Committed to making
hunting accessible
Ryan Coley
Founder
A St. Petersburg native with a history of serving his community and country. Inspired to make a difference in hunting by making it accessible by all.
Read Ryan's Complete Bio
Ryan Coley Graduated Gibbs High School in St. Petersburg FL in 2001. While in High School He was active in the JROTC program as well as the Auto Mechanics Program at PTEC. After Graduation Ryan Coley Enlisted in the United Stated Marine Corps where he worked as an amphibious assault vehicle mechanic. During his time in the Marine Corps he was Deployed to Iraq in March of 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom. During Operation Iraqi Freedom Ryan was quickly promoted meritoriously to Lance Corporal in country due to his high levels of technical knowledge as well as abilities to fix things on the fly. Ryan has a piece of the Saddam Statue and was in the circle when it was pulled down. After returning to the states Ryan was Honorably discharged and went to work for Abell Elevator in Largo Florida where he started his Elevator Career in June of 2004.
He started as a repair helper doing packings, motors, valves and was made a mechanic within a year of starting due to his technical knowledge of hydraulics and electronics from his time in the Marine Corps. Ryan left Abell/Oracle and went to work for a small Independent Langford Elevator and Lifts. Richard Langford the owner took Ryan under his wing and began training him on more technical and troubleshooting skills as well as some of the business side of things. Richard was quick to challenge Ryan on a daily basis to see how far he could go and Ryan would rise to every occasion.
In 2007 Langford would fall on hard times due to the economy falling and would struggle to sell jobs. Ryan Went to work for General Elevator in Clearwater for a few months and then Ride-n-our Elevator where he did new construction all over the State of Florida. Ryan received a phone call that Langford needed help and Ryan went back to work immediately for Richard. In March of 2009 Langford would once again fall onto hard times and Ryan and Randy Ballard would start Ballard Custom Elevators in Pompano Beach Florida. After several months Ryan Opened a second office for Ballard and started pushing the Tampa Bay market for new maintenance, mods and repairs.
In October 2012 Ryan would Buy Randy out of the Tampa office only and change the name to Right Way Elevator Maintenance with John Giguere his new business partner. Ryan would grow the company from October 2012 with 52 elevators on service and 1 full time employee to 31 full time employees and 880 cars on service. Ryan was very technical on many different platforms including the 330a, Tac20, Tac 50, Swift, Otis 211, and many different other non-proprietary controls. In 2018 Ryan was nominated to serve on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Elevator Contractors where he just finished his 3 year term.
Ryan is also very active in the Elevator Association of Florida where he is currently serving as the Vice President of that association. In April of 2021 Ryan Decided to join forces with American Elevator Group and further his career and focus more on education and training for the younger mechanics and be a mentor and guide for the next generation of elevator professionals.
In September of 2023 Ryan was offered a great opportunity to help AEG out and start a technical support initiative and help teach and guide young mechanics as well as do field engineering and high level troubleshooting for all of our business units.
Read Ryan's Complete Bio
Ryan Coley Graduated Gibbs High School in St. Petersburg FL in 2001. While in High School He was active in the JROTC program as well as the Auto Mechanics Program at PTEC. After Graduation Ryan Coley Enlisted in the United Stated Marine Corps where he worked as an amphibious assault vehicle mechanic. During his time in the Marine Corps he was Deployed to Iraq in March of 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom. During Operation Iraqi Freedom Ryan was quickly promoted meritoriously to Lance Corporal in country due to his high levels of technical knowledge as well as abilities to fix things on the fly. Ryan has a piece of the Saddam Statue and was in the circle when it was pulled down. After returning to the states Ryan was Honorably discharged and went to work for Abell Elevator in Largo Florida where he started his Elevator Career in June of 2004.
He started as a repair helper doing packings, motors, valves and was made a mechanic within a year of starting due to his technical knowledge of hydraulics and electronics from his time in the Marine Corps. Ryan left Abell/Oracle and went to work for a small Independent Langford Elevator and Lifts. Richard Langford the owner took Ryan under his wing and began training him on more technical and troubleshooting skills as well as some of the business side of things. Richard was quick to challenge Ryan on a daily basis to see how far he could go and Ryan would rise to every occasion.
In 2007 Langford would fall on hard times due to the economy falling and would struggle to sell jobs. Ryan Went to work for General Elevator in Clearwater for a few months and then Ride-n-our Elevator where he did new construction all over the State of Florida. Ryan received a phone call that Langford needed help and Ryan went back to work immediately for Richard. In March of 2009 Langford would once again fall onto hard times and Ryan and Randy Ballard would start Ballard Custom Elevators in Pompano Beach Florida. After several months Ryan Opened a second office for Ballard and started pushing the Tampa Bay market for new maintenance, mods and repairs.
