April 2023

AGP Traveling Stammtisch and German Dinner in Huntsville

Come out to network!

Come join us for AGP traveling "Stammtisch" and German Dinner in Huntsville.This is a great opportunity for German expats to meet and for others to practice their German. Speaking German is encouraged but not required. We meet every month (every other month is in Birmingham).

Monika Müller with the Nook will be serving up a plate of German Jägerschnitzel, Pan Fried Potatoes and Cucumber Salad (signup BEFORE April 18). The Nook has a large selection of beers - 400+ of them and 80 of them are on draft (36 local). Please note that the fee includes one dinner, tax, and gratuities. The beverage of your choice can be purchased separately.

Tuesday, April 25, 2023

6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

The Nook, Huntsville

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.



AGP German-Style Asparagus Dinner

We partnered with German General Manager Jörg Wesche of the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Mountain Brook (Birmingham) to create a German-Style White Asparagus Dinner.

 Thursday, April 27, 2023

6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m 

Grand Bohemian Hotel 

Mountain Brook/Birmingham

Please join us for an evening in the Grand Bohemian Hotel's Private Dining Room. We invite you to relish in a delectable five-course menu perfectly accompanied with beer and wine. 

AGP Young Professionals Updates

AGP Young Professional's New Chair

Please help us congratulate Viki Gryska with JamisonMoneyFarmer on her new role as the AGP Young Professional's Chair starting April 1, 2023. Viki has been a member of the AGP Young Professionals leadership group for the past three years. Viki says, “ As chair of AGP YP, it is my hope, and my goal, to facilitate the growth and longevity of the AGP YP through industry, integrity, and involvement. With your help, we can teach others the importance of bringing the German and US cultures together for business and individual success.”

William Hodges, with Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, has acted as the chair for the group, and we thank him for his leadership these past years and his tireless work for the group. Under William's leadership, the group has continued to grow and hosted many webinars on current topics, fun social hours, and more. We wish him all the best in his next endeavor and hope he continues to stay involved with the group.

Would you like to be involved in steering the AGP Young Professionals and help plan events for the growing group?

Consider joining the leadership group! We are looking to add more Young Professionals to the leadership group. You would be involved in the planning of webinar topics, company visits, social hours, and coming up with new ideas for the group.

The Young Professionals group is under the AlabamaGermany Partnership (AGP) umbrella. The age requirement is 21 to 39. Its members are interns, co-op, or employees of an Alabama-Germany company or institution. This also includes college students and graduate students studying the German language, international business, science, and engineering. The group promotes international education, individual career development with Alabama-German companies, and progressive business and engineering topics. We seek to foster strong intercultural networking opportunities and relationships, personal and professional development, and provide an easy-going place to socialize and engage with like-minded ambitious individuals.

Contact us no later than April 30 with your name, title, company/institution/school, city, and birth year. Email: director@alabamagermany.org

AGP Young Professionals Social Hour in Birmingham 

Join us for AGP Young Professionals Social Hour:

Thursday, April 20, 2023

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

Carrigan's Beer Garden, Birmingham

Come out to meet the AGP Young Professionals' NEW Chair Viki Gryska. Learn what part of the leadership group entails as they are looking to expand the group. There will be plenty of time to mingle with your fellow Young Professionals too! 

Carrigan's Beer Garden has a great selection of

 beverages and food for purchase.

Dankeschön to our PATRON Members:

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND ATTENDANCE OF

THE AGP 25TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION IN PRATTVILLE

Prattville and the Capitol Hill Marriott Hotel and Conference Center welcomed AlabamaGermany Partnership and all our supporters with open arms. The record-breaking attendance and support for the AGP 25th Anniversary Celebration Dinner and reception, breakfast networking, business forum, and golf tournament were overwhelming. THANK YOU!  

Please enjoy the many moments captured at the anniversary celebration captured in the photo gallery.

