July 24, 2023
Tyler Dishman’s leadership qualities stood out when he joined Scoular’s Downs, Kansas, facility in 2009 as a laborer.
Fresh out of high school, he was hungry to learn. He asked questions about everything from blending grains to operating shuttle loaders. When a piece of equipment broke down, he fixed it. When help was needed at a facility in another state, Tyler’s arm shot up.
“You could see from the start he was a leader,’’ says Doug Lantz, facility manager at Downs. “He kept taking on more responsibility.”
Through hard work, determination and mentoring, Tyler became a Superintendent at Scoular’s facility in Pratt, Kansas. His story illustrates how employees can grow their careers at Scoular. We believe our people are a differentiating factor to our success, and we take pride in investing in their development. Scoular offers everything from formal training courses and management and leadership programs to a tuition reimbursement program, employee resource groups, and opportunities for our employees to demonstrate their expertise by speaking at industry events.
Our newest development offering is focused on employees like Tyler. Scoular officially kicked off the new program this month.
The Elevation Training Program aims to promote facility operators who have excelled in their roles into operations management positions. Through an 18-month apprenticeship, participants are learning the skills needed to become a Scoular superintendent.
Doug hired Tyler for his first job with Scoular and says it has been gratifying to see his success.
“Tyler went from a job to a career,” Doug says.
Tyler credits Doug with providing excellent mentoring and guidance, helping him to learn and advance with our company.
Tyler grew up in the Downs area and got his first experience in agriculture as a teenager, spraying thistles for local farmers and driving trucks for them during harvest.
His first duties at Downs included entry-level tasks such as filling grain bunkers. Tyler sought more responsibility and constantly looked for ways to stretch himself and discover all he could about facility operations.
Within a couple years he had learned how to blend grains to meet customer needs and efficiently and safely load shuttle trains on a tight schedule. He also showed leadership when Downs experienced turnover of several veteran employees in 2012. On his own initiative and with guidance from Doug, Tyler began making sure crew members had the right assignments for the day.
“Tyler would say, ‘I’ll do this and you do that,’” Doug says. “He would delegate responsibilities and crew members recognized his leadership.”
Tyler was promoted in 2016 to Superintendent at our facility in Winona, Kansas, and then to a higher-level Superintendent role in Pratt, Kansas, in 2021.
Blake Boardman’s career success is another example of the path the Elevation and other Scoular programs are designed to promote.
He started at Scoular two years after high school as a laborer at our facility in Hancock, Iowa. Like Tyler, Blake showed initiative and leadership, taking on more duties and soaking up all he could about facility operations.
Blake, now a Superintendent at Fremont, Nebraska, agrees with Tyler that guidance and mentoring played big parts in his career advancement. Hancock facility leaders Landon Cousins and Brady Schneider provided those for Blake.
Both Blake and Tyler say they are excited about the Elevation program because it will help employees to grow, excel and advance at Scoular.
“The program will be great motivation,” Blake says. “Having that opportunity for a career in leadership will help drive team members.”
For more on Scoular careers, click here.
Regional Manager, Grain Division
