For his many years of commitment to local politics, Thomas Engel has now received the ring of honor of the city of Idar-Oberstein from Lord Mayor Frank Frühauf as well as a certificate of thanks from the Rhineland-Palatinate Association of Municipalities and Towns. The former parliamentary group leader of the Idar-Oberstein Free List was a member of the city council and numerous committees for a total of 20 years.
Unfortunately, Thomas Engel was unable to attend the ceremony for local politicians who left the Idar-Oberstein city council following the recent local elections. He was therefore honored in the office of Mayor Frühauf. Engel was a member of the city council from July 1999 to June 2004 and from July 2009 to June 2024, during which time he was the parliamentary group leader of the Free List for 18 years.
Unlike Thomas Engel, Horst Hotschicke is still a member of the city council and has been since 1989, making the SPD politician the longest-serving member of the council and one who has remained on the committee since the most recent local elections. Nevertheless, at the ceremony in the Göttenbach auditorium, he received a certificate of honor from the Association of Municipalities and Towns for his 35 years of voluntary work in local politics. However, Hotschicke's name was inadvertently omitted from the subsequent report, which will now be made up for.