AGP recognized seven German companies for investments valued at almost $200 million in Alabama through growth projects announced in 2022. The recognition was presented by: Bob Smith, Director of European Strategy, Alabama Department of Commerce; Melanie Moltmann, German Consul General to the Southeast of the US; Matthias Hoffmann, president, and CEO, German American Chamber of Commerce South. The companies were:

•ADS-Tec Energy, Inc., Auburn

•Eissmann Automotive, N.A., Pell City

•Evonik Corporation, Birmingham

•Evonik Corporation, Theodore

•MBN Automotive, Birmingham

•Star Cooperation USA, Inc., Vance

•Winkelmann Flowform Technology, L.P., Auburn

AGP appreciates and supports the companies for their commitment to Alabama.

Dr. Barbara Fischer Education Award

Congratulations to Lisa Keyes, recipient of the Barbara Fischer Education Award for Excellence. Dr. Matthew Feminella, The University of Alabama and AGP board member presented the award. This year’s Dr. Barbara Fischer Education Award goes to one of the great facilitators of the exchange between Alabama and Germany. Thirty-Seven years ago Tuscaloosa Sister Cities International was established to promote productive exchanges and collaboration with Tuscaloosa’s partners in the countries of Japan, Ghana and the city of Schorndorf in Germany, the noted birthplace of Gottlieb Daimler. For over twenty years, Lisa Keyes has served as the Director of the Tuscaloosa Sister Cities International. In this position, Lisa has advanced citizen diplomacy and mutual understanding between Germany and Alabama through administering delegation travel and exchange programs, distributing scholarships, and organizing city festivals such as WAMA Fest. She has overseen hundreds of student ambassadors cross the Atlantic and take part in exchanges in Tuscaloosa and Schorndorf––as well as over 400 adult delegates who’ve traveled as a part of the official city delegation to their sister city. Read Dr. Feminella's full remarks here.

From left: Tine Hoffmeister, Executive Director, AGP - Kirk Atkinson, AGP Chair, President, ADAH International, Ted vonCannon, Retired Executive Director, Jefferson County Economic & Industrial Development Authority, Brian Hilson, AGP Immediate Past Chair, Executive Director, Japan American Society of Alabama.

The Rainer Bauer Award

A highlight of every AGP Dinner is the presentation of the Rainer Bauer Award. Our recipient that evening was Ted vonCannon. His outstanding accomplishments, dedicated service, and loyal friendship to the AlabamaGermany Partnership are something we experienced from the very beginning of the organization. The award was presented by Brian Hilson, AGP Immediate Past Chair, Executive Director, the Japan American Society of Alabama. Hilson said: "His (Ted vonCannon) approach to economic development with Germans, or for that matter anyone, was "Let's first build a relationship, then we'll talk business. That's a good lesson for anyone, anywhere. There's no doubt that, crazy stories or not Alabama is a better place for Germans to live, do business and succeed because of Ted's approach to building personal and business friendships, "in his heart of hearts", as he often says. I don't know there's ever been anyone more deserving of this award than Ted vonCannon." Read Brian Hilson's full remarks here.

Keynote by Michael Göbel, MBUSI

The keynote speaker, Michael Göbel, president & CEO of Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, took the audience down memory lane from when Mercedes-Benz got started in Alabama to the present of their electric vehicles produced right here in Alabama including the batteries, to the future and the transformation of the automotive industry and its workforce and skillset, and infrastructure.

AGP Business Forum

The Anniversary celebration continued Friday morning for the early birds with breakfast networking and a German American Business Outlook for 2023 presented by Bob Smith, Director of European Strategy, Alabama Department of Commerce, and Matthias Hoffmann, president, and CEO of German American Chamber of Commerce South.

AGP Golf Tournament

It was a beautiful day for AGP's Inaugural Golf Tournament on RTJ's Capitol Hill. Congratulations to the winners of the tournament that walked away with bragging rights and an engraved AGP Beer Stein.

Thank you again to ALL that came out to support AGP, including VIP guests and presenters, volunteers, the AGP board of officers and directors,

and our sponsors!

Your dedication and support are what make AGP possible. THANK YOU!

