Similar to most events in 2020, the ESOP Association’s Annual Midwest Conference went virtual this year. Initially, the meeting was set to be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but with the current health concerns in mind, I, along with several members of DISTek’s ESOP Communications Committee were able to attend from the comfort of our own homes!
Business owners across the globe have certainly had their challenges this year – a pandemic, economic turmoil, civil unrest, and let us not forget the regular dose of weather related challenges Mother Nature seems fit to throw our way – hurricanes, derechos, hail, floods. With all that is going on, it is tough enough being an employee, much less an owner. Yet at DISTek, employees ARE owners!
DISTek is well into its 2nd year of being a 100% employee owned company through our Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP). The transition in 2019 included celebrating the retirement of our founder and recognizing both the gift of ownership he granted to all of us employees as well as honoring his legacy of ownership. DISTek’s history is rooted in its values – integrity, team, service.
Today, as we battle the COVID-19 pandemic, for most of us, moving to a “new office” means relocating to our basement, appropriating the dining room table, or occupying an extra bedroom. But in late 2019, DISTek Integration’s excitement over our new digs referenced a traditional brick and mortar office building. Specifically, we eagerly relocated to Suite 420 at 3737 Woodland Ave. in West Des Moines.
I titled this blog post “Staying the Course” because that is exactly what we have been doing here at DISTek, now entering our 5th week of aggressive novel coronavirus response mode. I liken our current environment similar to navigating a fully loaded canoe through high winds – keep the bow pointed toward the destination, anticipate making corrective maneuvers as much as possible, and react quickly and decisively, yet calmly, to sudden shifts in direction and current.
She’s been on the job for two years now. Well, two years four months to be exact and over time she’s become…. shall we say, extremely spirited. You see, things didn’t start out that way, but over time her confidence on the job has grown, which has made her pretty comfortable exerting her opinion in the workplace.
I just looked back at my Year in Review blog post for 2018 from a year ago, and I see that it was posted in late February with a stated goal to get the next one done on a timelier schedule. So here you go, hot off the press and still in January! In 2018…
The holidays are all about traditions, whether that’s family gatherings at Grandma’s, turkey and stuffing, pie for dessert, or fruitcake from Aunt Eidie. At DISTek, as has been the tradition for the past 10 years, we’ve partnered with a local elementary school that pairs our company with a family in need to provide household supplies as well as a variety of “wish list” items to help make their holiday season a little brighter. This year, our adopted family was a mother and her five children (two of which were 3-month old twins – yes! we purchased a substantial number of diapers!).
Arguably, the BEST day of the year at DISTek is Halloween. Now, not everyone would probably agree with that assessment, but it’s one of my very favorite work days of the year. Today has been full of far more treats than tricks with our Annual Halloween Costume Contest followed by a Halloween potluck. Please enjoy a peek at our costumes from today!
In 2018, DISTek began an internal training program called DISTek University, affectionately known as “DISTek U”. This training leverages off-the shelf training resources to develop a common foundation for DISTek’s employee owners to build their careers on. DISTek U promotes collaboration and camaraderie among all DISTekians, regardless of position or geographic location. DISTek leadership strongly encourages all employee owners to participate in these trainings – which help both the employee owner and employer. DISTek can point to numerous examples of promoting individuals to leadership positions after successful course completion and exceptional job performance.
A month or so ago an employee reached out to me asking about information regarding arranging a group volunteer event at the Northeast Iowa Food Bank. We’ve done such volunteer …
The DISTek Leadership Team embarked on some summer travels recently, taking it to the streets and visiting each of our primary locations throughout the Midwest to meet, greet, eat, celebrate, and have some fun. With our employee owners scattered across several states, it is important to support teamwork and collaboration. Hosting picnics and yard games seemed to be a great way to promote unity and togetherness while at the same time letting our guards down a bit and taking some much needed time out to have a good time and get to know each other a little better outside of the work place.
After 27 years of selfless service to DISTek, our founder, Matt Dickinson has taken on a new journey…. RETIREMENT! All of us here at DISTek thank him for all he has done for not only the company as a whole, but for all the individual employees as well. We will miss his guidance, generosity, and fun spirited nature. Here’s to filling his days with plenty of St Louis Cardinals baseball, quality time with the grandkids, and social events around his hometown of Carthage, IL.
