Arden Toney’s tennis team is appropriately named “The Optimistics.” 

Optimism is something her tennis captain preached often enough that the name just stuck. Positivity is a game-changer when you get frustrated on the court, and you’re forced into a decision in the heat of a match: Am I going to be mentally tough and persevere with optimism, or am I going to break down?

“There are times I still lose, but if I maintain a positive attitude it makes the whole experience better either way,” Arden said. “I always play to win, but also always work to get better.”

She brings that level of mental toughness to the St. Louis office, too.

Arden Toney earned a huge career milestone with her recent promotion to staff accountant. Her financial acumen - but also her bright demeanor - continues to guide her professional path. She’s living proof of what can happen in your career with the right pragmatic, positive approach.

Arden was positively sure she could do accounting.

Arden’s senior year of high school, she took a bookkeeping class and something just clicked.

“I was doing this work, and it was like, I can do this for the rest of my life. Let’s shoot for accounting! I like math and I like money, so it all seemed like a perfect fit,” Arden said.

She went on to earn a degree in Accounting from Jackson State University.

After college, Arden went to work at Deloitte as a Tax Consultant. She did retail work at Barnes and Noble and eventually decided she wanted to fully utilize her degree.  So Arden reached out to a temp agency.

“I did a contract position for four months and then went back into retail. The temp agency came back and said we have an opening at a family-owned business as an AP Clerk (at Datamax),” Arden recalls. “We kicked it off pretty well and I got a call back from the agency later that week and said ‘Hey, you got the job.’”

She started at Datamax in May 2021. In June 2023, she moved from the inventory position of the role to noninventory, essentially taking over for the retiring Laura Allen.

In February of this year, Datamax Inc. Controller Sheryl Scott came to Arden with some big news.

Her positivity paid off.

Sheryl approached Arden about taking the role of Staff Accountant, a huge promotion for an employee whose positive, ambitious approach to her role had been consistent, relentless even.

“My thought was, ‘Let’s go! Go ahead, I know the ins and outs of this. What else can you throw at me??” Arden said.

First things, first. Arden is quick to credit Jesus as the sole reason why she made it as far and as quickly as she did. As the Staff Accountant, Arden essentially pours herself over a variety of reports. She works with property taxes, sales tax, financial reporting, and analysis. She’s taken the reins on her career path and now fully utilizes the degree she worked so hard to earn just a few years ago.

In her opening announcement email to the company, Sheryl wrote this about Arden:

“During her time with us, she has excelled in her role and shown that she has much more to offer.”

Positivity propels her in unique ways.

Positivity presents itself in different ways. Sometimes it’s a simple greeting, a smile, or a chuckle in the break room. But often it cuts deeper than that.

“For me, I think positivity helps me from getting unnecessarily frustrated when an issue arises. You remember that ‘I can’t read your mind,’ and “You can’t read my mind. I can be positive, take a deep breath, and try to look at the situation from a different perspective. Where was there miscommunication on my end?”

It’s not unlike on the tennis court. The match is heated, the final resolution yet undecided, and you’re forced into a decision on what happens next. How will you respond?

For Arden Toney, The Optimist in her takes over.