SATURDAY UPDATE: The Staufer Award has been awarded to former Belleville city councillor Jackie Denyes at a special event in twin city Lahr, Germany.
Former Belleville City Councillor Jackie Denyes will receive a prestigious honour in Lahr, Germany Saturday evening.
Denyes, currently visiting Lahr as part of the City of Belleville’s friendship delegation led by Mayor Neil Ellis, will be awarded the Staufer medal in recognition for her dedication to promoting the relationship between the twin cities.
Denyes chaired the city’s Lahr friendship committee for 15 years as a member of council.
She is humbled by the honour which annually recognizes a citizen who has contributed to the Lahr community.
“There’s some pretty big recipients of this medal. There’s been doctors, there’s been bankers, there’s been all kinds of business people. And so I was quite surprised when they told me that I had won it for a citizenship award for the amount of time and effort that, you know, I put into the Lahr delegation.”
Denyes is the first Canadian to receive the award.
Germany’s Minister of Justice and Immigration will present the award to her.
She cherishes her time heading the Lahr committee and time spent with members of the German community.
“I just loved the camaraderie, the Canadian affiliation with Lahr. How proud they were to have helped the Canadian troops during the war times here in Lahr.”
Denyes says she loves that the relationship is continuing noting that Mayor Ellis and Lahr’s Lord Mayor Marcus Ibert have already been discussing when the next delegation from Lahr will visit Belleville.
She was nominated for the Staufer Medal by a citizen of Lahr who has been involved in the exchanges in the past.
The 25-member delegation from Belleville returns home Monday.
