October, 2010:

Sister City hosts visitors from Rueil-Malmaison

October 22-26, Sister City of Lynchburg-Plus had the great pleasure of welcoming fifteen guests from our French sister city, Rueil-Malmaison. Lynchburg and Rueil-Malmaison have had a sister city relationship since 1996.

Old and new members alike shared a wonderful visit, seeing downtown, visiting historic sites like the Old City Cemetery, Poplar Forest, and Appomattox. Other exciting events included a meeting with Mayor Joan Foster at City Hall and a luncheon at VES.

A welcome party was sponsored by the Alliance Francaise. Sharing wine with members of both organization made the visit special and very personal. Great thanks to the host families and all the people who helped make this visit so pleasant.

Gatherings at Frank Britt's home and Main Street Eatery completed the pleasurable visit.

Francoise Watts should be recognized for her efforts to make this visit happen. Thanks also to Hermann Ulrich for chairing the event, and who, according to our French guests, needs to return the favor and organize a trip abroad.

Click here for a slideshow of scenes from various events during the visit.

Sister City receives grant from Rotary Club of Lynchburg

Manfred Mibus reported, "I have the great pleasure to announce that the Rotary Club of Lynchburg had this year's fundraiser connected with Kaleidoscope, "Café Bon Ami" which is dedicated to the Sister City program. Sister City of Lynchburg-Plus received a grant of $500. Thank you so very much."

September 24 - October 6: Students from Glauchau visit Lynchburg

This fall the City of Lynchburg, and especially Sister City of Lynchburg-Plus, again welcomed a group of 10 students and their teacher Ramona Pohle from Glauchau, Germany.

All 10 students were accommodated by local hosts here in Lynchburg. The children of the host families attend E.C. Glass High School, and our guests were able to experience school life during daytime by attending with them.

Special trips arranged by Sister City of Lynchburg-Plus included visits to Poplar Forest and Appomattox, attending the homecoming game of the school’s football team, and a tailgate party.

The bus trip to Washington, D.C., sponsored by Bert Dodson, was an outstanding one. Thanks especially to Beth Dunn, Angela Mibus, and Ramona Pohle for keeping the group together and focused. It was a successful and memorable event for all the participants.

When asking the students for some comments…..they all wanted to stay longer!

Reflections from the Crawford family who hosted Hannes, one of the visiting students:

Each of the Crawford family members had their own special memory of Hannes' visit:

Matthew: How much Hannes enjoyed helping him with the JV volleyball team.

Sam: Hunting together out on his grandmother's land. Also, Nutella! They ate an entire jar! Hannes was sent home with various Virginia Tech t-shirts for his family. The Hokies now have fans in Saxony and Dresden!

Janice: Having Hannes stay here was like having a third son. He attended church with us both Sundays he was here. He enjoyed our family events and was very adapatable--he tried everything we ate!

Kelly: We all liked eating out at La Caretta and Mario's and had a lot of fun at both places. The hike/cookout at the Peaks was great. Hannes brought gifts for all of us from his family, and we will never forget that. Finally, Hannes has a great sense of humor, and he fit in perfectly with everyone in our family!

September, 2010:

Sister City members Manfred and Angela Mibus visit Glauchau:

Manfred Mibus provided this report on their trip:

My wife and I went to Germany this September to visit our families in Darmstadt. We planned a little vacation within our vacation and took a train ride to Dresden and our sister city of Glauchau. We deeply appreciate the time Thomas Schreiter and his wife Anett took to show us around--thank you. Mathias Urbanski, the police officer visiting Lynchburg earlier in May spoiled us with a round trip over Saxony via a 4-seater airplane. Thank you to “Friends of Lynchburg” and the City of Glauchau for this outstanding treat!

We visited again the private High School in Waldenburg and were impressed by their remarkable program and student participation. Hopefully there will be a future exchange possible between our 2 private High schools as we already have with the public High schools in town.

