DATAMAX LITTLE BLUE BOOK STORY - JOHN BOYETTE

John Boyette's Story

(Shop Technician - Little Rock Office) - Ever since he was a kid, John Boyette’s enjoyed doing this with his hands. How things work. What makes them tick? Why they are broken, and how he can repair them.

For the past 40 years, he’s been able to do just that in his profession. From one emerging technology to the next, John’s hands have been busy. He’s seen technology, and people, come and go. He’s lived the evolution of this industry.

Throughout it all, still today, he finds joy in the work. And he finds even greater joy doing so at Datamax.

What led me to Datamax?

Born and raised in Benton, John served in the Air Force before attending school and joining the workforce.

After graduating from a Vocational Tech School in Hot Springs, specializing in office machine repair, John went straight to work, initially for Royal Business Machines in Little Rock. In 1984, he landed at The Business Center in Hot Springs.

In January of 1996, Datamax acquired the company.

“I believe I am the last of the original team that came along at that time,” John says. “When Barry and Greg came down to talk with us, I was excited about it. I expected bigger things for our Hot Springs office. It just all worked out really well for me.”

My experiences at Datamax:

Over the years, John has immersed himself in nearly every line of office technology. From manual typewriters to the game-changing IBM Selectric, to Fax Machines to copiers to multifunction devices: John’s developed a perspective that others around him can gain from.

Most recently, after decades in the field, John finds himself as a shop technician.

“It’s a nice, clean, cool environment – easy on an old man like me,” John says. “I was in the field for many, many years. When the opportunity to come into the shop arose, I didn’t know if I could stay in one spot all day.”

Perhaps to his surprise, after a week or two, he figured it was a good fit. He spends most of his time setting up equipment, getting it ready for the delivery team; and while he’s not fixing things, he’s certainly keeping his hands busy.”

What makes me want to stay at Datamax?

“People ask me all the time, why have you been here for so long? And I figure, if I’m good to the company, they’ll be good to me. And they have been good for so long… why would I go anywhere else?”

John Boyette is a Raving Fan of many things – namely his two granddaughters, Lily, 12, and Lyla, 10. He says those two little girls “are what keeps me going.” However, his career, the same thing that’s kept him going for 40 years, won’t be something he walks away from any time soon.

“Next September I will be 66, and four months after I’ll reach full retirement age. Even then, I don’t expect to just walk away from Datamax and say I’ve put in my time I’m through,” John says. I’m going to stay as long as I can.”