The way that Kim Clark stands in the gap for her team and her company? Admin Manager Kristen Finkbeiner says she almost needs to stand on a stage, with all her hand motions, to emphasize it enough.

Former collections specialist and current biller, through her personality and performance, has filled in gaps and stood ready to do whatever is necessary for the Little Rock admin department. When times have been tough, particularly over the past two years, she’s earned the respect of those she works alongside and those she’s worked for by simply smiling, settling in, and saying “let’s go for it.”

Area Sales Manager Ken Allison, whose team Kim handles the billing, appreciates greatly the working relationship (and the results) between him and Kim. He puts it like this: “I tell her all the time, ‘we’re like Peanut Butter and Jelly,’” Ken says. “We’re just a really good fit.”

Her manager and friend, Kristen, elaborates on that “fit.”

“I almost don’t have the right words for this, but she has always been a person, that no matter what this team or anyone is going through, she buckles right in with you and says, ‘let’s go for the ride.’ This is something I value so much in people and strive for with team members that I have,” Kristen said.

Kim, who will celebrate her 10-year Datamax anniversary on June 11, was working at a women’s clothing store in 2012 with current Little Rock Dispatcher Rachel Acosta, when a position in Datamax collections opened up. She says she immediately loved the people here and though she had never done collections before, she jumped at the chance.

“People often think collections is horrible,” Kim says. “But I feel like I always had a good rapport with customers, I never really had any bad vibes. It was a good job.”

But after Kristen experienced a couple of “rough go-arounds” in the biller position for Ken’s team in 2015, a good biller teammate was needed. Kim stood in the gap.

Kim Stands in the Gap for her Friend.

Kim and Kristen already had good rapport. They’d started roughly the same time (Kristen started in billing). They’d worked together closely putting together an eAutomate training program, and become friends outside of work. Their kids even knew one another.

But taking over billing was a “lifesaver.”

“We had already established a great working relationship by that point, and it was so easy to train her into billing. We called our little area our duplex. We got to do that billing together for about 2.5 years,” Kristen said.

Kim calls Kristen one of her best friends. They’ve been there for one another’s kids and all their subsequent milestones. They attend Datamax events together, and meet often outside of work socially.

“We’ve been through a lot in the past decade, from our personal lives, to work changes, and she’s just been there for all of it,” Kristen said. “We’ve grown up here together.”

Kim Stands in the Gap for her Family.

Kim was born in Benton, KY. Her father was a pipeliner, so the family moved often, to Maryland, DC, and Texas before landing in Arkansas. In eighth grade, the family moved to Beebe, where Kim and her kids reside today.

“It’s an itty bitty town, it takes five minutes to get anywhere there, and I love it,” Kim says. “I’m proud to be raising all three of my kids in Beebe.”

Her oldest, Briley, will turn 17 this year, is in the choir, and just got her first car. Kim anxiously awaits the moment Briley has her driver’s license in hand. Her middle, Layne, is 13 and Kim affectionately calls him her “mess.” He’s outgoing, super sweet, and has always dressed to be the best.

“When he was younger, he would dress up in suits and stuff, and he has never strayed away from that. He likes to look nice,” Kim says. “He has such a great heart though. When he was little, my daughter collected these little animal toys, and he would color pages and trade them with his friends to get these little animals for her.”

Her youngest, Dakari, is 10 and is already the tallest among her children. Dakari’s sweet nature is also on display often – he regularly writes notes for his mom, slides them under her door at night, simply wishing her a great day at work the next day.

“My kids mean absolutely everything to me,” Kim said. “Everything I do is for them.”

Kim Stands in the Gap for her Datamax Family.

As Datamax Inc. President Barry Simon likes to say, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Things got tough in early 2021. A now-former employee had transitioned to billing in January 2021, so Kristen relied heavily on Kim to do the training. Then the Fort Smith acquisition in March spread Kristen even thinner. When the former employee left in June 2021, gaps needed to be filled.

“As the saying of when it rains, it pours goes, I think it flooded after that,” Kristen recalls. “As most management knows in the company, hiring people has/had been a nightmare. So all this adds up to, Kim didn’t have a counterpart in the office for 9 months.”

For that nine months, the department was dealing with hiring and training employees in Texarkana and Fort Smith, and the acquisition of Baptist Health, which, again took time and focus away for Kristen.

“Kim handled 99.9 percent of Little Rock’s copier and printer sales for that 9-month time period. She did it with a fantastic attitude, and I’m grateful that she believed in me enough, and above all, that she had patience with me, to be looking for the right person to be her counterpart in this office. I truly believe we are there now with Leah joining our team, and Kim is again right there with me helping train.”

Ask Kim about all this, and you’ll be greeted with a simple, succinct response.

“I’m a very big team player. It’s part of who I am. I know when it’s my time to step up.”

When the time comes, don’t even hesitate. Don’t even blink. Kim Clark will stand in the gap.