Lord Mayor Dr. Felix Schwenke honored twelve Offenbach personalities with the city's citizens' medal

Erika and Kurt Breitenbach

Erika and Kurt Breitenbach were honored for their decades of joint commitment to social and cultural life. In 2001, the couple founded the "Waldhof-aktiv" initiative, which provides targeted offers for neighborly interaction in the Bieber-Waldhof district. This initiative has given rise to many different activities, such as women's breakfasts and men's cooking courses. Another voluntary focus is the cycling and motor sports club Soli Fechenheim. Kurt joined in 1953 and has been the first chairman since 1981. He initiated numerous departments, including motor sports, theater/youth, model making and the "Soli-Elche" motorhome department. The non-profit status and the current name of the association also go back to his work. Together, the couple had a lasting impact on the association's work. Erika was particularly committed to intergenerational projects, such as theater performances in retirement homes with young people wearing costumes knitted by Erika. The Breitenbach couple also organized Christmas parties for the elderly and international youth meetings. Kurt was also active in Solidarity Youth committees, was a delegate in the Frankfurt Youth Ring for many years, as well as in the working group of Fechenheim clubs and the sports committee. He organized charity events, the proceeds of which supported projects such as "Wheelchairs for Lebanon". The Breitenbach couple are always involved when there is something to do in Waldhof. It goes without saying that they were also involved in the citizens' initiatives "Rettet den Wald am Waldhof" and "Turnhalle in Waldhof".

Egbert Färber

Egbert Färber's multifaceted commitment began as a young carol singer and continued for decades in the Catholic parish of St. Nikolaus and the Catholic Youth of Bieber. He was active as a carnival speaker at the youth carnival and, from 1983, as session president, and was awarded the Grand Cross of the Catholic Youth in 1984. The honoree also plays a key honorary role in the Bieber local history association, of which he has been chairman since 2012. Färber organizes traditional events such as the Bieber carnival procession and looks after local symbols such as the Bieber amulet. He is also closely associated with the Dr. Alfred and Dr. Gunhild Kurt Foundation and is a member of its board of trustees. He has also been politically active for many years. Egbert Färber has been campaigning for the interests of his district since 1974 - and thus for local political issues in Offenbach. "Even if there is no longer a Bieber town hall, your political work has at least taken you to Offenbach town hall," concluded the mayor with a wink.

Dr. Rainer Gareis

The honoree's connection to Offenbach began at a young age. At the age of ten, Rainer Gareis regularly visited his uncle, the branch manager of a grocery store. After studying medicine and spending time in New Zealand, which prompted him to train as a geriatrician, Dr. Rainer Gareis returned to Germany and took over a medical practice in Bieber. There, he provided medical care for the Germania Bieber soccer teams on a voluntary basis for over 30 years. Dr. Gareis also initiated one of the first cardiac sports groups in the region in 1987 and was involved in providing free medical care to homeless people for over 20 years. In 2004, the medical outpatient clinic for homeless people in the tearoom in Gerberstrasse was awarded the Ferdinand-Kallab Prize. The honoree was part of the group that received this award. His commitment continued after he gave up his practice as a "rolling GP". When the city of Offenbach asked him to become a patient advocate, he did not hesitate for long and took on this role too. "Your commitment is characterized by making your medical expertise available to others on a voluntary basis, whether old or poor, always with a deep sense of human responsibility," summarized Mayor Schwenke.

Petra Heckelmann

Petra Heckelmann has been involved in the Offenbach Concert Orchestra for 58 years, 50 of which she has been on the board. She is also the coordinating officer of Lederanien and has been in charge of the Rose Monday Carnival as "Kommandeuse" since 2000. She ensures that everything runs smoothly and coordinates all the helpers. In 2013, she took over the chairmanship of the Offenbach weekly market vendors' association, which she saved from being dissolved. The association was founded in 1965 by Petra Heckelmann's father-in-law. In this position, she combines the diverse interests of market vendors and customers with her decisions and intuition. Lord Mayor Dr. Schwenke described Petra Heckelmann "as someone who always speaks extremely clearly, who also makes clear demands, as someone who was therefore really feared in my administration." However, Mayor Schwenke recognized the importance of Petra Heckelmann for the weekly market and emphasized that "you are a unique stroke of luck for the city and the market. My clear message to the administration was: take Petra Heckelmann seriously and make sure that she never has to come to me with justified complaints."

Peter Janat

Schwenke began his speech for Peter Janat with a personal anecdote, as it was Janat's encouragement that persuaded the current Lord Mayor to become a city councillor in 2000. Peter Janat himself was active as a city councillor for over 19 years and focused his local political activities in particular on the construction sector. It was always important to him to familiarize himself carefully with the respective topics and he carried out his tasks with a high level of professional competence. Special projects that Janat supported as a city councillor included the construction of the "Ostpol" and today's Kickers stadium. In addition to construction issues, he also campaigned against aircraft noise. However, the honorary theme of his life is the Waldhof working group, in which he has been involved in his district for more than 35 years. One outstanding success of his voluntary work is the construction of the gymnasium in Waldhof, which he pushed through against much opposition.

