Hans W. Eberhard Receives Commendation from the County of Los Angeles
Mar 16, 2017
Commissioner Frank de Balogh presents Hans Eberhard with Commendation.(© German Consulate LA)
On Friday, March 10, in a small ceremony attended by family and friends, LA County Commissioner Dr. Frank de Balogh presented Hans W. Eberhard with a Commendation from the County of Los Angeles for 50 years of Distinguished Leadership and Service to the German-American community of Southern California.
Mr. Eberhard, Chairman of the German heritage organization Tricentennial Foundation, is the author of the book “The History of the German Americans in Early Los Angeles City and County: Before the Railroads and Freeways.” He dedicated the book to the preservation of German American Heritage and to educate all Americans about the many contributions German immigrants made in helping to build America.
Consul General Neumann congratulates Hans Eberhard.(© German Consulate LA)
He was also instrumental in initiating the legislation to establish a national German American Day celebrated since 1987 on October 6. With his support of the bill from first draft to final ratification, Americans now have a better understanding of the achievements of German-Americans. The holdiday, marks October 6, the day on which the “German Mayflower,” carrying 13 German families from Krefeld (located near Düsseldorf, west of the Rhine), landed in Philadelphia in 1683, setting off the first large-scale German immigration to America, and commemorates the diverse contributions German immigrants and their descendants have made to American culture and society.
Hans Eberhard presentation (l-r) Eric Eberhard, Consul General Neumann, Mrs. Eric Eberhard, Hans Eberhard, Dr. Frank de Balogh, Dennis Fredricks, Robert Roth, Petra Schuermann, and Alexander Hast.
Mr. Eberhard came to the United States in 1949 and became interested in trade between Germany and the Western US. He became a dedicated member of the German American Business Association (GABA) in 1954 and for over 20 years organized and managed the largest exhibition for German consumer goods on the west coast. He was a member of the City of Los Angeles Mayor’s Council of Foreign Visitors and also served as a German language proficiency examiner for the Los Angeles Police Department.
Hans Eberhard with his Commendation. © AHA Media
For his many outstanding efforts and distinguished contributions over the years in fostering German American relations, Mr. Eberhard was honored with two awards from Germany, the Order of Merit and the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
© German Consulate LA