Ring of Honor for Renate Dodell: A sign of appreciation in the district!

Ring of Honor for Renate Dodell: A sign of appreciation in the district!

Last Friday, the Ring of Honor recipients from the Weilheim-Schongau district met for a special lunch at Märznhof in Nantesbuch. The invitation to this social gathering came from our district administrator Andrea Jochner-Weiß, who emphasized the great importance of the Ring of Honor holders' commitment to the region. A meeting that is not only considered a nice tradition, but also focuses on cohesion and social interaction, as weilheim-schongau.de reported.

The district administrator was able to welcome nine living Ring of Honor bearers: Max Bertl, Manfred Blaschke, Pastor Jost Hermann, Sister Angela, Rudolf Krois, Renate Dodell and Franz Wagner. These individuals have distinguished themselves through their exceptional service to the district. During the meeting there was plenty of exchange of memories and current developments, which underlined the valuable social commitment.

Big award for Renate Dodell

A highlight of the last few days was the awarding of the Golden Ring of Honor to Renate Dodell. The district administrator presented her with this important award at a district council meeting in the Iffeldorf community center. Dodell, the 64-year-old, can look back on an impressive political career in which she was active for the CSU in the Bavarian state parliament for 19 years and in the district council for 13 years. Particularly noteworthy: She is the first woman to receive this honor in the Weilheim-Schongau district District messengers reported.

After retiring from active politics in 2013, Renate Dodell worked for the hospice association in Polling. When accepting the Ring of Honor, she emphasized that she was accepting this award on behalf of all the volunteers in the hospice movement. At the same time, she expressed her concerns about the increasing egoism and the marked decline of idealism in the political landscape.

Volunteering in focus

Volunteering is very important in Germany, which will be brought to the fore once again by the upcoming International Volunteer Day on December 5th. According to Statista, around 16.9 million people will volunteer in 2025, which shows how important these voluntary activities are for the common good. Such activities often take place in organizations or clubs, for example in the volunteer fire department or community associations, which strengthens the sense of community. This illustrates how strong social participation is in Bavaria and beyond. After all, the participation rate in organized volunteer work was 27.5 percent in 2024, which is slightly above the values ​​from Switzerland and Austria.

At the same time, Hans Schütz, who has been active for the Greens in the district council since 1996 and works as a teacher at the Peitingen middle school, was also awarded the district's environmental prize. The award took place at the same meeting. Schütz's commitment to environmental protection and his exemplary environmental education were particularly recognized. Among other things, he criticized the problem of land consumption and the decline in biodiversity.

These awards and the commitment of the Ring of Honor recipients clearly show how important volunteer work is in our society. A big thank you to everyone who works for the common good in the region!

Further information can be found on the website of weilheim-schongau.de and Statista.