IT specialist gets out from behind the screens

WIESBADEN, Germany – There’s an internet phrase, “touch grass,” that implies somebody is spending too much time online and needs to take a break from the digital community and get back outside to the real world.

One Installation Management Command-Europe team member who works with computers all day has taken that saying to heart with the “grass” literally being the grounds of some of the world’s finest golf courses.

While some folks actually decompress after work through electronic gaming or virtual reality sports, Annemieke Anderson, project manager and team lead for the IMCOM-E Information Technology Systems Support staff, unwinds with “IRL” (in real life) hobbies related to golf, baseball, skiing and sailing.

“My husband and I are golfers, but we also volunteer for PGA Golf events, such as Ryder Cup, Solheim Cup, Winston Senior Open in Europe and the Travelers Championship in Connecticut,” said Anderson, who oversees about 40 IT team members across the European garrisons.

“These events are a hoot, especially if you love the game and know the players,” said the Netherlands native who began working for IMCOM-E in 2012, when the organization was still headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany. “I am usually placed in the media area or the corporate row venues and my husband is usually assigned as a walking scorer. There is never a dull moment during these events.”

During the 2018 Ryder Cup in Paris, she was in the media room where the whole U.S. team was present: “They weren’t happy campers as they were losing and eventually lost. Nick Faldo swung by and did agree to a picture with me.”

She and her husband Kevin are also avid baseball fans, with a goal to visit every Major League Baseball stadium in America, having “already managed quite a few, but we are far from completing this goal any time soon.”

When she’s not at a major golf tournament, baseball game, skiing the slopes across Europe or sailing a catamaran around the Croatian or Greek islands, one can find her tucked away in a second-floor corner cubicle here on Clay Kaserne crunching data, analyzing network compliance and scheduling the latest software updates.

While that work doesn’t seemingly compare to the excitement of her free time, Anderson would disagree: “I really enjoy what I do. It’s challenging keeping everybody happy – the team as well as the customers. But it’s gratifying getting the job done, whether it’s a large project or helping customers.”

Born in Haarlem, the Netherlands, she was raised in Huis Ter Heide, next to Soesterberg Air Base and the now-shuttered U.S. Air Force facilities there at Camp New Amsterdam.

“Since we practically lived right next to the base, we met a lot of Americans,” she recalled, getting her first look at the military environment. “There were a lot of activities, where Americans also attended.”

Eventually, she would find herself working for the U.S. government while earning her bachelor’s degree in Information Systems from the University of Maryland.

“While I was finishing up my degree in computer studies, I applied for a help desk position in Heidelberg and landed the job,” she recalled. “My hiring manager made the comment that even though I did not have a lot of technical skills, I had the right attitude and motivation. It is the best career choice I made.”

And while she loves her job, she has no problems disconnecting from the blinking cursor and “touching grass” to maintain a healthy work-life balance.