Book Launch Fundraiser

Saturday, November 7, 2020 was a glorious day with a superb book launch thanks to three amazing gentleman who all volunteered their time and showed up even in this time of COVID to make this event memorable for the 24 guests who were able to be there.

I started writing this book in January 2020, after Deputy Mayor Pete Fry asked the question about German landmarks in Vancouver. My atempt to answer this became this book. It also included the research I did from publishing my magazines and blog posts for over 10 years that helped me find the materials for the book.

The first was my MC Inspirational Speaker Ozzie Jurock a.k.a. \”Wizard of Oz\’ who kept the event flowing smoothly, even while entertaining us with stories and jokes and keeping us on track time-wise. I was so grateful to have an MC of his caliber running this event.

The second was the esteemed Dr. Florian Kuchenbauer who is a Clinician Researcher and Blood Cancer Specialist who spoke to us on the effects of COVID on Cancer Research and the BC Cancer Foundation. A very personable and friendly speaker, I can highly recommend him as a presenter at your next event.

The third was a representative from Brian Jessel BMW, our sponsors, Marketing Manager Abdel Karim Awwad, who also said a few words about BMW\’s and his desire to support artists and authors like myself, as well as the variety of cultures found in Canada.

Our delicious luncheon was served at 12:40 noon, starting with salad greens and finally salmon with veggies. The service was excellent and most of the tables in the room had only 3 or 4 guests at them and were placed 2 metres apart in a way that allowed for plenty of social distancing.

After lunch, my daughter Natalya Porter read the obituary of Wolfgang Christl out loud and we observed one minute of silence. Most people who attended this event knew Wolfgang personally and he was also very instrumental in providing information that went into the book. I was so sad not to have him there!

Kecia Boecking sold face masks from Germany, while I sold signed copies of my book \”75 German-Speaking Influential People in Western Canada\”, and we all enjoyed a delicious apple strudl for dessert.

There were 39 people who purchased tickets and/or agreed to come, but only 24 people attended the event in person. At least 3 people were stuck on the Lions Gate Bridge because of an accident. The rest cancelled because of COVID.

The Board of Directors of the German Canadian Business Association dropped off flowers and a card to show their support, because none of them were able to be at the event.

Out of the people mentioned in the book, five of them showed up at this event and we took a group photo. Ozzie Jurock, Rudolf Tize, Kecia Boecking, Win Rompf and Harold Lincke.

Everyone agree at how fun it was and Ozzie Jurock already agreed to be the MC at my book launch for the second book in this series that I am working on now. If you know of any influential German-speakers in Western Canada or any famous Austrian, Swiss or German companies that are thriving here, please let me know.

Part of my book launch was also a fundraiser for the BC Cancer Foundation. Every guest who bought a ticket on Eventbrite donated at least $20 towards the fundraiser, but some donated more. Below are the three top donors: One is Joshua Edel whose father is in the book as \”Guenter Edel\”. The second is the German Canadian Business Association. The third is Westcoast Sightseeing\’s Rudolf Tize who is also mentioned in my book. Thank you all for your generosity! We raised over $1000 for the BC Cancer Foundation!

We had some door prizes to share with our guests. One of them was donated by Beatrice Schreiber and the Bel Art Gallery – https://www.belartgallery.org/. The other was from Coastal Delights – https://www.coastaldelightfooddrinks.com/. Finally, Ozzie Jurock donated 4 books and one set of inspirational cards – https://jurock.com/. Thank you to everyone!

You can reach Elke to buy a copy of the book, give her a review for her website and/or to suggest someone who should be in book #2.

604 828 8788 or admin@westcoastgermannews.com

Sad News: Two people in my book who were alive when I started writing it, have now passed away. Because of COVID we couldn\’t have much of a funeral for either of them. The first one was my Oma Lilly Stelter who came to Canada as a single women with 3 little girls and built a successful life for herself. The second one was Mr. Oktoberfest aka Wolfgang Christl who came here as a young man, fell in love with a Canadian girl, had 2 daughters and they just celebrated their 66th wedding Anniversary a few weeks before he died.

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