AGP in the News

By Jerry Underwood for Made in Alabama

Alabama Germany Partnership marks 25 years of advancing ‘special relationship’.

The business ties between Germany and Alabama date back decades and have only grown stronger in recent years.

More than 80 German companies have operations in Alabama, and the state opened a business development office in Stuttgart in 2019.

German companies have invested over $10 billion in the state since 1999, according to data from the Alabama Department of Commerce. These projects have created around 18,500 direct jobs.

When the AGP was established, its leadership, comprised primarily of economic developers, recognized that attention to cultural and educational interests — and not just to business issues — would better prepare Alabama for additional German investment.

“The AGP’s mission has remained consistent over the last 25 years, and its leadership — through both individuals and companies — has remained intact,” said Brian Hilson, the group’s immediate past chairman. “The organization’s events and programs bring together people who share the same interest in growing and benefitting from the Alabama-Germany relationship.

“As German business investment in Alabama has grown, so too has the Alabama Germany Partnership, and the presence of Germans who feel at home in Alabama,” he added.

Kirk Atkinson, president of Birmingham-based Adah International and the AGP’s chair, said the organization has benefited his career and many others like him.

“I started out as a member of the AGP as a young professional, which led me to living and working in Germany for several years,” Atkinson said. “After returning home to Alabama, I’ve applied the AGP network and services to advance my career, especially as an international entrepreneur. Now, as chairman, I want to inspire and support other Alabamians to pursue careers in international industry.”

AGP Executive Director Tine Hoffmeister said the organization has 125 members and many supporters. To advance its goals, the group sponsors business seminars, networking events and German cultural events and dinners, along with other activities including a five-day study trip to Germany.

Another important role for the AGP is promoting the growth and success of German businesses in Alabama and highlighting employment, internship and apprenticeship opportunities at these companies.

Read Jerry Underwood's full write-up.

Dankeschön to our SUSTAINING Members:

AGP Welcomes New Members

Please help us welcome our new members:

CORPORATE - REGULAR

German Food, Gifts and More

Heike Horning

Owner

German Food, Gifts, and More is located in Phenix City, AL. They have a lot to offer, like a German Cafe and Food Specialty store, with gift items such as German Beerstein, Dirndl, Lederhosen, baked goods, candy, sausages, and much more....

Learn more at: https://www.facebook.com/GermanFoodandGifts

CORPORATE - ASSOCIATE

Mind Your Culture

Anke Jahn

President

Mind Your Culture is a culture-focused business solutions and leadership development firm. They equip leaders with the insights, tools and strategies to leverage culture to advance business objectives and lead with compassion. Their mission is to bring people together for better business outcomes and a better world. They are committed to inspire, create and develop individuals, organizations and communities that recognize the value of our diverse human experiences. They believe that our humanity unites us and our differences enrich us. We are better together.

Learn more at: www.mindyourculture.com

EDUCATIONAL - INSTITUTE

The Capitol School

Barbara Roundtree

Director

The Capitol School in Tuscaloosa. The Capitol School is a Multiple Intelligence School founded in 1993 whose mission is to educate responsible citizens of the world. Since 1993, their faculty has worked to find ways to incorporate Multiple Intelligences opportunities for their faculty and students in preschool through 12th grades. Medical research indicates the capacities of the brain and how the mind is organized. They offer 3 languages: German, Spanish and Mandarin. 

As an AGP member, you can connect with them through the AGP membership database. Learn more at: www.thecapitolschool.com

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

Join AlabamaGermany Partnership (AGP)

AlabamaGermany Partnership (AGP) is an extremely active organization. Many of Alabama’s leading German and American companies are active participants in AGP. The organization facilitates:

• Networking Events
• Educational Outreach
• German Dinners
• Cultural Workshops
• Business Seminars
• Young Professionals Events
• Roundtables for German Company Leaders
• Study Trips to Germany

Join us today and be a part of our diverse group of industrial, corporate, cultural, educational, and governmental leaders. 

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