Sandy Wehr and Sheri Keller recently represented Sister Cities of Jasper, Inc. at the Sister Cities International Leadership Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. Wehr serves as Vice President and Keller as Secretary of the organization, which celebrated its 40th anniversary earlier this year.
During the conference, Sister Cities of Jasper received the 2025 Innovation Award in Arts and Culture for communities with populations under 25,000. This global honor recognized the success of the 2024 Culinary Exchange, coordinated by Kent Seger, which showcased the rich culinary traditions of Jasper and its German sister city of Pfaffenweiler.
The Culinary Exchange brought together chefs, educators, and food enthusiasts from both communities. In 2024, Jamie Boaz of KlubHaus61 and the Schnitzelbank, Kim Mitchell of Snaps Café, and Jasper Middle School Consumer and Family Science teacher Haley Ondiek traveled to Pfaffenweiler, Germany, where they explored traditional German kitchens, cooking methods, and ingredients. Local families hosted the visitors during their stay.
The following year, Alexander Horst, Mario and Silvia Woerner, Heike Duerr, and Daniel Conrady of Pfaffenweiler visited Jasper. Their itinerary included tours of local restaurant kitchens, meat-packing facilities, and grocery stores to learn about American culinary techniques and ingredients. They, too, were welcomed by local host families.
Local participants in the exchange included Wood Capital Pizza, Grounded Natural Foods, Emerald Greens, Merkley & Sons Meats, Jasper Middle School, Oink Inc Smokehouse, The Schnitzelbank Restaurant, Snaps Café, Retro Mexican Restaurant, BMF Saloon, Patoka Lake Brewery, Patoka Lake Winery, Old Homestead Distilling Co., and Parlor Donuts.
The conference also featured a special recognition for Sandy Wehr, who was honored as an Honorary Board Alumni for Sister Cities International. This distinction is reserved for individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and dedication to the organization. Wehr’s contributions include serving as a longtime board member and chaperone for the Student Exchange Program. She was previously named Indiana Sister Cities Volunteer of the Year in 2020 and received the local German Heritage Award in 2023.
Sister Cities of Jasper has a long history of recognition for its innovative programs. Previous honors include the 2018 Outstanding Program Award for cities under 25,000, the 2019 Indiana Sister Cities Award for Best Program for importing Pfaffenweiler wines, the 2019 Innovation Award for Business and Trade for wine importing and distribution, the 2020 Innovation Award for Arts and Culture for the Jasper-Pfaffenweiler logo project, and the 2021 Best Overall Program Award from Sister Cities of Indiana for its outstanding student exchange efforts.
More information about Sister Cities of Jasper and its programs can be found at www.sistercitiesofjasper.org
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