Face of the Münsterland e.V.: Klaus Ehling retires

15 years: that's how long Klaus Ehling has been at the helm of Münsterland e.V. He was officially bid farewell at the members' meeting on 2 July 2024 at Gut Havichhorst in Münster - with numerous congratulations, words of appreciation and an impressive review of his work at the helm of the regional management organisation. The members, the Supervisory Board, the employees of Münsterland e.V. and other companions were in attendance.

Klaus Ehling has been the face of Münsterland e.V. from the very beginning. The regional management organisation was founded in 2009 as a merger of Münsterland Touristik Grünes Band e.V. and Aktion Münsterland e.V., and Ehling has held the position of managing director and board member ever since. Previously, the lawyer was mayor of the city of Bocholt and managing director of the Coesfeld district business development organisation. Ehling emphasised: "The Münsterland has always been my home. Being able to passionately develop it further and shape THE GOOD LIFE was a wonderful task for me."

A lot has happened in the one and a half decades of Münsterland e.V. The team has grown from 20 at the time to more than 55 employees, and the amount of funding acquired has also steadily increased. One of Ehling's highlights is the brand development. "What the region has achieved here together is much more than marketing." In 2017 and 2018, Münsterland flipped the switches for many joint strategies and the resulting projects, and from 2019, the brand management has been placed on a solid foundation - with a new logo and claim, the implementation of projects such as Picknick³ and the Onboarding@Münsterland service and a regional alliance.

Whether in the areas of tourism, culture or business: "Münsterland is a very successful region with the highest quality of life. Since the 1950s, we have smiled away every economic crisis with great commitment." Ehling emphasised the very positive development of tourism, the outstanding work of Münsterland e.V. in securing skilled workers and promoting innovation and the role of the cultural office as one of the most successful in NRW. He also remembers the successful work of the Münsterland Regional Agency in the area of labour market promotion, which has brought several million euros in funding into the region every year. "Regional cooperation has increased enormously over the years."

If he had to name a downer, it would probably be the lack of a Münsterland-wide regional programme. The structural programme of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia promotes pioneering projects in selected regions on a large scale. "The Münsterland has more than earned its turn," says Ehling. The region is already working intensively on preparing an application, but the programme has not yet been announced.

Dr Kai Zwicker, District Administrator of the Borken district, took the floor as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Münsterland e.V. "Münsterland e.V. presents the region and its strengths in an impressive way. We owe this largely to Klaus Ehling and his work. He has made the regional management organisation a guarantor of success."

Michael Kösters, Chief Representative of Münsterland e.V., addressed words to the outgoing Executive Board on behalf of the employees. "We will remember Klaus Ehling fondly as a boss who was there for his employees and treated them as equals, with a healthy trust in the team's abilities and an always open door!"

The Supervisory Board had already decided on the new Management Board of Münsterland e.V. in March of this year: Andreas Grotendorst, currently still head of the department for rural development and land readjustment at the Münster district government and, among other things, mayor of the castle community of Raesfeld for eleven years, will succeed Klaus Ehling in August.