Wilfried Reckers

Wilfried Reckers is an event manager, club host, snack bar operator and much more besides

Everyone in Lüdinghausen knows him. He is the face of "mittwochs in", runs the market store in the middle of the town and the "Disselhooker Treffpunkt" café, is the club host at TC Blau-Gold Lüdinghausen and organizes countless events. "That's my profession," says Wilfried Reckers. "I've done a lot in my life, but events and catering - that's what I can do and what I love!"

Reckers came to his professional fortune via many detours. As a trained retail car salesman, he initially sold cars and set up his own car dealership in Magdeburg in 1989. In 1993, he and his wife set up Waschbär until they parted company in 2003. "I looked left and right, sold insurance, real estate and advertisements until I gradually moved into the event industry," says Wilfried Reckers. Initially behind the counter or at the entrance, at some point he was behind the bar every Saturday at the "Cubana Club" and then took it over completely. He turned the Cubana Club into the Schlagerkeller.

Wednesdays in

His brother organizes parties in Wilhelmshaven and it was from there that Wilfried Reckers imported the idea of "mittwochs in" in 2013. It hit Lüdinghausen like a bomb and Reckers' event career began: Every Wednesday in summer, he hosted social get-togethers at the Borg, organized pop festivals, carnival events, pack watching at various sporting events, a winter village on the market square, the Kostenbad fashion show together with Roswitha Worms and much more. He is responsible for the drinks at the evening market and the town festival. And there is now also a counterpart to "mittwochs in" in Selm, Senden and Datteln. Reckers also runs a snack bar in Datteln and the snack bar in the natural swimming pool in Olfen. Of course, he doesn't do all of this alone, but with a pool of 35 employees. "I have a knack for knowing which of my people to deploy where best. That pays off. And I have a huge network, which is the be-all and end-all in the event industry."

Corona brings him to his knees

Everything was going great until Corona put the brakes on Reckers in spring 2020. "I didn't take it too seriously at first," recalls the Lüdinghausen native. "Like many others probably didn't either. Corona was totally unreal at first." Until nothing worked at all in the event industry. Reckers was only able to do very small events in summer and almost nothing at all in winter. "I wanted to keep myself busy," says the 58-year-old. So he sold Christmas trees. "I'm flexible and think outside the box," is how the 58-year-old describes himself.

"And I think things will really get going again in the event sector next year." In order to be well positioned for the upcoming projects that he is already planning, the 58-year-old is looking for staff. "I'm looking for people for the set-up, the bar, the kitchen, for the organization as well as the office and administration. And urgently a cleaning lady," says Reckers.

"You are a blessing for us"

Recognition and praise are extremely important to him. "Last weekend, someone said to me in the tennis center: Wilfried - you're a blessing for us," he explains. "I need that! And that makes me really happy." The 58-year-old had installed floodlights for the club championships. "We were still playing tennis at half past two in the morning. That went down really well." Reckers also needs the family atmosphere that prevails on the tennis court, in his team and also in the "Disselhook meeting place", where he works together with his sister and mother and cooks for the residents every Thursday. "It just makes the work so much fun!"

Wilfried Reckers has a special rhythm to his life. In summer, he works every day, sometimes up to 14 hours a day. In winter, he takes a vacation. "It's much quieter in the industry then." Nadine Wenge