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September 2010
Mayor Bloomberg and Dr. Ruth Westheimer kick off “German-American Friendship Month”
Proclamation applauds “invaluable contributions” German immigrants made
 “German-American Friendship Month” has started with a bang – or, to be precise – with four bangs hammered out by “Dr. Ruth” Westheimer as she closed the trading session at the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday with a giant wooden gavel. “Dr. Ruth”, legendary sex therapist and author, is a Grand Marshal in the upcoming Steuben Parade and has been a Guest of Honor at two exciting events on the first day of September.
At the New York Stock Exchange, members of the German-American Committee of Greater New York rang the Closing Bell for the third consecutive year and they did it on yet another great day with the Dow Jones gaining almost 3 % and with traders on the floor in a good mood. They erupted in applause and cheers when “Dr. Ruth” entered the Trading Floor. She took pictures with many of the traders and enjoyed her job as celebrity bell ringer immensely.
Standing on the bell podium with “Dr. Ruth” were Miss German-America, Stephanie Russell-Kraft, and the Steuben Parade Princesses, Laura Bucher and Lauren Kuehn, Steuben Parade General Chairman Lars Halter, and many members and supporters of the committee. Mr. Halter, who is also a market reporter for German TV station n-tv, gave a live broadcast directly from the bell podium after ringing the bell.
 
At the same time, outside the New York Stock Exchange, German entertainment put smiles on people´s faces as the “Föhrer Musik Freunde” from Franklin Square, NY, played German style brass music under the direction of conductor Thomas Hacker. Also on hand were Bavarian “Schuhplattler” dancers under the direction of Lenny Coyne. They danced in front of Wall Street´s most famous building and were even joined for a while by “Dr. Ruth” as she came out after the bell ringing ceremony.
Following the event, the Committee and guests headed up to the Biergarten at “The Standard” hotel for a reception with New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg. For a fourth consecutive year, Mr. Bloomberg proclaimed September to be “German-American Friendship Month” in the City of New York and gave a proclamation to Mr. Halter. In it, Mr. Bloomberg celebrates the “invaluable contributions German-Americans have made to daily life in New York”.
The Mayor name-checked General Friedrich von Steuben, Revolutionary War hero and namesake of the Parade, as well as President Dwight Eisenhower, “Peanuts” cartoonist Charles Schulz, Yankees legend “Babe” Ruth, and Peter Minuit, founder of the colony that later became New York – all of them German immigrants.  The Mayor also thanked German immigrants for giving Americans the beer garden, adding that, unfortunately, “that is closely followed by the beer belly”. He thanked Mr. Halter and his team on the German-American Committee for their hard work throughout the year and said: “The community greatly appreciates the job that your doing”. The Mayor is planning to personally attend the Steuben Parade on September 25, 2010 on Fifth Avenue, for which he wants to wear the Steuben Parade silk tie Mr. Halter gave him as a gift.
During his visit to the Biergarten, the Mayor met with Chef and co-host Kurt Gutenbrunner as well as Dr. Oliver Schnakenberg, the newly appointed Deputy Consul General of Germany and many members of the community. He took pictures with Miss German-America and her court, including the Junior Princesses. He enjoyed a freshly tapped German beer and a sausage.
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