A ceremony was held to bid farewell to the councillors who left Idar-Oberstein City Council and to honor them for their voluntary work. After decades of service in some cases, almost 20 councillors ended their work for the people of Idar-Oberstein at the end of the previous electoral term.
Lord Mayor Frank Frühauf and Mayor Friedrich Marx thanked them for their "commitment to the well-being of the municipality and for many important decisions made in recent years". "The council members have fought for their ideas and goals with a great deal of enthusiasm and expertise, demonstrating both foresight and a sense of what is feasible," continued Frühauf. The Lord Mayor also thanked the family members who support the political ambitions, as local politics is often very time-consuming.
As a token of thanks and recognition for their work, Lord Mayor Frühauf for the first time awarded only the retired members of the City Council with municipal decorations, which are staggered according to the number of years a person has served on the City Council. After one term of office on the City Council, a certificate is awarded, after two terms of office a certificate and a gift voucher, after three terms of office the certificate and the coat of arms ring, after four terms of office the certificate and the ring of honor. For longer terms of office, a gift voucher is also awarded.
Sven Müller and Marion Mikk Schunke were elected to the City Council during the last term of office and both received a certificate.
Silke Haller and Adrian Dick were honored with a certificate and a gift voucher for one term of office on the City Council. Both were unable to attend the ceremony, so the award will be presented at a later date. Benjamin Augenstein, Sonja Gottlieb, Stephan Lorenz and Dr. Ulrike Trappe-Krieger were honored with a certificate and a gift voucher for serving two terms on the Idar-Oberstein City Council.
Knut Hennchen and Jürgen Neu are honored with a certificate and the coat of arms ring for three terms of office on Idar-Oberstein City Council. Frank Forster, who passed away last year, is also awarded the coat of arms ring, so his wife Marion accepts the award. Thomas Engel, Thomas Petry, Dr. Peter Quint and Josef Mähringer received the award for four terms on the Idar-Oberstein City Council, a certificate and the ring of honour. Thomas Engel was unable to attend this event and will be honored at a later date.
Julianne Wild and Armin Korpus were honored with a certificate and a gift voucher for the extraordinary number of six electoral terms, i.e. 30 years of membership of the Idar-Oberstein City Council. The Ring of Honor has already been awarded to both of them.
The Association of Municipalities and Towns also honored the many years of local political commitment of some members of the city council with a certificate. Specifically, these are Thomas Petry for 20 years, Wolfgang Röske for 23 years, Reimund Engbarth for 25 years and Armin Korpus and Julianne Wild for 30 years on the Idar-Oberstein city council.
Afterwards, the retiring councillors had the opportunity to catch up with their former colleagues and current councillors over drinks.