(Story by Marco Stoovelaar)
IN MEMORIAM
...Hélène Angermann...
(1957 - 2021) |
 DSS softball-administrator and club-icon Hélène Angermann passed away
Nederlands
 HAARLEM (Neth.) -
Hélène Angermann, who has been active for many years for Haarlem-based club DSS, passed away on Thursday (March 25) at the much too young age of 63 after being ill for some time.
Through the years, she did a lot of work for the softball-section and was on the club's home-site almost daily.
The memorial and funeral ceremony will be held in private on Wednesday, March 31.
Helena Maria Geertruida (Hélène) Angermann-Bekedam was born on December 8, 1957 in Haarlem.
In 2000, Hélène became more involved with the softball-section of DSS when it moved from its old site to its current side behind the Pim Mulier Stadium.
Since then, she closely worked together with 'Mr. DSS' Peter Vink, the longtime 'do-it-all' of the baseball- and softball-section, who is a member of the multi-sportsclub for over seventy years.
From 2000, Hélène Angermann handled the administration for game-affairs for both the adults and youth softball-teams and also did the public relations for the softball-section.
The following year, she started to coordinate the activities of the volunteers within the club.
She also went on to become a member of the club's board, responsible for coordinating all softball-activities.
Later, Hélène also handled the ordering and distribution of player uniforms.
Since her involvement, the softball-section grew rapidly and had a lot of (successful) youth-teams.
Also, the men softball-section grew.
Hélène quickly became a familiar sight on the softball-fields, especially in Haarlem.
Within a short period, she was the contactperson for DSS-softball.
Hélène became known for her firm handling of things, had a strong own opinion, but was able to communicate well and defended both the position of DSS strongly, as well softball in general.
Hélène Angermann did everything for her softball-teams.
Through the years, she welcomed the game-officials on the playing site of DSS.
When the softball-team of DSS returned to the big league in 2014, Hélène was the Team Manager and took care of all activities of the team.
She handed the starting line-ups to the Official Scorers, arranged the dressing rooms for the umpires, addressed the media and did much more.
Besides all these organisational things, she also was closely involved in other club- and promotional activities.
She also frequently handled clubhouse-affairs together with Peter Vink.
At DSS, she also was a member of the commission for Technical Affairs for Softball together with Joris Kesseler, Piet Pannen and her son Werner Angermann, who is one of the softball-coaches in the club.
In 2011-2013, he was the Assistant Coach of the main softball-team, then was the Head Coach when the team made its comeback in the Dutch big league in 2014.
After that season, he stepped down and was succeeded by current Head Coach Norman Ames.
Throught the years, Hélène herself also has been a softball-coach.
...Hélène represented DSS during a softball-promotion...
...by clubs from the Haarlem-area in 2019, joined by...
...representatives of Kinheim, Onze Gezellen, Sparks Haarlem...
...and Terrasvogels in Haarlem (Neth.)...
(© Photo: DSS) |
For her many contributions to and activities for DSS, she was named Member of Merit.
Recently, she was named Honorary Member of the Haarlem-based club.
In 2013, the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Association (KNBSB) introduced a new working structure which included the Column Meetings Recreational Sports.
In May 2013, the KNBSB named the members of the different Colums.
Hélène Angermann was named to represent the Cluster Haarlem in the Column Meetings Recreational Sports.
The structure of Columns was dissolved halfway 2018.
In the first two years, the Column Meetings were chaired by Gijs Selderijk, who then was the Program Manager Recreational Sport.
Since 2015, the Meetings were chaired by Roy Vink, who succeeded Selderijk, who went on to lead to Columns for Top Sport Competitions.
In the five years that the columns existed, Hélène Angermann was one of five persons who served in this commission the entire span.
The others were Bart Bakker (The Hague), Joyce Benink (Brabant-East/Limburg), Rob van Eck (East) and Wil Kitslaar (Central Netherlands).
In the same period (2013-2018), Peter Vink was a member of the Column Meetings Baseball, as a representative of the Top Sport Teams.
As coordinator of the Cluster Haarlem, Hélène Angermann was closely involved in the preparations, as well as the executive acitivities of several Netherlands Little League Championships when these were organized in Hoofddorp, Almere en Huizen.
The last years, Hélène also was involved in several local projects for Adapted Sports, which were set up by Sportservice Noord-Holland and was a contactperson for some of them.
Hélène Angermann was very passionate and driven when being active for her club DSS and was a club-icon.
She did everything, arranged everything and became a do-it-all.
Whatever the situation, Hélène always handled things well.
And (almost) always with a smile on her face.
When game-officials arrived at the site of DSS, they were always welcomed warmly by her.
On a personal note, being a game-official myself, I will remember these welcomes and the good contacts with her through the years.
The presence of Hélène at the DSS-site will surely be be missed by many.
Not only by the club-members, the DSS softball-players, but also by opponents and game-officials.
The webmaster of Grand Slam * Stats & News offers his condolences to Hélène's husband Rob, son Werner, daughter Vita and other family and wishes them a lot of strength with this big loss.
(March 28)
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