Bert Kraan (1938), the political and organizational jack-of-all-trades from Wildervank, was awarded the Veendam municipal medal on Monday evening. For all his work in the cultural field and for his many years of work as a councilor.
The visibly moved Kraan was presented with the award by Mayor Sandra Korthuis. This happened during the last council meeting of this year. Also the last meeting that Kraan attends as a councilor. He will stop as a representative on December 31.
“It has been nice,” says Kraan, who has experienced four mayors as a councilor. Ab Meijerman of the PvdA (‘great mayor’), Sipke Swierstra of the VVD (‘a good regent’), Berry Link of the CDA (‘a mistake’) and Sandra Korthuis of the VVD (‘a laiverd’).
“They were good years; These were eventful years,” says Kraan, who enjoyed working in the political arena. “We could and can tell each other the truth. We don’t fight our way out here in Veendam.”
Enough is enough
But enough is enough, says Wildervankster, who has been a member of the municipal council on behalf of GemeenteBelangen almost continuously since 2002. “I will soon be 86. It is time for someone else.”
According to the mayor, a tribute is certainly appropriate. “Kraan is enthusiastic and very involved. He has been involved in all kinds of cultural-historical activities for decades,” says Korthuis.
For example, he was director of the operetta association Veendam-Wildervank and active for years for the neighborhood association Wildervank. Together with Nico Zweerts de Jong, Kraan was one of the driving forces behind the restoration of the 120-year-old street organ Zwarte Dorus, one of the oldest barrel organs in Groningen. “Without Bert Kraan there is no barrel organ in Veendam.”
What he also became known for outside the municipality of Veendam are the free evening concerts in the foyer of the van Beresteyn cultural center.
In 2004, Kraan, assisted by his wife Enga, started cautiously. It was an experiment. Kraan: “How do you ensure that people who otherwise rarely or never come to the theater still cross the threshold? By luring them in with an attractive music program with appealing artists.”
It became a success. The Koopavond concerts are probably vanBeresteyn’s longest running series of performances. Artists from all over the province are happy to participate.
Breaking down barriers
Kraan also wanted to remove barriers on a political level. With then PvdA councilor Yvette de Raad he was the initiator of a political youth debate in vanBeresteyn. He was also an enthusiastic participant in the national Democracy Day, set up to increase involvement in local democracy. All kinds of accessible activities were held in and around the town hall to give Veendam residents a look behind the political scenes.
Korthuis: “With all his activities, he shows himself to be more than just meritorious for society.” It is not the first time that Kraan has been put in the spotlight. In 2009 he was named Veendammer of the year. In 2020 he was appointed Member of the Order of Orange Nassau.
Kraan may then leave active municipal politics. Sitting still is not in his nature. “Are you crazy? The agenda for next year is already full. I’m definitely not going to sit on my ass.”