‘’I have all these memories,’’ she said in an interview at her Mountain Brook home. ‘’I remember everything.’’

During the interview, her sister Ilse came to visit from her nearby home. The sisters helped each other survive, and faith helped them through, they both agreed. ‘’I always say have faith and hope,’’ Ilse Nathan said. ‘’We leaned on each other and prayed together.’’

The Scheuer family rode in a cattle car by train to Auschwitz II (Birkenau), the largest concentration and extermination camp operated by Nazi Germany during World War II. ‘’Being together like animals, that’s always vivid in my memory,’’ Ruth said. It was one of five Nazi camps where she was held prisoner. Her father, who raised cattle and was a kosher butcher in their mostly Catholic village of Sinzenich, Germany, died at Auschwitz. The last time he saw Ruth and her sister Ilse in the camp, he held his hands over them and said a traditional Hebrew prayer of blessing for them. The daughters also were separated from their mother and brother there, and never saw them again.

Read Greg Garrison's Full Story

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