If you cannot immediately connect the dots between a teacup and duct tape, you are probably not alone. Guests at GAHF’s 2024 Award Gala at the Pan American Union Building, which serves as the headquarters of the Organization of American States, in the heart of Washington, D.C., discovered that those two items accompany Samantha Brown, this year’s Distinguished German American and globetrotter extraordinaire, everywhere she goes. The teacup holds sentimental value as it reminds her of her family and home, whilst the duct tape is entirely practical in nature, and can fix anything from a broken suitcase to closing hotel room curtains in order to shut out daylight after long hours of travel.

The evening of Oct. 26 began with a lively cocktail reception with passed hors d’oeuvres and welcome drinks in the Atrium of the historic building whose cornerstone was laid by none other than President Teddy Roosevelt, featuring a central fountain, a glass roof, and plants representing the different countries of North, Central, and South America. Guests greeted each other and met old and new friends. The cocktail hour passed quickly and everybody proceeded upstairs to the ornate ballroom, or Hall of the Americas, where a delicious dinner was waiting, and Mike Noonan and his band played toe-tapping tunes. 

Ms. Brown and her husband Kevin O’Leary, who had traveled from Brooklyn, N.Y. where they live with their twins, graciously smiled for many cameras in front of the step and repeat banner featuring the logos and names of our fabulous sponsors in the gallery, and inspired people to take their own snapshots. Samantha, who grew up in New Hampshire, never thought that she would be an Emmy Award-winning international travel TV star who has traversed more than 60 countries and counting, as travel during her formative years consisted of regular road trips to Pennsylvania and a journey to Quebec, Canada in junior high school. She discovered her love for the performing arts as a teenager, and after pursuing a BFA degree from Syracuse University in New York, she moved to New York City, the place where stars of the stage are born. Not surprisingly, this led to eight years of waiting tables, auditioning, and various roles in off to off off off Broadway productions, as she writes tongue-in-cheek on her website. The lucky break came in 1999, when an audition for the Travel Channel led to a hosting gig for the Great Vacations Homes program. Samantha’s authenticity and charisma charmed audiences, and led to other jobs including hosting Girl Meets Hawaii, Great Hotels, Passport to Europe, Passport to Latin America, Great Weekends, Green Getaways, Passport to China, and Samantha Brown’s Asia. In January of 2018, she began hosting and producing Samantha Brown’s Places to Love on PBS, which won an Emmy the next year. She is also an entrepreneur whose luggage line gives people an opportunity to travel in style. Our silent auction featured a specially selected suitcase set from her tweed line, which received several bids. 

After welcome remarks by executive director and gala  chairwoman Katja Sipple who pointed out, using the profound words of Abigail Adams “to remember the ladies”, that Samantha was only the fourth female DGA award recipient, and that travel was a great way to overcome stereotypes and to open hearts and minds, the band played moving piano renditions of the German and American national anthem and were joined by a chorus of voices.

After the main course, Mr. Axel Dittmann, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Germany, greeted guests and paid tribute to GAHF’s work and Ms. Brown’s contributions to transatlantic dialogue by bringing people together through travel, exploration, and cultural discovery. GAHF president Christiane R. Schmidt, who not only familiarized the audience with the importance of the tea cup and a roll of duct tape, lauded Samantha’s work in helping people understand and connect with each other in today’s complex world.  She also highlighted the creation of a new endowed scholarship in honor of Maria Tillmann-Geschwent to benefit young German Americans, and presented Samantha with the DGA award. The crystal trophy in the form of a woman’s graceful silhouette and balancing a globe once again emphasized the travel theme and will hopefully complement Samantha’s Emmy. In a moving acceptance speech, Samantha not only thanked GAHF for the warm welcome which she had received the previous night during a meet and greet at the German American Heritage Museum where a delicious charcuterie board and homemade soup had awaited her, but also reminisced about growing up with a loving German American mother who could at times be forceful and still cooks her daughter pork chops and sauerkraut for her birthday. She gave an emotional description of her mother’s first visit to her ancestral homeland Germany, and how she had felt an immediate connection with the people and the country. Traditions and recipes that had been preserved and passed down through generations suddenly became vital links and shared memories. Diplomacy doesn’t always happen at the highest level, and every one of us can play a part in bringing people and countries together. 

The evening continued with dancing and two live auctions that offered a fantastic luxury river cruise by AmaWaterways, who not only opened the doors to Samantha Brown but whose representatives also attended the gala to celebrate with us, and two Lufthansa premium economy tickets. Both items received multiple bids thanks to the enthusiastic performances by Becky Murillo and Petra Schürmann–both of AmaWaterways.

A heartfelt thank you also goes to the many individuals who worked so tirelessly to bring this gala from the drawing board into the ballroom, especially Birgit Albicker-Rimpel who almost single-handedly put together the silent auction and GAHF staff members. Last but not least, we thank our many donors and supporters who made this event a tremendous success: Kristin Karst of AmaWaterways, Philip Maret of Lufthansa, Gary Lee Koerner, William Holly, Christiane R. Schmidt, Donald Thureau, Williams and Laurel Martin, Waltraud Prechter, Intrepid, Jeff Lubin Fine Art Portrait Studio, Fredrick Hansen, Lola Reinsch, Courtyard by Marriott, Maritim, Melia, Steigenberger, Visit Düsseldorf, Wines for Humanity, and German Foods. Please be assured of our gratitude. Thank you for your enduring support!