Habitat for Humanity's West Bend GERMANfest with Thecla Harris
Man, I've been waiting since my sophomore year of high school to practice my German and today's my day!!! 😁
On this week's episode, I check in with Thecla Harris, the Director of Development at Habitat for Humanity of Washington and Dodge Counties. First, we discuss the amazing news about Habitat for Humanity's new building at the old Skate Country in Barton. Then we discuss all of the details about West Bend GERMANfest, an event that supports Habitat for Humanity of Washington and Dodge Counties.
GERMANfest takes place Thursday, August 26 through Sunday, August 29, 2021 in Downtown West Bend. There is a ton of music, beer, activities, beer, a Sheepshead tournament, beer... you get the idea!
Learn more about Habitat for Humanity of Washington and Dodge Counties.
Links:
Transcript
Funny aside, uh, one time, I had practiced German every day for a year on the Duolingo app, you know, the free app with the owl. I was preparing, uh, we had a client in Germany and I was, I knew we were going to end up going out there, so I practiced every day and we finally got to go and I was all prepared to, you know, Ordered dinner and asked where the restroom was, and then when we got to Germany and got to a restaurant, I was about to ask the waitress something about the menu in German, and she said in English, You're adorable.
And we get so excited when Americans are here because we finally get to practice the English we've been learning all our lives. So I never really got to ask much in German or speak much in German, but I did help some Germans speak English and I tried and that's what matters, right? All right, let's check in with Tekla Harris at Habitat for Humanity of Washington and Dodge County.
Man, you guys have so much going on these days over at Habitat for Humanity of Washington and Dodge County. Tecla, how, how are you able to do all this right now?
[: [:Um, so, tell us a bit about, I mean, most people are familiar with Habitat for Humanity. They've seen it. It's a national organization, but Habitat for Humanity of Washington and Dodge County. Tell us about, about your mission.
[: In: [: [: [: [: [: [:Usually our volunteer calendar is booked Monday through Friday in, uh, June, July, and August. And sometimes in parts of April and May, depending on the weather. But the build season, um, we get a lot of corporate support, so, uh, Big corporate sponsors will send groups of people over every day for a week. It takes hundreds of volunteers.
[: [: [: [: [: [: [: [: [:That was nice of you. Yes. It, I, I should, uh, I, I should have waited
[: [:Before we go into talking about West Bend German Fest, let's talk a little bit about the news that you guys bought a new building. Exciting.
[:Skate Country By the way, I'm, I'm relatively new to the area. So, uh, what I've gleaned from this is that skate country, every person who grew up in West Bend skated there. So, uh, we bought it and, um, we had a, uh, a small fire at our West Bend store in April and, um, just, you know, with the blessings that our affiliate has, we We're ready to move on to a bigger space.
The space is located:Yeah.
[: [: [: [:Just busting things up. And we hope to be in and finished by the new year.
[: [: [:Um, so now, uh, you've got the build going on at the, the new, uh, at the Skate Country, uh, old, uh, facility in your new restore in West Bend. But in West Bend, you're also planning for West Bend German Fest. Oh my
[:Okay. So for 30 years it was run by the Downtown West Bend Association, um, and they said, you know what? I don't think we're going to do this anymore. And Habitat took it on and made it our largest annual fundraiser. Awesome. So, um, uh, we generally raise enough money to build a home in the community. And that's our goal.
[: [:We did something and we needed more space. And so people gave us props for like actually having the gumption to go through with it. We did it. It didn't raise, Nearly the amount of money that we needed. So this year we're really kind of gunning for record crowds and hoping people come out.
[: [: [:Nice, nice, easy, I can, uh, uh, sleep it off in my office, and, uh, It's perfect, perfect. It's going on August 26th through the 29th, so that's a Thursday through Sunday. Tell us a bit about the kind of entertainment that you guys have coming this year.
[:That evening is being hosted by, um, 92. 5. Yeah. Then all day Friday, Polka. Polka, polka, polka. You're going to see all those people dancing, it's charming, it's lovely, we've got some great groups coming. Friday night I think is Chicken Wire?
[: [: [:Friday night is Box On? Box On from Michigan. Box On. Yes. It's a
[: [: [: [: [: [: [:Perfect. Yeah, so that's Saturday night, and then Sunday is all day polka.
[: [: [: [: [: [:So, we're excited about that. That's, yeah,
[: [:m.
[: [:And we're gonna put tents up where the bands are, and We're just excited to be back.
[: [: [: [: [:I dunno, I think he was counting cart. Where is he today? Uh, he, I think he runs marketing for Topper's Pizza. . Um, so the, uh. And is running a Sheep's Head Hustle. Stuff going on for the kids as well?
[:Oh, yeah. And you can put like shoes and t shirts and stuff in it too.
[: [:All the, all the money they raise, they donate back.
[: [: [: [: [: [: [: [: [:Thanks, Tecla.
[: [:com or head over to the new website, 15withfuzz. com. Be sure to click on the subscribe button in your podcast player, and we'll talk to you again next time right here. on Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz. Tschüss!
