“Corona has changed many things. The continuation of our work could not be prevented by the Corona pandemic,” summarized Marion Strempel various activities at the beginning of a members' meeting in the Schloss Theater. During the evening, it became clear that the work of the Ottweiler Trade Association has continued throughout the Corona pandemic and has focused on digital collaboration. This was the reason. Because under her leadership and often together with various actors, the association implemented quite a few projects. More are in the planning stage, and therefore Marion Strempel addressed individual items. These include the annual local shopping event with the street fashion show, the evening shopping event, and offers for children, such as visits from Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. The year before last, LED stars were purchased to illuminate the shops during the Christmas season. In this spirit, the historic train station building was also brought into focus on the initiative of the mayor. At the old town hall, the window panes became an eye-catcher thanks to cooperation with the local heritage and traffic association and the city. The Advent calendar was well received. The annual raffle during the Christmas season remains popular. The association and the city acquired fire bowls that create a magical atmosphere in the old town.
What else is there to report? At prominent points, display boards installed by the municipal works team are used by local businesses to present their companies. Colorful pennants have been attracting attention in the old town for some time. The Ottweiler Business Association is heard in public discussions. An open letter was written frankly to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Economic Affairs: because small family businesses in Ottweiler had to close their shop doors during the lockdown, while large stores elsewhere were able to increase their sales. The media picked up on the protest from Ottweiler.
The media work and advertising campaigns, often planned and executed in collaboration with the city, are progressing well. At the request of the 1st Chairwoman, companies are visited together with Mayor Holger Schäfer and Ralf Hoffmann from the city’s press office and economic development department, whether when they are starting up or celebrating an anniversary. The association’s work is acknowledged. 31 new members joined during the past two years. In 20 internal meetings, productive work was carried out during this period. People know and appreciate each other in the association and show openness to other and new ideas.
For this reason, the Chairwoman thanked the board, the members, and all partners for their cooperation: the city administration as a whole, the municipal works team, the local police authority, the press office and economic development department of the city, the tourist information, the local heritage and transport association, the economic development company in the Neunkirchen district, and last but not least the Ottweiler customers for their loyalty.
Here are the further personnel decisions: 2nd Chairwoman: Margarete Singer, 3rd Chairman: Thomas Lafontaine, Finance: Patric Schmidt and Jasmin Bojko, Secretary: Thomas Jahn, Dr. Olaf Pick, Auditors: Andrea Schreiner and Frederic Haus. Nine assessors could be recruited.
At the beginning, Dr. Olaf Pick presented an amendment to the statutes that now enables digital meetings in many forms. The resolution on this, as with all other resolutions, was passed unanimously.
