<body><div>Prost! Another great beer fest in the books Subhead Rotary Club serves far more than beer in town News Staff Wed, 06/14/2023 - 13:56 Image <ul class="slides"><li><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1p216P_0mvqFyy700" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1p216P_0mvqFyy700" width="319" height="420" > Ken Esten Cooke </li></ul> Body “Oh, we’re definitely coming back.” Those words are music to a festival organizer’s ears and those of us in the Fredericksburg Rotary Club heard them more than once at last weekend’s 2nd Annual Fredericksburg Craft Beer Festival. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> About four years ago, our club brainstormed ideas for a major fund-raising event. We talked about a rodeo or a bicycling race. But we kept coming back to a craft beer festival, combining this town’s German history and love of the bubbly beverage along with a summer festival that didn’t interfere with our amazing Oktoberfest and Food &amp; Wine Festival celebrations. The festival committee was ready to roll, but the pandemic forced us to postpone plans. Debbie Reeh, festival planner extraordinaire, was on board with us and helped likely avoid tons of rookie mistakes. So, our first event in 2022 exceeded expectations, in spite of a heatwave that sent mercury to about 105 that day. Still, people like their beer, so we were pleased with the first-year turnout. This year, contest chairman Jody Donovan made good improvements to the competition portion of the event with more certified judges taking part and increasing its legitimacy. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> And on Saturday, the day shaped up perfectly. People streamed in at the front gate all afternoon. A diverse lineup of bands like El Tule, Drugstore Cowboys and Alex Meixner kept the crowd entertained. And the Adelsverein Halle was lined with colorful tents from all the beer vendors, while our Rotary volunteers handed out samples and talked about the finer points of each craft beer offering. It was a great day. —kec— This fest is not a “for-profit” event. All proceeds go to our Rotary club’s charitable efforts. Twenty percent of funds goes to our charity beneficiary. Last year, after the first event, we were able to give more than $10,000 to The Grace Center, the new domestic violence shelter. This year’s beneficiary will be The Good Samaritan Center, which provides medical and dental work for the uninsured in Gillespie County. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> But ALL net proceeds go to Rotary programs, whether local, national or international. In our club, we sponsor literacy programs like “Books for Babies,” giving new moms a start on their library with easy readers for their children, and give out books for the Women, Infants and Children and Toys for Tots programs. (We also collect toys for needy families for that latter program.) Many of our members take part in the Reading Rodeo and volunteer Tuesday mornings to read to students at Fredericksburg Elementary School. We also donate books to the FES library. We sponsor youth leadership programs, like the FHS Interact Club, a youth Rotary organization. And we send children to the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards weekends, which helps them develop leadership skills. We award tens of thousands of dollars in college and vocational school scholarships and we recognize a non-Rotarian each year with the Hans Hannemann Vocational Service Award. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Rotarians worldwide have worked to help eradicate polio around the world through its vaccination programs. And our club members have helped sponsor clean water projects in Africa that immediately improve the lives of residents in impoverished areas. We also sponsor and host foreign exchange students, as do the other local clubs. The other Rotary clubs in town also do amazing work. The Morning Club just helped the city construct its new splash pad and has done lots of other recreational facility funding in the past, like the skate park and basketball courts. The Nimitz Club is helping with reworking the cross and paths at Cross Mountain, one of the town’s many treasures. I appreciate the work Rotary does all over the world. Its motto is “Service Above Self.” Please consider joining one of the local Rotary clubs. You can contact me at the email below or any other club representative for more information. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Rotary began with a single club meeting in Chicago and has grown to have a huge international presence. We’re hoping our craft beer festival will continue on a similar trajectory and help raise funds for great charitable causes while having some fun along the way. Prost! ken@fredericksburgstandard.com <a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a></div></body>

Mountain View, CA

Prost! Another great beer fest in the books

  
    Subhead
              Rotary Club serves far more than beer in town

          
News Staff
Wed, 06/14/2023 - 13:56

  
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      Ken Esten Cooke
    


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