Home isn’t always defined by an address. Sometimes it’s the moments that stay with you, and the places that take you back to the beginning. 

Datamax Texas President David Rhodes was born just outside of Saint Louis in the Illinois suburb of Cahokia, a mere 5.5 miles away from downtown Saint Louis. Beginning in 1982, he entered the copier industry as a service technician in the Datamax Saint Louis office; and while he worked both in Kansas City and Saint Louis, oddly enough, he never actually lived in the state of Missouri (Kansas and Illinois addresses). Still, Saint Louis is essentially where he’s from.

From the crack of the bat at Busch Stadium, to the sound of the game on KMOX radio, to the taste of signature Roast Beef sandwiches at Lion’s Choice, reflecting on these moments reminds him, and all of us really, that your hometown is always your hometown.

No doubt about it, there’s no place like home.

David, from his Coppell, TX office, takes a few moments to take us back to some of his signature memories from his stint in the Gateway City.

Catching the Cardinals (the football Cardinals, too).

Ozzie Smith’s infamous back flip into his position at shortstop. Bob Gibson’s dominance on the mound. Like any Saint Louis native, memories were DEFINITELY made at the old Busch Stadium. From seeing Lou Brock break the steals record, to seeing him get his 3,000th hit, to watching Augie Busch circle the field in a Budweiser wagon pulled by the Clydesdales on opening day, America’s national pastime was a pastime for David as well.

“And people forget, the Phoenix/now Arizona Cardinals are really the Saint Louis Cardinals from back in the day. We had some great times watching them play as well,” David said.

Blues Games at “The Barn.”

David’s Saint Louis Blues hockey fandom is nonnegotiable. In 2019, after the Blues won the Stanley Cup title, a Blues banner stood proudly above his door, right there in the middle of Dallas Stars country. He still has a photo of that title-winning team displayed inside his office.

But let’s go back to “The Barn.”

The St. Louis Arena earned the nickname “The Barn” because of its massive wooden roof and cavernous, rustic feel. Fans often described it as both gritty and intimate (not glamorous, by any means) but loud and full of energy.
David has great memories of attending games there with his father.

“It was such a fun time. My dad worked for US Steel and would get free tickets to these games, as well as Cardinals games. Great memories!”

Taking in the Sights, Sounds, and Smells of the City.

Taking a ride up on the Gateway Arch. Driving past the Anheuser Busch facility, to and from service calls, and smelling the hops. And if he wasn’t at the Cardinals game, David was catching it on the famous KMOX radio, the station with the super signal that made folks Cardinals fans all the way down to Texas.

An Afternoon with the Family.

The Saint Louis Zoo was a great family outing, as were visits to Muny Park for an outdoor Broadway play.

“Later on, I’ve even taken my kids out to Eckert’s Farm (in nearby Belleville) to pick strawberries and apples,” David said. “It’s always been interesting to me that, you’re in downtown Saint Louis, you drive 30 minutes and you’re completely in the country.”

Yearning for that Famous Custard.

For over 95 years and four generations, Ted Drewes has been a beloved name in St. Louis, setting the standard for frozen custard and, interestingly enough, Christmas trees. David went for the former.

“Best custard ever. You have to try it,” David said.

Also of note: The roast beef sandwich at Lion’s Choice, a nice Italian meal on The Hill, and DON’T forget about White Castle: A Midwestern staple.

Building Something Big in Saint Louis.

In speaking of his upbringing in Saint Louis, nothing gives him more pride than those early years inside the Datamax Saint Louis office. Taking the training offered to him and capitalizing on it to the fullest extent, David honed his service chops and steadily rose the ladder as the company around him continued to grow… rapidly.

“When I was hired on, we were relatively small. But boy did we really grow in the 80s and into the 90s, and afterwards when I left to go to Dallas. It was an exciting time. A fun time, to be part of such an up-and-coming successful company,” David said.

It was a simpler time, too, he says, and certainly one that he looks back on fondly. For David, these are just a few of the moments that stay with him, and the places that take him back to the beginning.