On October 15th, 2009 the Austro-American Society for Upper Austria was proud to celebrate one of its greatest milestones to date, its 60-year anniversary. To honor this long and eventful time, we invited all our members, non-members and a number of special guests to the Redoutensäle in Linz.

Among hundreds of others, we were happy to welcome His Excellency, Ambassador William C. Eacho the Third, from the US Embassy, Dr. Josef Pühringer, our Landeshauptmann, Dr. Albert Rohan, President of the Austro-American Society, Johann Mayr, Linzer Stadtrat and the St. Florian Boys' Choir.

 

After some cocktails, the evening started with a short performance by the St. Florian Boys' Choir. Afterwards, Dr. Josef Weißl, Dr. Albert Rohan and Str. Johann Mayr gave a welcome address to thank all those who have supported the A.A.S. over the years and all the members, who have made its lasting success a reality. The celebratory remarks by H.E. William C. Eacho, III and Dr. Josef Pühringer were deeply moving and reminded us of the society's importance and the role it has played over the last six decades.

The following buffet reception allowed everybody to socialize and exchange some of the wonderful memories they had in connection with the A.A.S. and its activities. A Jazz Ensemble "belle etage" and another performance by the St. Florian Boys' Choir provided the right musical atmosphere to make it a truly memorable evening for all guests.

 

The idea of combining a cowboy hat and an Austrian Gamsbart caught everybody's attention and provided a wonderful symbol for the blending of the Austrian and American cultures and traditions the Austro-American Society has been proud of for decades. So much so that even the OÖ Nachrichten jumped on the idea and gave their article the title "60-Jahr-Jubiläum: Cowboyhut mit Gamsbart".

 

So much of our success is owed to our members' tireless participation and genuine love and dedication to this society. As a result, the Austro-American Society created a short film for the occasion, which sums up many of the achievements of the A.A.S. over the last 60 years, as well as providing the perspective of long-time members of the society to share their memories and experiences over the years.

In the spirit of the 60th birthday celebration of the AAS we would like to thank everybody for their support and we look forward to celebrating many more anniversaries to come!