Member Spotlight: Mike Vander Sanden

Posted By: Pamela Ledin Member Spotlight,

We’re continuing to bring you the Member Spotlight series to help us all get to know each other better! Do you know a WLIA colleague who deserves to be featured? Please fill out this form so that we can highlight them!


I'm pleased to introduce Mike Vander Sanden, a current WLIA board member with 25 years of experience at Washington County.  Mike is a recipient of the WLIA President's Award, and also part of the team at Washington County when they won the Government Achievement Award TWICE in both 2012 and 2005. Now, "it's go time" - read on!

How did you come to your current profession or job? 

Sometimes I feel like Forrest Gump, fortuitously stumbling upon a career I could never have planned yet somehow turned out exciting and fulfilling.  Attending UW-Green Bay, I had plans to pursue a teaching degree.  Two years in and after my first exposure to kids in an actual classroom, I said to myself “what have I done?” (think of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s first day in the classroom in Kindergarten Cop).  Having also taken several courses for a minor in geography at that point, I decided then and there to switch to a geography major.

Bachelor’s degree in hand I had little expectation to find a job in my field, hoping my college education would at least open a few doors.  In early January, 1997 I saw a job posting in the classifieds for a job in Waukesha looking for people with some of the qualifications that matched my resume.  GIS, geography, CAD, and alas I was offered a position as a conversion technician.  It was a humble beginning at a meager salary, but I was thrilled to learn all about electric distribution components and how to convert paper maps into digital utility networks. 

After a couple of years of gaining experience in MicroStation among other things and looking to relocate closer to my wife’s family, I came across a job posting for Washington County looking to hire a GIS Analyst.  They had adopted Intergraph’s MGE as their mapping software which used MicroStation as its graphics interface.  Overlooking my lack of parcel mapping experience, inability to read a legal description and overall socially awkward and introverted disposition, they took a chance on me and the rest is history.

2000
Real Property and GIS Department in 2000. Top row from left: Mike Vander Sanden, Brian Braithwaite, Eric Damkot

What’s your most favorite part and least favorite part of your job?

Favorite part of my job is seeing the appreciation of coworkers when I create a map or application or drone flight which helps them do their job better.  Included in that is the ‘wow’ factor when you can create something that they didn’t know was possible (although that’s getting more and more difficult).  Least favorite BY FAR is troubleshooting ArcGIS Enterprise upgrades.  It’s always a relief when years of maps and applications come back online after a 5-hour long upgrade!

What’s the best advice someone has ever given you?

As Frank Conkling once told me (and many others no doubt) “Make sure the juice is worth the squeeze”.  GIS give you limitless possibilities to create new data, maps and applications but in the end was it worth the effort?  A first good question to ask before getting too deep.  A close second: “under promise and over deliver”.

What do you like to do for fun?  (Hobbies, volunteer work, etc.)

Having four kids and two dogs takes up much of my free time.  If we’re not attending one of my son’s basketball games, baseball games or wrestling matches, you can usually find me working in the yard or playing a game of kickball, lightning or cornhole with the kids.  The older I get, the more I find myself on the losing end of these competitions!

I’m also very active in my church.  My wife and I are involved in helping engaged couples with marriage preparation, helping them discover and talk through some of the pitfalls of married life before the big day.

What’s something most people wouldn’t guess about you?

As my coworkers can attest, I spend more hours than I should quoting and watching reruns of Seinfeld.  References heard round the office include but aren’t limited to “the Penske file”, “significant shrinkage”, “serenity now!” and “it’s go time!”

Also, like Kramer, I do enjoy a fine cigar from time to time.

Halloween office dress up as Kramer circa 2011

That’s awesome!  You make an excellent Kramer.  I think that he could sometimes use the advice of “Make sure the juice is worth the squeeze.”  Any other advice that you’d give Kramer?  Or perhaps Kramer-like schemes that you’ve tried?

I once had an idea for a log cabin-like structure built from the cardboard cores of our plotter paper rolls.  Unfortunately, the cardboard didn’t have the structural integrity to support the frame.

Whoa, so you really started building this?!  As a kid I used paper towel cardboard cores for racing my Hot Wheels cars.  The plotter cardboard would have been quite the upgrade.  I think that we can come up with some more great ideas for plotter cardboard reuse options!

I did!  It also helped that my wife works at an engineering firm and was able to able to amass enough cores for the entire cabin rather quickly.  Unfortunately, this and other ideas from Kramerica Industries never came to fruition!

Where would you most like to travel to and why?

I have a love hate relationship with travel.  There are many places I’d love to see – top of the list being Rome.  However, the travel process; the crowds, airport security, jet lag…not worth the squeeze. 

Give me a remote cabin on a Wisconsin lake not too far from home with no agenda, preferably with a small town nearby to explore and I’m in heaven!

I hear ya; big cities and the travel stress can be overwhelming.  Any small-town Wisconsin favorites for you to share?

I was just in Bayfield with my brother and our sons in June and had a great time.  Lots of cool shops and museums within walking distance of our resort. The fish fry and old fashions at the Pickled Herring were outstanding!

Bayfield is lovely.  Living nearby I don’t get there as much as I should (fall into avoiding it at times since it’s “touristy”).  But it still has a vibe of being able to take it slow and enjoy the atmosphere, food, and drink… so definitely a gem in Wisconsin.  FYI a couple other Bayfield favorites of mine: Hoops Dockside for the fish fry and the gyro pizza at Manypenny Bistro!