Kim Lottes receives 26th Annual German Heritage Award; Essay winners announced
The Jasper Deutscher Verein, Sister Cities of Jasper, and the Jasper Partnership Commission celebrated German American Day on Sunday, October 6, at KlubHaus61.
The 26th annual German Heritage Award was presented. This award is presented to an individual or group who has contributed generously of their time, talents or resources to maintaining, improving or building upon our German roots in Dubois County. Sister Cities of Jasper and the Jasper Partnership Commission created the award in 1999. The Jasper Deutscher Verein sponsors the award.
The 2024 German Heritage Award was presented to Kim Lottes of Jasper. Ms. Lottes is a long-time member of the Jasper Deutscher Verein, Sister Cities of Jasper, the Jasper Partnership Commission, the board of directors of Heart of Jasper, an original member of the board of directors of ROJAC, and many other organizations.
She has served as chairman of the Strassenfest twice and was on the committee to establish the half-pot contest. She was very active with the JHS Student Exchange program when her son was involved.
From a nominator, “Kim’s levelheaded thinking process has been a great resource for me on projects I have worked on, or we have worked on together over the years. Whether these projects were related to the Dubois County Museum, architecture, fundraising, or the Sister City partnership with Pfaffenweiler, Kim was always willing to lend a common-sense approach and to help with the many projects over the past 30+ years that I have known her.”
Additionally, the nomination went on to state, “Aside from all her public work in the community and in person, countless hours have been spent by Kim behind the scenes in planning, arranging, managing, and fundraising… really, just plain hard work for German Heritage in our community.”
Ms. Lottes resides in Jasper with her husband, Pat, and they have two adult sons.
During the luncheon, students from Staufen Gymnasium were recognized along with their host families. The students are here as part of the student exchange program with Jasper High School.
Essay winners
Also recognized were the essayist awarded a $250 scholarship through German American.
Area students were also asked to participate in an essay contest stating what their ideal German expedition would be. Winners of the essay contest were Emma LaGrange of Forest Park Jr./Sr. High School, Jillian Troutman of Jasper High School, Bella Beckman of Northeast Dubois Jr./Sr. High School, and Maggie Rasche of Southridge High School.
