American composer Anthony Brandt once said, “Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family.”
In a month when we celebrate our admin peers in The Rave Review, we recognize the stability and structure they provide. We celebrate their willingness to work outside their roles and comfort zone to produce results for every department around them. It goes without saying, but we also reinforce the fact that they’re an integral part of the Datamax family.
With that in mind, this month we regrettably announce the retirement of our Accounts Payable Clerk in St. Louis, Laura Allen, after 19 years of service to the Datamax organization.
For Laura, it was, it is, and will always be about family.
Family from the Start.
As documented in Laura’s Little Blue Book story years ago, after raising her children she decided that it was a good opportunity to return to full-time employment. But that decision didn’t come without stipulations for any potential employer. These included:
- It had to have a safe and friendly feel.
- She had to feel that she would genuinely enjoy the work.
- It had to be close to home in case her kids needed her.
A Second Family.
Laura found Datamax, where over the years she worked in Accounts Receivable, Purchasing, Reception, and virtually every position save HR and leasing. She says she’s proud of her tenure here (and rightfully so), and everything she’s learned along the way.
In essence, she found a second family among her St. Louis peers.
“You don’t realize what you have until you don’t have it, and I do have people I’m close to here. Over the years, you get to know their families as well. I was thinking the other day: When something comes up, I won’t be there to wish them a Happy Birthday or a Happy Anniversary,” Laura said.
Family Forever.
The decision to retire made sense. Laura’s husband is set to retire this month as well. The couple has a solid post-employment plan in place: Weekends will be devoted to their six grandchildren, and weekdays will be spent traveling. Up first? A series of trips to visit all the Major League Baseball stadiums. In other words, a full 7-day slate devoted to family time.
You can hear it in her voice, just how excited she is for the months ahead. But not without offering her thanks to the second family she leaves behind.
“I feel like our company is great, you couldn’t ask for a better company, especially with the way they always respected your family time,” Laura said. “If you had to take time off to be somewhere, they worked with you on that. Everyone just gets along. That’s been a big plus.”