Detlef Kohsow

Detlef Kohsow is politically active on a voluntary basis as a city councillor. However, the focus of his voluntary work is on schools and parental work. In 1995, Kohsow helped to set up the support group at the Goethe School. Among other things, he ensured that the sun-drenched classrooms were fitted with roller blinds. He later took over the chairmanship of the Leibniz School's support group and launched the Jazz Matinee - a huge school festival that took place not in the Leibniz School but in the courtyard of the Büsing Palace and became a meeting place for the entire city community. Above all, however, it was about the cooperation with the Fröbelschule, which was a matter close to the heart of the honoree. The festival was the central joint celebration. He organized projects that facilitated encounters between the children "with special support needs" and the Leibniz children. Although the jazz matinee ended, the cooperation between Leibnizschule and Fröbelschule, which has now lasted for 37 years, has remained.

Manju Kumar

Manju Kumar took her first step into Offenbach society in 1986 when she joined the then Evangelical Lauterborn congregation. She is still active in the pottery group there today. She uses the proceeds from the products she sells at markets and events to provide medical support to the rural areas around New Delhi. She has been a lecturer at the Offenbach Adult Education Center since 1994. Since 2006, Kumar has been an elected representative of the interests of freelance lecturers at Offenbach Adult Education Center, initially on the Advisory Board and since 2022 on the VHS Commission. In this role, she holds discussions and consultation hours, coordinates with the programme area and office management and organizes meetings. She also takes part in specialist conferences and training courses. Manju Kumar was honored for this commitment, which is largely voluntary, as much of it takes place in her role as a staff representative.

Hiromi Mori

Hiromi Mori was honored for her exceptional commitment in the cultural and social field. She is a trained singer at the Frankfurt Opera. She moved from Austria to Germany for professional reasons and found her new home in Offenbach in 1999. In 2001, she sang for the first time at the benefit concert for "Food and Warmth" and took over the organization in 2003. This was followed in 2008 by the founding of the "Academia Sancta Maria Offenbach" (ASMO). The first concert in this series took place on January 25, 2009. Since then, more than 100 concerts have taken place, including a further 40 or so charity concerts in aid of "Essen und Wärme", the Ecumenical Hospice Movement and the Evangelical Women's Association. Mori has also succeeded in attracting internationally renowned artists to perform in St. Mary's Church, free of charge and for the benefit of people in need. At the same time, she has given many Offenbach residents access to the world of opera and helped the poorest people in Offenbach.

Bruno Persichilli

Bruno Persichilli was already politically active at a young age. From 2012, he was the head of the "Political Salon", a joint discussion platform of the Workers' Welfare Association and the Offenbach Adult Education Center, for a total of nine years. A format in which Lord Mayor Dr. Felix Schwenke was also allowed to participate as a guest. Persichilli was also active for many years as a city councillor in Offenbach's city parliament. The honoree's greatest voluntary commitment is to the citizens' initiative Rumpenheim e. V. (BIR), of which he is the first chairman. The original aim of the BIR was to prevent the demolition of Rumpenheim Castle, which, as is well known, was successful. Today, the initiative's work focuses primarily on protecting the old trees, the sustainable maintenance of the castle park and the promotion of events such as "Music in the Park" or the "White Table" in order to preserve the cultural heritage of the district. In Rumpenheim, he also works with a collective of artists to create what is known as "Hauspoesie". This involves painting slogans and sentences on the walls of houses to encourage people to think and togetherness. The 1250th anniversary of Rumpenheim is also inextricably linked with many names, including Bruno Persichilli.

Ursula Scherer

As a trained nurse, Ursula Scherer campaigned for more family-friendly visiting times at the children's infectious diseases ward in Offenbach. In 1979, she also succeeded in abolishing the obligation to wear a nurse's cap throughout Hesse. In 1970, Scherer became a member of SG Rosenhöhe and, after only three participations, took over the management of the gym class at Beethoven School - she has now been a trainer there for 56 years. She continuously expanded the range of sports on offer and became the first chairwoman of the gymnastics department of today's OSC Rosenhöhe in 2000. As second chairwoman of the main club, she also played a decisive role in the merger of SG Rosenhöhe with BSC Offenbach. In addition to organizing numerous club events, the honoree has been active in the Protestant community in Lauterborn for 30 years. There she offers sports courses for senior citizens.

Jürgen Uhlein

Jürgen Uhlein took over responsibility for HFC Bürgel in 1998, when the club was on the brink of collapse with just 20 members. As president, sporting director and coach, he led the club for almost 28 years and set up a youth section in 2010. Through his commitment and emphasis on fair play, the HFC grew from 20 to over 250 members. Beyond the club, Uhlein has worked as a volunteer referee for the Hessian Football Association in the Offenbach Referee Association since 2012 and as the district youth manager of the Hessian Football Association since 2014. Since his retirement, he has been involved in the volunteer center and supports classes at the Uhland School with special integration needs as a tandem partner. He even teaches as a substitute teacher.