“The stars at night are big and bright / Deep in the heart of Texas!"
Any proud Texan can loudly belt out the lyrics to “Deep in the Heart of Texas” by Gene Autry. Most people are familiar with the large cities of Dallas, Austin, and Houston, but the wide plains of Texas are dotted with many colorful towns.
One such town is the county seat of San Angelo, Texas, population 100,000 and “Mohair Capital of the World." This West Texas town on the edge of the desert is, somewhat inexplicably, the home of six remote Formstack employees--myself included!
A Network of Referrals
The little enclave of San Angelo stackers began with Evan Stenmark, a developer at Formstack. In 2017, Evan saw a posting for Formstack and decided to apply. He appreciated Formstack’s work-life balance and built great relationships with his co-workers.
When Evan’s friend and former co-worker, Paul Parker, was also on a quest for better work-life balance, Evan made the referral. Soon, Paul joined the Formstack family. Even though Paul works remotely, he has enjoyed making memories with Formstack employees across the globe. A favorite memory has been the scavenger hunt at the 2019 All Hands meeting in Colorado Springs, CO.
Read More: Check out a recap of our company-wide All Hands meeting in 2019.
In August 2018, an opportunity in customer service opened up at Formstack. Once again, Evan referred a friend, Ricky Perez. Ricky described his move to Formstack saying, “Formstack was an amazing culture fit, and I fell in love with it during the hiring process.” Ricky has grown quickly with the company and is now a Customer Support Manager.
Our next San Angelo Stacker was Thinh Nguyen. Thinh formerly worked for student services at Angelo State University. Ricky, having faith in Thinh’s technical skills, made the referral when positions opened up. In October 2018, Thinh joined Formstack as a customer support specialist for Formstack.
Another Member: Christina Adkison
In November 2018, feeling restless with my current career, I had a chat with Ricky about his new job. I was interested in the collaborative and supportive nature of Formstack. With my previous experience teaching math and technology classes at a local middle school, I found a position in support and applied. I gladly accepted when the position was offered in January 2019 as a Tier 2 Customer Support Specialist for Formstack Documents.
Our Newest Stacker
In April 2019, Daniel Pool was referred to Formstack by Evan. Daniel came from a San Angelo-based technology company that required him to travel often. When Daniel started looking for a remote position to spend more time with his family, he found Formstack. The rest was history.
Relationships Matter
Formstack prides itself on a very strong Culture Code. One of these core values is “Relationships Matter.” The San Angelo-based Formstackers make the most of this value by getting together to work and build friendships. Formstack does a great job of building connections, even among remote workers, but it’s also nice to have a small community of local Stackers to talk to and bounce ideas off of.
The San Angelo crew is always looking for ways to build connections by going to out to lunch together or hosting “disgusting soda” tasting parties. Whether singing in Las Vegas karaoke rooms or gathering around Ricky’s table for board games, San Angelo Stackers live by a single motto: work hard, play hard.
Read More: From Captains to Tacos, Here’s How to Build Company Culture on a Remote Team
The Future is San Angelo.
It’s a common joke amongst stackers that San Angelo “will take over Formstack.” As a joke, Evan provided an impromptu virtual tour of San Angelo over Slack. Evan highlighted San Angelo landmarks such as the “cool looking Museum of Fine Arts that’s shaped like a saddle," the state park with “a bunch of buffalo that mostly look like cows, but cooler," and “dozens of sheep statues outside of businesses.”
Will more San Angelo people be joining Formstack? As Senator Phil Gramm said, “Texas is future-oriented…Texans think anything is possible…Texans think big!”
Interested in learning more about our remote-first culture? Discover what it means to be a 'Stacker and see our open roles now!
About The Author
Christina Adkison
Christina Adkison has been with Formstack since January 2019. She started a Tier 2 Customer Support Specialist for Documents, then transferred to her current role as a Billing Specialist. Before joining Formstack, she worked as a math and technology teacher. She lives in San Angelo, Texas with her boyfriend, two dogs, and three cats.
