New ways and a new vehicle for the thw

The kitzingen branch of the technical relief organization (THW) broke new ground by inviting people to a summer reception instead of an annual general meeting for the first time. A new vehicle, a renault-transporter, was blessed and officially put into service that evening.

Catholic priest gerhard spockl and evangelical dean hanspeter kern blessed the vehicle and the volunteer rescue workers who use it on the road. "We care very much that the vehicle has been blessed and that we hopefully always come back healthy from our missions," said THW local officer alexander fischer.

The THW forces, and with them the members of the blue light family of red cross, police, fire department and emergency chaplains, practice in everyday life the prayer of hanspeter kern: "lord, give us perseverance in the service of the neighbor."

State honorary medals awarded

As alexander fischer informed, the new vehicle will in future be one of the first to be used on missions as a train transport vehicle or as a team transporter. During the reception, district administrator tamara bischof presented roland horner, martin muller and thomas ziegler with the bavarian ministry of the interior’s state honorary ribbon for 25 years of service. They also received THW awards.

Alexander fischer presented a certificate of honor for 20 years of humane service to ralf thiergartner, bernhard doblinger, adrian marquardt and thomas kraft on behalf of the state representative. "It’s a bit of a jinx today," said alexander fischer, commenting on the fact that several of those to be honored were unable to attend for a variety of reasons. He honored klaus hack for 30 years of service, which is exactly how long klaus loder and dieter pfister have been active in the THW in kitzingen.

Second largest youth group in lower franconia

"We had a lot of tasks to perform during the reporting period," said alexander fischer at the beginning of his activity report. The local association currently has 101 volunteers (70 adults and 31 young people), of whom twelve are female. "I am particularly proud of our 31 young people, because with them we have the second largest THW youth group in lower franconia," said fischer.

Max spiegel shines with 788 hours of service

Within a year, the THW forces performed a total of 24,374 hours of service on 377 occasions. This means that one helper works an average of 189 hours per year. Max spiegel, marcel forster, michael gaiser, julia gaiser and thomas schonwald stood out, who were active for between 435 and 788 hours, which was rewarded with rough applause by the audience. The major part of the service hours is made up of exercises and training courses. In addition the THW was called to 15 employments for official assistance and technical assistance achievements.

Highway service for 46 years

Alexander fischer thanked the honorary member of the local association, manfred scheuermann, for always giving the THW forces the opportunity to hold practical training such as the use of rescue shears and spreaders on his car repair company premises. In addition to the alarms, the local association also performed 1650 hours of standby duty on the A 3 and A 7 freeways during the main travel season. For 46 years, the THW forces have been performing this highway service.

Alexander fischer acknowledged the commitment of all members to operations, training and exercises. The local representative named his deputies eva carlone and helmut sattler as representatives of all the volunteers. The local representative took the opportunity to express his thanks to simone hagenauer, alexandra neubauer and isabell bechold from the regional office in karlstadt. For they were thinking and acting in the sense of the volunteers in the THW.