CHUCK POFF

I got my start in IT back in 1994 at just 17 years old, right as the internet was beginning to transform the business world. My father was the head golf pro at Anaheim Hills Golf Course, which is owned by the City of Anaheim. Through his connections and his belief in my early interest in computers, he helped me land a summer job with the city’s internal IT department.

My first assignment was to inventory every computer across all City of Anaheim departments. That meant visiting places most people never get to see: Anaheim Stadium, the Convention Center, the police and fire departments, public utilities, fleet services, and City Hall. It was a unique behind-the-scenes look at how a city operates, and I was hooked.

I wrapped up the inventory project ahead of schedule and was asked to stay on through the summer. I ended up working alongside a consultant deploying a CD tower, a full data center rack equipped with a server and multiple CD drives to serve a digital law library to the city attorney’s office. Once the project was complete, I was the only person in IT who truly understood how the system worked. The city offered me a part-time role that turned into a full-time position once I graduated high school.

The City of Anaheim gave me an incredible hands-on education and launched my career in IT, but none of it would’ve happened without my dad’s encouragement and support.

Today, I’m still passionate about technology and grateful for where that early experience has taken me. I’m also a proud father of two boys and stay active with golf, dirt biking, and snowboarding. And yes, I still love what I do.