Member Dinner - April 30, 2010 - Chateau on the Lake, Pekin, IL

Approximately 50 Friends of Friedrichshafen members gathered at the Chateau on the Lake for a member dinner – an event that has become all too rare in recent years! We hope this year’s event will serve as the first of many.

If the loud chatter during pre-dinner cocktails was any indication, we might consider extending the social hour for this very social group! New friends were made, old friends were reunited, and everyone was in high spirits. Even when a mighty storm blew in across the lake, it caused only a slight lull in the conversations.

Our dinner was sumptuous and included roast pork, rouladen, sauerbraten, red cabbage, sauerkraut, bratwurst, mashed potatoes and more. Several take-home packages laden with tasty leftovers were seen leaving building.

This year’s club events were detailed: the summer’s youth exchange, the WorldFest and Oktoberfest in the fall. Looking ahead to next year, we announced that we were anticipating an invitation to take an adult trip to Friedrichshafen in 2011 to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the sister city relationship. Details of this member-only event will be released once they are known. Likewise, 2011 will bring us an opportunity to host adult guests from Friedrichshafen, in a reciprocal visit by members of Friedrichshafen’s Peoria Club. Details of this will also come later this year. For now, we can dream, can’t we?

The evening’s guest speaker was Christine Blouch, Director of International Programs at Bradley University. She conveyed heartfelt thanks to all FOF members, volunteers, and Peoria Club partners for creating outstanding memories for Bradley students who study in Friedrichshafen. She assured us that the students who travel to our sister city get more out of their stay than those in any other Bradley study abroad program. This is due primarily to the warm reception of that city’s residents, which has been borne out of our 34 years of friendships. Thank you, Dr. Blouch!

Finally, a basket of Friedrichshafen/German items was raffled off. It held many items including two bottles of schnapps, a Friedrichshafen book and DVD, a Bavarian flag, a Peoria Hofbrau gift certificate, a beer stein and many more items. Paul became everyone’s best friend after his ticket was drawn!

Watch our website for the next member event. You won’t want to miss it!

Click here to view photos from the event.