Honors awarded in West Maas en Waal

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Five residents of the municipality of West Maas en Waal received a Royal Honour on Friday, April 26. Mayor Vincent van Neerbos surprised them that morning during the annual Lintjesregen (Royal Honours Day).

Frank Tengnagel (Beneden-Leeuwen), Jos van Wamel (Ridder) (Beneden-Leeuwen), René Theunissen (Beneden-Leeuwen), Mieke Debast (Wamel), and Gerrie Strik (Dreumel) received a ribbon for their exceptional contributions to society.

Frank Tengnagel from Beneden-Leeuwen (member)

Mr. Tengnagel (64) has been vice-chairman since 2006 and chairman since 2011 of the De Braoiers Carnival Association. Not only for the carnival festivities, but also for all kinds of social and cultural activities. Until 2019, he was also chairman of various committees: Prince Presentation, Carnival, and Dijkensport. He then became chairman of the Corps of Senators. He was the contact person for all activities involving residents of the Elisabeth Care Center and the Soos for the disabled. 
Mr. Tengnagel has been closely involved with the Dag van Leeuwen foundation since 1999 and has also been intensively involved with Dijkensport for almost 20 years. He is the contact person and coordinator on behalf of the aforementioned carnival association De Braoiers, involved in both the administrative and operational aspects of the 'Enjoyment' part of the annual event. From 2014 to 2029, he played the role of Sinterklaas during the parades and visits to schools. He actively contributes to the storyline, the annual collection for the foundation, and the organization of the games afternoon. 

Jos van Wamel from Beneden-Leeuwen (Knight)

Mr. van Wamel (63) has been actively involved in helping children with energy metabolism disorders for over 17 years. In 2006, he and two other stakeholders founded the Energy4all Foundation, which raises awareness of energy metabolism disorders and supports research into medicines. He was director of the foundation until 2011. In 2009, he approached presenter Jochem van Gelder and comedian Jochem Myjer to become ambassadors for the foundation. This has been very successful. He also organized the annual peer support days and was involved in Pop4Kids in collaboration with Cliniclowns. In 2010 and 2011, he was also involved in the organization of Join4Energy. Since 2014, Jos van Wamel has been involved with the Tim Foundation in the search for donors and sponsors. Since 2017, he has been a general board member of this foundation. 
In 2015, he founded the networking club 'Ondernemers ontmoeten' (Entrepreneurs Meet) together with two other entrepreneurs. The aim was to bring young entrepreneurs together. In 2015, he founded the Herensociëteit Lauwe (Lauwe Men's Club) together with four other former entrepreneurs. He is still a board member there. 

René Theunissen from Beneden-Leeuwen (member)

Mr. Theunissen (77) founded the Trug in de Tèd choir together with his partner in 1999. He served as chairman for the first eight years and then focused on PR. The choir visits care and nursing homes. After the coronavirus pandemic, he became chairman again to put the choir back on the map. Since 2006, he has been working as a volunteer at Zorggroep Maas en Waal. He started by setting up and maintaining a library for residents of the Sint Elisabeth Care Center. He cooks with residents and takes them to therapy. He has also been active in the De Braoiers Carnival Association in Beneden-Leeuwen for ten years. He writes articles for the carnival newspaper and attends all editorial committee meetings. René Theunissen has been delivering the membership magazine of the Beneden-Leeuwen 50+ Seniors Association for 15 years.

Mieke Debast from Wamel (member)

Mrs. Debast (86) is a very involved resident of the village of Wamel. For years, she has been helping fellow residents with small chores. She has also been collecting donations for the Sinterklaas celebrations in Wamel for 30 years.
Since the unveiling of the war memorial in 1986, Mrs. Debast has taken care of the monument, cleaning it every week and ensuring that the monument and grounds look neat and weed-free. 
From 2013 to 2017, Ms. Debast volunteered at the Huize Sint Henricus care center. She helped there every day and also attended church services every week to assist the pastor.
Since 2020, she has been very active in the litter brigade and is even considered its most active and enthusiastic member. Ms. Debast is a unique and beloved resident of Wamel, which is why a local documentary filmmaker made a film about her in 2022.

Gerrie Strik from Dreumel (member)

Ms. Strik-Kerstens (80) has been treasurer of the De Zevensprong bridge club in Dreumel since 1990. She also assisted with writing new subscriptions for Zwembad de Zeven Morgen swimming pool in Dreumel between 2012 and 2019. In the 1980s and 1990s, she provided support as a lector during masses at St. Barbara's Church. In addition, she helped with the annual Kerkbalans campaign for many years. Since 2012, she has been a member of the location council of St. Barbara's Church.
Together with her husband, she volunteers for activities and projects of the historical Tremele Foundation in Dreumel. She is a hostess there and provides information about the exhibition. From 2015 to 2023, she also supported her husband (chairman of the KBO senior citizens' association) with secretarial activities. 

The photos were taken by Reinier Jansen.