A delightful evening at Hotel Mayer ended our visit, and we were most happy to see old friends and acquaintances, sharing what’s new since we saw each other. Leaving from the train station in Leipzig we very glad to have a cup of coffee with Beate Rencker of the American Embassy, who is instrumental in the coordination between the Embassy and Glauchau.

May all of you readers be inspired to visit Germany and the so very welcoming city of Glauchau.

August, 2010:

Fundraiser held at the Lynchburg Community Market to benefit SCLP

On Saturday, August 28th, Sister City of Lynchburg-Plus gave the Lynchburg community the chance to taste foods common to our sister cities of Glauchau, Germany and Rueil-Malmaison, France. Following the success of the first fundraiser food event at the Lynchburg Community Market, Sister City of Lynchburg-Plus held a similar event to raise funds to help with expenses for the fall exchanges with the Glauchau students and the visitors from Rueil-Malmaison.

Sister City members served homemade baked goods prepared by German and French bakers to accompany coffee for early morning visitors to the Market, and for the more hearty appetites, there was bratwurst, fleischkaese, and sauerkraut with fresh baked rolls and bread. To top it off there was delicious pissaladière, a famous French onion tart. In total, they served 170 bratwurst, more than 10 pounds of homemade sauerkraut, 12 pounds of fleischkaese, and the 200 fresh baked rolls that were graciously donated by Lorraine Bakery at the Market.

We were pleased that Virginia Senator Mark Warner stopped by as well as Lynchburg Mayor Joan Foster. Our heartfelt thanks go out to all of our volunteers and those who contributed food, and to those who supported our fundraiser by purchasing the food. Due to continued success of the event, we hope to try it again!

Click here for a slideshow of photos from the event.

July, 2010:

German Sister City of Glauchau featured in display at City Hall

A display about our sister city Glauchau, Germany was featured in the main lobby of City Hall from July 7 through August 1. The display included flags of Germany, Saxony, and Glauchau in addition to photographs of castles and other sites. Other featured items included commemorative medals, textiles, toys, and other items made in Glauchau.

May, 2010:

Police officers from Glauchau visit Lynchburg

Sister City of Lynchburg-Plus welcomed two police officers from its German Sister City Glauchau. A reception was held May 22nd at the home of former Lynchburg vice mayor Bert Dodson to allow members of Sister City and the community to meet Chief of Police Mathias Urbanski and Lt. Raik Hallair. To see more photos from the reception, enjoy this slideshow.

During their visit the officers met with members of Lynchburg's police force and city officials including mayor Joan Foster. For more on their visit, see this article published in the Lynchburg News and Advance.

January, 2010:

Sister City elects new officers and board members, by Manfred Mibus

On January 25th, Sister City of Lynchburg-Plus held its Annual Meeting at the Old Court House museum in downtown Lynchburg. There were about 45 members and guests in attendance who also enjoyed the delicious cheese, hors d'oeuvres, and wine provided.

Elections were held for new officers and board members. The following slate of officers was elected: Hermann Ulrich, president; Lynn Dodge, vice president; Dana Wright; and, Wendy Counts, treasurer. New board members elected to serve three year terms: Judy Ayler, Bert Dodson, Jr., Tina Johnson, Kelly Mourtemousque, Adelheid"Polly" Roakes, and Françoise Watts.

A report was given on the highlights from the past year which included:

• Student exchange with Glauchau during June
• Bert Dodson's and wife Theresa's trip to Glauchau in September
• Oktoberfest celebration at estate of Fuzz Sanders on September 20

Sister City looks forward to upcoming events in 2010 which include another student exchange with Glauchau scheduled for September 24-October 6 (this time students and a chaperone from Glauchau will be hosted in Lynchburg), and two possible exchanges with Rueil-Malmaison, a student exchange in the spring and an adult exchange in the fall.

Please e-mail Sister City of Lynchburg-Plus for more information about their programs and membership
Mailing Address: Sister City of Lynchburg-Plus, P.O.Box 3104, Lynchburg, VA 24503