Letter on the Third — June, 2018
Dear Datamax Family,
It was around 9 a.m. Monday morning when we heard the rumbling engines approach our parking lot.
Several employees spilled out the front door to snap photographs, shake hands with the bikers and admire their rides. We welcomed the group, all clad in their black leather jackets and the American Flag patch attached to the vest, inside our facility for a little much-needed rest. In a few hours, they would be on their way to Memphis.
The 11 bikers from the Patriot Pack pulled into our Datamax Little Rock office as part of their 10-day journey across America to their final destination, Washington D.C. The group’s founder, Mike “Paco” Stramaglio, has been a friend of mine for 30 years. The Patriot Pack started in Scottsdale, Ariz. On May 17 and finished their ride at the D.C. Veterans Memorial Wall, where they stopped to honor active military, veterans and POWs/MIA.
The group also rides for the Jillian Fund, a nonprofit organization that provides financial support to families during a time of crisis to allow family members to better focus on supporting their sick child. We at Datamax strongly support this cause and, after visiting with the group and before sending them on their way, we offered a donation to the Jillian Fund as part of our DatamaxCares initiative.
It was wonderful to catch up with Mike, meet with the group and ultimately give back to a great cause. Anytime Datamax can contribute to the communities we serve, it’s a huge positive for us.
On May 15 and 16, I attended the Canon Dealer Meeting and then the Advanced Partner Meeting, featuring the top 29 Canon Dealers in the United States. Being a Canon Advanced Partner is something we value strongly here at Datamax, and something you should take a lot of pride in yourself. You can learn more about being a Canon Advanced Partner here.
Also at the meetings, I was fortunate enough to be one of the dealership principals interviewed by Canon, sharing both where we are at right now, and where we are going with our long-time partner. Most of you know, but we are celebrating our 35 year anniversary with our relationship with Canon. It’s been a win-win scenario for a long time: We seem them as a valued strategic partner, and vice versa.
Finally, it’s very exciting for me to see signs of Datamax popping up around East Texas. We’ve got exterior signs up, branding inside the Tyler and Longview showrooms, Datamax-wrapped cars, and continued remodeling being done inside offices. As this transition continues, please know that we understand the challenges that come alongside any undertaking like this. We understand change on any level can be difficult, and there have been inevitable adjustments being made in the past five months. But we want employees to know, our intention is simply to make it the best it can be. Know that we don’t assume what Datamax has done previously is always right: There are many good things coming out of East Texas already, and we simply want to do what is best for the overall company, while ensuring that the transition never impacts our clients. I, for one, couldn’t be more enthusiastic about our future here. The best is yet to be.
Your Raving Fan,
