Fayetteville resident Mechthild Vogt was recently awarded the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. German Consul General Lutz Hermann Gorgens in a ceremony at the Georgia State Department of Education hosted by state Superintendent Kathy Cox, presented the Cross. The award was in recognition of her special merits and of her service to the Federal Republic of Germany in her capacity as a German teacher for more than three decades.

Vogt started teaching German at Fayette County High School in 1977 and stayed there until her retirement. In 1980 she started a student exchange between Fayette County High School and a German high school. Since then, 450 students from Germany have come to Georgia for three weeks every other year. The success of the exchange program has been largely credited to Vogt’s initiative, tenacity and high personal committment.

In 1987 and 1996 Vogt received the German Teacher of the Year award by the American Association of Teachers of German. In 2007 she received the Teacher of the Year award by the Foreign Language Association of Georgia.

The Cross of the Order of Merit is the only general state decoration given by the Federal Republic of Germany.