In October 2012 Ryan would Buy Randy out of the Tampa office only and change the name to Right Way Elevator Maintenance with John Giguere his new business partner. Ryan would grow the company from October 2012 with 52 elevators on service and 1 full time employee to 31 full time employees and 880 cars on service. Ryan was very technical on many different platforms including the 330a, Tac20, Tac 50, Swift, Otis 211, and many different other non-proprietary controls. In 2018 Ryan was nominated to serve on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Elevator Contractors where he just finished his 3 year term.
Ryan is also very active in the Elevator Association of Florida where he is currently serving as the Vice President of that association. In April of 2021 Ryan Decided to join forces with American Elevator Group and further his career and focus more on education and training for the younger mechanics and be a mentor and guide for the next generation of elevator professionals.
In September of 2023 Ryan was offered a great opportunity to help AEG out and start a technical support initiative and help teach and guide young mechanics as well as do field engineering and high level troubleshooting for all of our business units.
Wade Sutherlin
Vice President
Over 14 years of experience in the elevator industry and 15 years in architectural metal fabrication and trade work. Wade combines technical expertise with meticulous craftsmanship.
Read Wade's Complete Bio
Ryan Coley Graduated Gibbs High School in St. Petersburg FL in 2001. While in High School He was active in the JROTC program as well as the Auto Mechanics Program at PTEC. After Graduation Ryan Coley Enlisted in the United Stated Marine Corps where he worked as an amphibious assault vehicle mechanic. During his time in the Marine Corps he was Deployed to Iraq in March of 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom. During Operation Iraqi Freedom Ryan was quickly promoted meritoriously to Lance Corporal in country due to his high levels of technical knowledge as well as abilities to fix things on the fly. Ryan has a piece of the Saddam Statue and was in the circle when it was pulled down. After returning to the states Ryan was Honorably discharged and went to work for Abell Elevator in Largo Florida where he started his Elevator Career in June of 2004.
He started as a repair helper doing packings, motors, valves and was made a mechanic within a year of starting due to his technical knowledge of hydraulics and electronics from his time in the Marine Corps. Ryan left Abell/Oracle and went to work for a small Independent Langford Elevator and Lifts. Richard Langford the owner took Ryan under his wing and began training him on more technical and troubleshooting skills as well as some of the business side of things. Richard was quick to challenge Ryan on a daily basis to see how far he could go and Ryan would rise to every occasion.
In 2007 Langford would fall on hard times due to the economy falling and would struggle to sell jobs. Ryan Went to work for General Elevator in Clearwater for a few months and then Ride-n-our Elevator where he did new construction all over the State of Florida. Ryan received a phone call that Langford needed help and Ryan went back to work immediately for Richard. In March of 2009 Langford would once again fall onto hard times and Ryan and Randy Ballard would start Ballard Custom Elevators in Pompano Beach Florida. After several months Ryan Opened a second office for Ballard and started pushing the Tampa Bay market for new maintenance, mods and repairs.
In October 2012 Ryan would Buy Randy out of the Tampa office only and change the name to Right Way Elevator Maintenance with John Giguere his new business partner. Ryan would grow the company from October 2012 with 52 elevators on service and 1 full time employee to 31 full time employees and 880 cars on service. Ryan was very technical on many different platforms including the 330a, Tac20, Tac 50, Swift, Otis 211, and many different other non-proprietary controls. In 2018 Ryan was nominated to serve on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Elevator Contractors where he just finished his 3 year term.
Ryan is also very active in the Elevator Association of Florida where he is currently serving as the Vice President of that association. In April of 2021 Ryan Decided to join forces with American Elevator Group and further his career and focus more on education and training for the younger mechanics and be a mentor and guide for the next generation of elevator professionals.
In September of 2023 Ryan was offered a great opportunity to help AEG out and start a technical support initiative and help teach and guide young mechanics as well as do field engineering and high level troubleshooting for all of our business units.
Read Wade's Complete Bio
“With over 14 years of experience in the elevator industry and 15 years in architectural metal fabrication and trade work, Wade Sutherlin combines technical expertise with meticulous craftsmanship. Throughout his career, he has developed a reputation for creative problem-solving and personally always holding the bar high for quality standards of workmanship and best practices.
Outside of work, Wade is an avid hunter and fisherman, often wishing he could find more time for the great outdoors. He values the tranquility and solitude that nature provides, whether he’s scouting for next season, or planning a weekend fishing trip. Wade’s commitment to both his profession and his hobbies reflects his belief in the importance of working and playing equally hard.
Wade was raised with strong traditional values and taught to do what’s right even if it’s harder and no one is watching or may ever even know was instilled at atn early age.”
We are service connected
Bound by Duty and a need to serve our community
Our founder has spent his life personally and professionally serving our country and his community. Independence Hunting Towers is an extension of this service into a pass time we all love.