MEAT+POULTRY - September 2024 - 35

SKILLED
LEADERSHIP
Experience and an aptitude for every aspect of plant
operations have propelled Rick Sappington's career
BY BOB SIMS | bsims@sosland.com
T
his year's MEAT+POULTRY Operations
Executive of the Year, Rick Sappington,
vice president and general manager at
Seaboard Foods, Guymon, Okla., approaches
life with a strong work ethic and honesty.
That honesty and work ethic, along with an
innate aptitude for mechanics and electronics
propelled him through multiple phases of
his career and into his current position with
Seaboard Foods.
THE JOURNEY
After graduating from high school in
Spearville, Kan., Sappington attended Dodge
City Community College and received a
degree in Automotive and Diesel Technology.
Sappington then worked for a Chevrolet
dealership as a technician before moving on to
work at Caterpillar as a technician. At age 21,
he decided to move on from there, and found
himself at the Cargill beef plant in Dodge City,
Kan., applying for a position with the facility's
maintenance team.
During the application process at Cargill,
Sappington interviewed with the engineer who
had him take a test for the maintenance team
opening. The engineer told Sappington he had
the highest score he'd ever seen. Sappington
was hired to the ASRS (automated storage and
retrieval system) programming team. He was
asked to take another test, for electrical, and
again achieved a high score.
" I went to electricity and really liked it, "
Sappington said. " I had zero background in it,
but I really enjoyed it. "
He enjoyed it enough that in 1996 he left
Cargill and went to work for Young Electric
in Wichita, Kan., running multiple crews for
the company. While at Young, Corey and John
Young mentored Sappington and helped shape
the way he still approaches work today.
He worked at Young Electric for a year.
During that time, the Cargill facility hired
Young Electric as a full-time, on-site crew, and
Sappington was nominated to be the leader on
that crew. He worked in that role for a year and
then went back to work for Cargill full time,
then went to work at National Beef before
moving to Seaboard's pork processing plant in
Guymon as an electrician in February of 2001.
Seaboard wasted no time recognizing his
work ethic and talent.
" Within about six months, I was promoted
to supervisor on the day shift, " he said.
Seaboard promoted him again, this time to
general maintenance supervisor on the night
shift. He spent several years on the night shift
in that position.
" I finally made it to days, " Sappington
said. " I was on days for about a week and got
promoted to superintendent and went back
to nights. "
After roughly two years back on the night
shift, Sappington made it back to the day shift,
then the plant engineer left. In the interim of
hiring a new plant engineer, Sappington was
asked to cover projects and instrumentation,
and all the electrical for the facility.
" So, I broke away from maintenance and
started a whole new group with automation
www.meatpoultry.com | 09.24 | MEAT+POULTRY 35
" The lessons
we learned
today tell us
how we're
going to play
tomorrow. "
- RICK SAPPINGTON
http://www.meatpoultry.com
MEAT+POULTRY - September 2024

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