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.
The DISTek elves were once again busy this holiday season. As in years past, we were fortunate enough to be able to adopt two area families again this year to help provide them with holiday necessities and wish list items to make their Christmas one to remember.
This past Friday, we took a little time out from our work day to have a little fun and celebrate Halloween! In keeping with tradition, we all gathered in the training room at noon for the annual parade of costumes. Check out the photos below to see who showed up at the Cedar Falls DISTek Office!
There is a long standing tradition of giving back at DISTek, not only during the holiday season, but throughout the year. And even though DISTek has been conducting a weekly Casual for a Cause event for many years, where employees can dress casually on Friday’s with just a small contribution to a chosen cause, this year we made a small improvement that has had a big impact. Our employee-owners can recommend a particular cause and, if chosen, that cause receives the donations for the entire month. Not only does this provide a larger monetary donation to the worthy cause, but creates broader exposure for the cause as we internally promote it for the entire month. As an added bonus, this year we were able to secure some matching funds from the DISTek budget, further increasing the monetary donation each month and expanding on one of our core values – community.
Hello,
My name is Paul Thomas. I am currently an Embedded Software Engineer working on-site at a customer location in Dubuque, Iowa. I was born and raised in Gladstone, Michigan (way up north), and went to college at Michigan Technological University (even farther north).
In Cameron Herald’s book Double Double, he writes about how important a shared vision is to top performing business organizations. At DISTek, we just went through the vision setting process. We leaned out into the future to paint a picture of what DISTek will look, feel, and perform like three years into the future. The resulting vision highlights what DISTek’s employees, culture, customers, expertise, offices, and growth will look like on December 31st 2018.
I’m Chad Stapes, and I work as a software engineer on-site at a customer location in Dubuque, Iowa.
My name is Justin Durante and here is a little background about myself.
A funny thing happened to me at work the other day – my title changed. On December 31, 2014, I, and most everyone else here, became part-owner of DISTek.
There is a long standing tradition at DISTek around the holiday season. In late November, as we gear up for Thanksgiving break, where we spend time with our families reflecting on all the things we have to be thankful for, simple white boards adorned with green and red tags make an appearance in the break room. These tags list basic necessities and wish list items from local families, who are struggling to make ends meet. This year, DISTek was fortunate enough to be able to adopt two families and play a small role in making their holiday season a little bit brighter.
It was 8 years ago that my wife, Julie and I moved from Minnesota to Iowa, when I became the IT Manager for DISTek.
DISTek formed a Wellness Committee that is responsible for encouraging wellness and healthy lifestyles for everyone throughout the company. The wellness committee sponsors different events, such as lunch and learns or challenges that promote healthy living.
