The Wiking sailing club in Weyhe near Bremen was founded in 1949 and has 300 members. It is now the largest sailing club on the Middle Weser.
Mr Kopzog, were you glued to your chair?
No, on the contrary, I've made repeated attempts to give up my position as treasurer, but it's absolutely difficult to get rid of something like that ...
After all, you were the treasurer of your sailing club for 52 years and for three of those years you were even the first chairman - all at the same time?
No, I temporarily had another treasurer. It went quite well with my help. But then I took the finances into my own hands again.
You have now been honoured by the Federal President with the Order of Merit on Ribbon, the so-called Federal Cross of Merit, for your voluntary work. Did that surprise you?
I certainly hadn't expected it. I had already been out of office for some time. But it must have taken about three years for our Board of Directors to make the effort.
What were the biggest challenges during your time on the Wiking Board?
When I joined in 1965, the boats were still moored at buoys. We then built a marina on Lake Wieltsee with access to the Weser. It has been expanded over the years and now has a modern jetty with a slipway, boathouse and winter storage shed, and we organise training on our own boats. All of this was only possible with a very committed board and good contacts with the authorities.
Were there ever problems with defaulting contributors and how did you solve them?
I only had one such case, but it was quickly resolved. I simply connected his mast to the shelf. With a proper chain. That helped. He paid quickly.
That sounds like a very confident hand for such an office. There were never any major problems?
Yes, there is one thing I would like to get rid of here. We have gradually bought new bars. And the following actually happened to me. I was supposed to transfer an instalment of 30,000 euros, but the money didn't arrive because the bank details had changed. The supplier had become insolvent in the meantime and had changed the savings bank. Well, I thought, the savings bank will transfer it back to us if he no longer has an account there. But believe it or not, the savings bank took our money as a result of the insolvency proceedings. As a public corporation. Fortunately, we were well insured and therefore suffered no loss.
As Finance Minister, you played a key role in shaping the development of your club. Is it difficult to hand over such an office after half a century and entrust it to someone else?
I have found someone who does this very well. A gift from heaven.
