128 Years of Family Serving Family: Lioba Conrad, 40-Year Associate, Europe/SWA

One in a series honoring the Exchange’s 128 years of family serving family.

Who she is: Lioba Conrad, services specialist, Europe/Southwest Asia

Years with the Exchange: 40 years

Military and Exchange connection: Conrad’s husband, Michael, served in the Army for five years before working for the Exchange for 34 years, retiring in 2017.

What she did at first: “My dream was to go to an admin job as I did shift work for five years. A friend of mine worked for the Exchange, and when she PCS’d, I applied for her job as the manager’s secretary. I was hired, and it was the best decision ever.”

What she does now: Conrad assists and supports the Services team in the region by providing guidance for implementation and compliance of Exchange policies, procedures and programs applicable to contract-operated services. She also works with Exchange Services teammates, concessionaires and vendors while being the link from Services in Europe to headquarters in Dallas.

An Exchange love story: “In 1995, I met the love of my life, Michael, through the Exchange. He was a headquarters management associate at the Europe accounting support office located within the Kaiserslautern Area Exchange office.  I was the GM’s secretary at Ramstein at that time and tasked to work with Mike to take over some of the ‘mailroom’ functions due to the upcoming closure of the Germany accounting office at the Kaiserslautern Area.

“It was fun working with him and getting to know him; our relationship then continued as the Ramstein Exchange softball team games rolled out multiple times a week and when our team took on big USAFE (United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa) team, we won the championship and took the trophy home to the Exchange office (our GM Bob White, of course, was part of our team as well). Mike and I fell in love and our relationship continued to slowly grow; we got married in 1997.” 

Lioba Conrad with Europe Region Services Business Manager John Jennings at her Exchange 40th-anniversary celebration.

Where she’s worked: Conrad began in 1984 at the Pirmasens (Germany) general manager’s office. After the installation closed, she moved to the Ramstein (KMC) Consolidated general manager’s office. In 2001, Conrad and her husband PCS’d to the U.K., where he became area Loss Prevention manager, while she spent two years in Human Resources and then three years as the GM’s secretary.

Next came orders to headquarters in Dallas, where she worked in the motion pictures office, starting as an office assistant and then earning a promotion to film coordinator.

“That was way cool, dealing with Hollywood studios and trying to get the best movies on a moment’s notice to our service members far away from home. It was so rewarding, and I learned so much that I didn’t know about all the wonderful things the Exchange does every day to support our troops, even in the farthest corners of the globe.”

After two years, Conrad moved to Logistics, and then in 2010 was reassigned to the Europe Region, where she worked as a specialist salesclerk in the Military Clothing store for six months until in Ramstein before a position became available in the GM’s office. She was the services supervisor and spent a year in HR.

“In 2017, my husband retired after 34 years with the Exchange and I resigned, and we moved to Nevada. COVID hit, and illness back home in Germany with the family led us to make a family decision to move back to Germany in 2021. I was rehired Sept. 1 in my current position.”

The best part of working for the Exchange: “Personally, the best part is that I met my husband through working for the Exchange. We both truly believe in the Exchange mission. It’s so rewarding and makes me so proud to see where we go and what we do daily to serve those who serve our great nation. We bring them a piece of home when they are far away from home. Mike and I enjoy all the connections and bonds we made throughout all these years. We’ve truly been blessed.”

Memorable moments: “I have so many memorable moments from working alongside so many wonderful people and all levels of management! Working for HQ Logistics, for example, taught me that nothing really ‘moves’ until the trucks move. I’ve learned so much in all my time with the Exchange. I’ve been able to contribute to our mission by giving my best day and serving with a smile.”

Family serving family: “Being part of the Exchange has been a commitment for me for the past 40 years. I wouldn’t want to work anywhere else. Even when we were in the U.S., and I didn’t work for the Exchange, I’d drive an hour to Nellis AFB just to go to the Exchange and feel like I’m coming home to our extended family. When we walked in the first time and I saw familiar faces, it felt great. Within the Exchange, most of the time when you say ‘goodbye,’ it’s actually ‘until we see each other again,’ because we’ll probably see each other again in another place, maybe another country, but that’s who we are.

“I am so very grateful to the Exchange for the opportunity and benefits given to us. We are taking care of our Soldiers, Airmen, Guardians and their loved ones, being side-by-side with them and going where the military takes them. They can always depend on their Exchange family being there to support and assist them. It’s a privilege and an honor to work for the best company in the universe, and I am very blessed and thankful.”