Good evening and welcome!

In the last little while, you had a chance to watch a video about the mural we are about to unveil this evening, and hopefully gained some insight as to how this mural came about, and watched its progress through various stages. Now, I would like to talk a little bit about the story behind the story.

About five years ago, the paintings on these walls were in need of refurbishing, and since the original artist had passed away, we needed to find a new artist. Frank Wolf, a former member of the Board, had become acquainted with the artist Rick Murphy from a previous project, and recommended him to the club. As a result, Rick did refurbish these paintings, and while he was here, he heard about Oktoberfest and asked whether he could visit during the upcoming festivities? Well, as the saying goes, "the rest is history". Rick was so intrigued with Oktoberfest and its history that he proposed to paint a mural to capture the historic and cultural significance of this German festival. The whole undertaking would carry a rather high price, but Frank and Rick assured me that this would not be a problem. Rick would approach the federal government for some funding which would help train several young individuals with artistic talent, who had somehow fallen through the cracks of our social system, in order to give them a new start in life. This community outreach portion of the project was 100% successful, and all 10 of the young individuals who worked on the mural ended up finding full-time employment, and no longer had to depend upon society for help.

However, in spite of the initial funding from the government, we still needed more money to finish the mural. Originally, we thought to garner support from businesses who, over the years, had become partners in Oktoberfest. Frank and Rick set out to make presentations to individual businesses, but met with little success, with one notable exception. When the Huber family was approached, they embraced the project wholeheartedly, immediately grasping the significance of this mural as it pertains to our German heritage, and the contributions that were made by all partners of Oktoberfest to this city. Unfortunately, not every business responded with the same enthusiasm as the Huber family. In fact, the Board could not approve of one of the sponsors Frank attempted to secure, since it would mean dropping our present supplier for a new one to the detriment of Oktoberfest. Disillusioned and frustrated, Frank immediately resigned from the Board. It was now left to myself to try and raise the required funds in order to complete the project. Though Molly Hutchison then came on board to help out and had some success, it was still not sufficient to complete the mural. Thankfully, I was very fortunate in being able to solicit Wilma Schmidt as the new chair of fundraising for the project, and she in turn recruited Elisabeth Rowsell to help with the task. I sincerely thank both of these ladies: without their help, this mural might not have come to a successful conclusion. I am also very pleased to mention Molson Brewery, Schneider’s, The Heritage Foundation of the Region of Waterloo, Paul Tuerr Construction, D & H. Woodworking, Brick Brewery, Willi Ristau Construction, and the Royal Bank, all of whom generously donated funds to sponsor this project. We also received donations from individuals to complete this venture, and you will find their faces on the mural and their names on the plaques. I must, however, reemphasize that none of this would have been possible without the major contribution of the Huber family at the very beginning, and for that I am personally deeply thankful. The Huber family started out believing they would be one of many major sponsors, and ended up as the only major sponsor. We are thankful that other businesses and individuals came on board to complete the mural, but we will never forget the Huber family for believing with us in this great project.