A Flurry of Honors in West Maas en Waal

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On Friday, April 26, five residents of the municipality West Maas en Waal a Royal Honor. Mayor Vincent van Neerbos surprised them that morning during the annual awards ceremony.

Frank Tengnagel (Beneden-Leeuwen), Jos van Wamel Ridder) (Beneden-Leeuwen), René Theunissen (Beneden-Leeuwen), Mieke Debast (Wamel), and Gerrie Strik (Dreumel) were awarded honors for their outstanding contributions to society.

Frank Tengnagel of Beneden-Leeuwen member)

Mr. Tengnagel (64) has served as vice president of the De Braoiers Carnival Association since 2006 and as its president since 2011. He has been involved not only in carnival festivities but also in a wide range of social and cultural activities. He also served as chairman of various committees until 2019: Prince Presentation, Carnival, and Dijkensport. He then became chairman of the Corps of Senators. He served as the point of contact for all activities involving residents of the Elisabeth Care Center and the Soos for people with disabilities. 
Mr. Tengnagel has been deeply involved with the Dag van Leeuwen Foundation since 1999 and has also been actively involved with Dijkensport for nearly 20 years. He serves as the contact person and coordinator on behalf of the aforementioned carnival association De Braoiers, playing an administrative and operational role in the “Genieten” segment of the annual event. From 2014 to 2029, he played the role of Sinterklaas during the parades and visits to schools. He actively contributes ideas to the development of the storyline, the annual fundraiser for the foundation, and the organization of the games afternoon. 

Jos van Wamel Beneden-Leeuwen Knight)

Mr. van Wamel 63) has been actively committed to helping children with energy metabolism disorders for over 17 years. In 2006, he co-founded the Energy4all Foundation with two other dedicated individuals; the foundation works to raise awareness of energy metabolism disorders and support research into treatments. He served as the foundation’s director until 2011. In 2009, he approached TV host Jochem van Gelder and comedian Jochem Myjer to serve as ambassadors for the foundation. This initiative has been very successful. In addition, he organized the annual peer support days and was involved in Pop4Kids in collaboration with Cliniclowns. In 2010 and 2011, he was also involved in organizing Join4Energy. Since 2014, Jos van Wamel has been Wamel with the Tim Foundation, helping to recruit donors and sponsors. He has been a general board member of this foundation since 2017. 
In 2015, he founded the networking club “Ondernemers ontmoeten” (Entrepreneurs Meet) together with two other entrepreneurs, with the goal of bringing young entrepreneurs together. In 2015, he founded the Herensociëteit Lauwe (Lauwe Men’s Club) together with four other former entrepreneurs. He remains a board member there to this day. 

René Theunissen of Beneden-Leeuwen member)

Mr. Theunissen (77) founded the Trug in de Tèd choir with his partner in 1999. He served as chairman for the first eight years and has since focused on public relations. The choir visits nursing homes and care facilities. After the COVID-19 pandemic, he became chairman again to Map the choir back on the Map . Since 2006, he has been volunteering 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 for ten years with the Carnival Association De Braoiers in Beneden-Leeuwen. He writes articles for the carnival newspaper and attends all editorial committee meetings. René Theunissen has been delivering the membership newsletter of the Seniors’ Association 50+ Beneden-Leeuwen for 15 years.

Mieke Debast from Wamel member)

Mrs. Debast (86) is a very active member of the Wamel community. For years, she has been helping neighbors with small tasks. In addition, she has been collecting donations for the Sinterklaas celebration in Wamel for 30 years.
Since the unveiling of the war memorial in 1986, Mrs. Debast has taken care of the monument, cleaning it weekly and ensuring that the monument and grounds look neat and weed-free. 
From 2013 to 2017, Mrs. Debast volunteered at the Huize Sint Henricus care center. She helped there daily and also attended the church service weekly to assist the pastor.
Since 2020, she has been very active with the litter cleanup brigade and is even cited as 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 served as treasurer of the De Zevensprong bridge club in Dreumel from 1990 to the present. She also Dreumel with the processing of new memberships for the De Zeven Morgen swimming pool in Dreumel from 2012 to 2019. In the 1980s and 1990s, she served as a lector during Masses at St. Barbara’s Church. In addition, she has helped with the annual Kerkbalans campaign for many years. Since 2012, she has served on the parish council of St. Barbara’s Church.
Together with her husband, she volunteers with activities and projects of the historical Tremele Foundation in Dreumel. There, she serves as a hostess and provides information about the exhibition. From 2015 to 2023, she also supported her husband (chairman of the KBO seniors’ association) with secretarial duties. 

The photos were taken by Reinier Jansen