GRAFENWOEHR, Germany - U.S. Army Europe announced the winners for the annual Outreach Kontakt Awards May 13.

Kontakt, a German-American friendship organization, won many awards in Vilseck and Grafenwoehr. Both groups and individuals who made exceptional contributions to the German-American Friendship Outreach Program, were honored.

The Kontakt Vilseck club won two of the 14 Group High Achievement Awards throughout Germany. The club won the Group and District Development Award and the Special Programs at a Community with Military Presence Award for volunteering a total of 11,960 hours in 2008. These awards are in recognition for support of “welcome home celebrations” and helping Family Readiness Groups get barracks rooms ready for Soldiers returning home from deployment. Peggy Lovelady of Vilseck was individually recognized for volunteering 1,020 hours in 2008 with the Volunteer Award for a Community with Military Presence.

This is the equivalent of a Volunteer of the Year Award for Kontakt. Individual High Achievement Awards will be awarded to Markus Meissner, Patrick Kelly, Sgt. 1st Class John Lovelady, Spc. Samuel Ramos, Hans-Martin Schertl, 1st Sgt. James Joyner, Anton Engelhardt, Christian Köppel, Jürgen Ullrich, Karl Winkler, and Maria Popp who are all members of the Vilseck Kontakt Club. “These are people who did something special ... One of our persons, Mr. Winkler is the boss of the brewery here in Vilseck, he donated a lot of items for the Christmas tree lighting in Vilseck like Kinder gluwein, kinder punch, stuff like that, for free,” Daniel König, President of Vilseck Kontakt Club said. “Sgt. 1st Class Lovelady, he was deployed but he tried to get the Kontakt Club in touch with (2d Stryker Cavalry Regiment) ... We sent about 160 care packages to Iraq and we sent them through his APO and he distributed them to commanders and squadrons.”

Grafenwoehr Kontakt Club High Achievement Award winners are Birgit and James Joyce, Elfriede Schinner and Lothar Gogolka.

Individuals who are not members of the Outreach Kontakt Clubs in Vilseck and Grafenwoehr will also be awarded with the Outstanding Civilian Service Awards for helping the Kontakt Clubs in various capacities. Those individuals are Jochen Lobenhofer and Andreas Kohl, both from Vilseck. König feels strongly about bringing the local German community and American residents closer together. “The Kontakt Clubs in Graf and Vilseck are U.S. Army sponsored programs for getting both cultures together and giving the Americans living near the area an opportunity to meet local people and make local friends,” König said.

Vilseck Kontakt Club meets at the Vilseck Library on the second floor every Friday at 1900. Members and non-members gather to play pool, throw darts or sit together and visit. Kontakt Vilseck also uses the club house to plan activities like barbecues, trips around the local area and dining outs to enjoy the local cuisine. “We try to share the culture as best as we can,” König said.

Grafenwoehr Kontakt Club is located in Bldg. 108. The club meets every Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Kontakt Clubs for both Vilseck and Grafenwoehr raise money every year at the German-American Volksfest in Grafenwoehr which is their largest fundraising project throughout the year. These funds are used to gather items into care packages for deployed soldiers, take group trips, and participate in dining outs.

Upcoming events for Vilseck Kontakt Club for June involve a group trip to the Tropical Island water park in Berlin. For July or August Kontakt Vilseck is planning a Sommerfest at Big Mike field on Rose Barracks in Vilseck. “You don’t have to be a member to participate in the activities or events we have, everyone is allowed to come over and to hang out with us,” König said. The Kontakt Program was originally founded in 1969 by U.S. Army Europe and the German Department for Youth and Families and hoped to bring the youth of both nations together in friendship. In 1979, Vilseck founded their Kontakt Program in support of the local community to deepen the friendship between U.S. Soldiers, their families and local German citizens. In 2005, units from 3rd Brigade moved back to the U.S. and Kontakt Vilseck suffered heavy losses from American members which caused the program to register as a local German club.

With the arrival of 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment troops to U.S. Army Garrison Grafenwoehr in 2006 the club was once again able to gain American membership and to date has 170 members.

The Award ceremony held to honor groups and individuals who made exceptional contributions to the German-American Friendship Outreach Program will commence in Nuremburg on July 25.

For more, visit www.kontakt-vilseck.de.