With dismay and deeply concerned we have received the news that Dr. Axel Th. Simon passed away last Wednesday. As member of the owner family of the Bitburger Brewery Simon was President of the VLB Berlin from 1989 to 2014. With respect to his exeptional engagement during the 25 years he was appointed as Honorary President of the VLB for lifetime in 2014.

As an extraordinary personality, Simon also worked in many other committees of the economy and sciences, such as member of the board of the Deutsche Brauer-Bund (German Brewers Association), as vice president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Trier and on the supervisory board of Volksbank Bitburg. He has received numerous awards for his great commitment, including the Federal Cross of Merit 2004, the Economic Medal of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate 2007 and the honorary plaque "maximi honoris causa" of the City of Bitburg 2013. He was also honored with the Golden VLB Honor Badge.

We have lost an Honorary President, who was a confessed VLBer at heart until the end. Through our new "Axel-Simon-Bibliothek" his name and his merits to the VLB will remain familiar to the subsequent brewery generations. We will all give him an honorable memory.

Dr. Axel Th. Simon, * 11 August 1943, † 25 April 2018