2008 Awards
The EC requested nominations from the membership for members worthy of this honor and selected the 2008 recipients by vote at the April EC meeting. The recipients were announced at the AGM on Wednesday evening, 9 April. We are happy to recognize the following four members in recognition of their consistent, outstanding contributions to the BIWC and their display of unselfish service to other BIWC members over a period of at least two years. Parts of the nominations submitted are included here.
Anneliese Alfakhri
Anneliese seems to know many very interesting places in Berlin, in Brandenburg and all over the world – and how to take us there! She knows the best time for visiting and who the contact person is.
Anneliese has continued to initiate unknown numbers of events since she received the award in 1999. She might officially stay in the background but she constantly supports everyone as much as possible.
One example of Anneliese's support: She suggested and arranged the BIWC trip to Dresden for early April this year and I am sure that she has a list of further interesting, already half-planned events in her mind.
Anneliese has always had a big heart for BIWC – now after a recent and successful heart surgery, we are happy that she back in Berlin with her special mixture of heart, sense of humor and helping hands!
Monika Brust
Monika successfully dealt with Membership several years ago when she was on the EC for three years.
After retiring from the position, she continued to help and support the membership coordinators. She filled in whenever the membership coordinator was out of town. She worked in the Club office helping to organize it. She orders material before we run out. Her disposition is always to help the Club. The member who nominated Monika wrote: “I think she really believes in the importance of the Club. She is always helpful to those needing particular assistance, and she is friendly and welcoming to visitors to Club events and our monthly Stammtisch. She continues to work at the office on a regular basis. She is one of those special women who has a knack for seeing what needs to be done and then offering her capable assistance. She is a true consistent volunteer to the BIWC".
Nancy Kowalski
Ever since becoming a BIWC member, Nancy has come forward as a volunteer. She offers help in a number of ways and still manages to find time to participate in many of the Club's activities.
She is a valued member of the Web Team and aside from other aspects of maintaining and updating the website, she devotes countless hours to ensuring that photographs are properly cropped before being added to the site. Moreover, she keeps an alert and protective eye on information suitability.
Nancy served on the Nomination Committee for the 2007 EC. More recently, she chaired the Budget Committee for the proposed 2008 budget.
In 2006, Nancy offered to proofread for the Newsletter (NL). In early 2007, she had an innovative idea for the NL and submitted an article that has since become the keystone of the Berlin Magnet series.
Nancy truly embodies the spirit of volunteerism.
Indu Sampath Kumar
Indu has been a committed member of the Newsletter Team for many years but at least since 2001. When Indu originally joined the NL team, she came along largely to type – back in the days when most of the information came handwritten by regular post!
Indu has also put in (and puts in) many hours of proofreading, frequently coming to the office twice during NL week. She is truly a "gem behind-the-scenes", often rearranging her schedule at short notice to give extra assistance.
Furthermore, Indu participates in many of the Club's activities and is a regular (and long-time) member of the book groups. When the Mah Jong Special Interest Group started, Indu became one of the coordinators.
The member who nominated Indu wrote: "Indu's consistent and unswerving dedication to the BIWC is definitely deserving of recognition in the form of an Excellence in Service award".
