BUCYRUS―After leading the Bratwurst Festival as Director for the past 10 years, Larry West is calling it quits – sort of.

During the annual Appreciation Picnic on Sunday, West informed the crowd that although he was stepping down as director, he will continue to help out with the festival.

“I’m not going anywhere. I will still be here working with this guy,” said West as he motioned towards Kevin Myers, who has served as his assistant director for the past several years.

Earlier in the evening, the board of directors of Bratwurst Festival, Inc. had accepted West’s “retirement” and appointed Myers as the new Festival Director.

Myers presented West with a plaque, thanking him for his tenure as Festival Director.

“I have learned a lot from this guy,” Myers said. “It’s because of his leadership that we are in the great place that we are today.”

Myers noted that the festival has had record attendance, corporate sponsorship and food vendor applications over the last several years.

Myers and West presented an award to the 2019 Volunteer of the Year Award, Zack Agin, who worked hard on the sanitation side of the festival.

“His hard work at all hours of the day is a testament to his character. On Saturday night at 3 a.m., he was laughing and smiling. He made me forget how tired I was,” said Myers.

Receiving accolades for 2019 Committee Person of the Year was Joe Fox.

“Joe took on duties this year that happened on the fly. Without missing a beat, he stepped in and made things happen. He has also been instrumental, along with last year’s award winners Doug Stuckert and Ed Luidhardt, on much of the renovations to our building,” Myers said.

He said preparations for the 2020 Bratwurst Festival are already underway.

“We’re always looking to add more volunteers and committee members. We have a need for help in just about every area, including electric and maintenance, concessions and vending, parades, entertainment, volunteer coordination, contests, craft vendors, and more,” Myers said.

Persons interested in getting involved with the festival are encouraged to send an email to info.bratwurstfestvial@gmail.com, call 419-562-2728 or message the festival through the Facebook page.