I’m Starting to Feel Like an Owner

Employee Owned

Just recently I was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation for ten years of excellent service and valuable contributions to DISTek Integration. Needless to say, I’m quite thankful and happy to have been involved with DISTek for the past ten years. Wow! I’ve been employed here for ten years? It sure doesn’t feel like ten years. Maybe that’s partly because since December of 2014, I, like many others at DISTek, became employee owners, after DISTek founder Matt Dickinson decided to share a part of his company with his employees by forming an ESOP – an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. That’s right, DISTek is employee owned.

I’m not sure when…

Holiday Elves

♫It’s the most wonderful time of the year♫…..DISTek continues the tradition of giving back:

Once again this year, as in previous years, the DISTek Cedar Falls office adopted two families from the Waterloo school district to help make their Christmas a little extra special. We received a wish list from each of the families and shared these with DISTek Elves (employees) who set about fulfilling everything (and even some extra items) on their lists. As usual, Elves were very generous…

DISTek Turns 25: Past, Present, Future

The Present – Part 2

In the last phase of DISTek’s 25 years, we expanded our engineering services again. The concept of model-based software development (MBSD) had been in use for a few years at several of our off-highway customers and we had gained experience with it. But as we surveyed the market landscape……..

Our Commitment to STEM: Preparing the Next Generation

 

DISTek has been encouraging youth in STEM and problem solving by sponsoring FIRST teams for many years. This year is no different. DISTek is sponsoring ten FIRST LEGO League (FLL) teams and eight FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) teams. We will also be sponsoring FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) teams when their season officially kicks off in January. In addition, we have ten DISTek team members that have committed their time to either coach or mentor teams.

DISTek After Hours

DISTek’s employees aren’t just all work and no play. We frequently do a variety of different activities after hours. Let me tell you how I got into some of the after hours activities almost instantly after I started working at DISTek, including how I implemented Board Game Night, as well as my thoughts on the LAN Party, which was my first interaction with the DISTek Activities’ Group.

Summer Send-off: Back-to-School Tailgate

On a gorgeous evening, after work, employees gathered in the back lot of the DISTek Cedar Falls office, while Jeff donned his apron and manned the grill. Employees were treated to brats, burgers, sides, and beverages, while at the same time getting the chance to bolster camaraderie with their fellow DISTekians.

DISTek Turns 25: Past, Present, Future

The Present – Part 1

The 2000s were a tumultuous decade, bookended on the front end by the dotcom bubble bursting, Enron collapsing with Arthur Anderson, and the September 11th attacks, and on the backend with the financial crisis and the great recession. In the world of technology, we saw the quick spread of broadband internet and the broad adoption first of cell phones and PDAs before the two merged by the end of the decade into the smartphone. The internet seemed to get its legs in this decade with the advent of such tools as Google Maps, Wikipedia, YouTube, and social media.

Celebrating 25 Years – Family Style!

When DISTek began its 25th year in business back in March, we knew we wanted to celebrate this rather significant milestone, maybe have a party, take in a ball game, go out to dinner, or have a family picnic. 25 years ago, any of these ideas would have been possible with not much more effort than calling the wife, locking up the office, and heading uptown. Ah, the simpler times of yesteryear!

DISTek has Gone to the Dogs: Take Your Dog to Work Day

Last Friday, June 23rd, DISTek participated in Take Your Dog To Work Day. This annual event was created by Pet Sitters International in 1999 as a way to celebrate what great companions dogs are, as well as to promote and bring awareness to adoptions. The event encourages employers to experience the joys of pets in the workplace for one Friday each summer to support their local pet communities. Here at DISTek, we were lucky enough to have several furry friends show up with their owners for a day at the office.

DISTek Turns 25: Past, Present, Future

In the early 1990s, the world was in a state of change. Germany was reunified in 1990, the dissolution of the Soviet Union happened in 1991, Yugoslavia was breaking apart in 1992, while here in the USA another presidential election cycle was brewing. It was into this world that DISTek was born on April 1, 1992. Company founder, Matt Dickinson, brought his experience in electronics for the agricultural, aerospace, and factory automation industries and setup DISTek as a contract provider of embedded electronics engineering services for off-highway equipment.

So I’m an Employee Owner. Now What?

Early last year, I wrote in this space about my new title – “employee owner,” after DISTek founder Matt Dickinson decided to share a part of his company with his employees by forming an ESOP – an Employee Stock Ownership Plan.

I noted back then that my immediate responsibilities wouldn’t change, and from the standpoint of my day-to-day tasks, they really haven’t.