In his speech, Lord Mayor Frank Frühauf emphasized the great importance of volunteering. "Volunteering is the heart, it is the pulse of our society, it holds the community together and makes it strong." That is why the council, administration and he personally are particularly keen to acknowledge this commitment. It is an indispensable service for the common good, continued Frühauf, whether in sport, in culture, in charitable institutions or in aid and rescue services such as the volunteer fire department. The quote from Erich Kästner applies to them all. "There is nothing good unless you do it".
One item on the program of the Volunteer Festival is always the recognition of special sporting achievements. And there were quite a few of these last year, with Mayor Frühauf inviting a number of successful individual athletes and a team to join him on stage. Dennis Lukas from LG Idar-Oberstein became German champion in shot put last year with a distance of 19.82 meters. TV 1848 Oberstein was strongly represented. Jonas Jäckel, who was unable to be there in person due to a competition and was represented by his uncle, won the German championship title in both the athletics pentathlon and the shot put. His club colleague Jan-Ole Winkler became German champion in stone throwing. The TVO's rope skippers were particularly successful. Maike Preuß became German champion in 30-second rope speed, Sarah Bizer German champion in triple under and team 1 with Julia Kannengießer, Katrin Ryan, Peri Ann Houk, Maike Preuß and Max Polenske German champion in double Dutch freestyle. The rope skippers also took part in the World Championships in Colorado Springs (USA).
"Although the rope skippers from TV Oberstein have been participating very successfully in national and international competitions for many years, probably only very few people know what top performances they achieve," emphasized Mayor Frühauf. They therefore took the opportunity to demonstrate their sport to the public. The individual disciplines were expertly commented on by TVO Chairwoman Julia Kannengießer. And the audience was amazed at the performances on stage. It was a great advertisement for this challenging sport.
Leonhard Stibitz from the Birkenfeld District Savings Bank's Management Board then presented the VOR-TOUR-der-Hoffnung. The Germany-wide Tour of Hope, the largest privately organized charity bike tour, has been collecting donations to support children with cancer and their families as well as cancer research since 1983. In 1996, the VOR-TOUR of Hope was founded in Rhineland-Palatinate for the same purpose. This VOR-TOUR will make its first stop in Idar-Oberstein on Saturday, July 20, 2024. An event with an appealing entertainment program will take place at 11.30 a.m. on Schleiferplatz in the Idar district, where the donations collected in the Birkenfeld district will be officially handed over. Leonhard Stibitz campaigned for support for this charity campaign and was already able to acquire a number of donations that evening.
After the official part, which was skillfully accompanied by music from Walter Krauss from the Birkenfeld district music school, the evening moved on to the relaxed part. With an excellent buffet from the "Zum Wilden Keiler" restaurant in Horschbach, cool drinks and a relaxed atmosphere, there was plenty of room for good conversation and a lively exchange between the many volunteers.