The story begins in the Christmas of 1988 at the Pace family's house.
I was eight years of age at the time, and with a glassy look over my
eyes I stared at the Christmas present that my grandfather had given
me. With great suspense, I ripped through the paper. Little did I know
that what was beneath the paper would still be affecting my life over
15 years later. To my surprise, my grandfather had given me my first
CB radio. It was nothing special, but it was mine. The little radio
had a 24" telescopic antenna, a PTT lever, and transmitted on channel
15. All this was powered by 6 "C" batteries. I couldn't transmit
out of my driveway, but little did I care. I thought I could transmit
to the world.
A few years later, my parents gave me a radio for my bedroom. With
a radio shack antenna on the roof, and a kitchen appliance transformer
powering up my little Uniden PC510XL, I transmitted for 5 miles in every
direction. This still wasn't much, but I felt like I ruled the airwaves.
During high school, I would install CB radios and antennas for my church's
vehicles, and other friends and family members. Before too long, everyone
I knew had a CB radio in their vehicle or house. I knew then that I
wanted to learn everything that there was to know about CB radios.
Well, things changed. In 1998, I graduated from Heritage High Christian School,
and then went on to college at Texas State Technical College in
Marshall, Texas. I had decided to major in Electrical Systems Technology (EST),
and had basically left the world of CB radios behind me. "What
do I need a CB radio for?", I thought. For now I had a cell phone,
and could talk anywhere in the world.
During college, I worked for a local satellite dish company, and installed
Primestar, Dish Network, and DirecTV. I felt I had the world by the
tail on a downhill pull. I worked hard to keep my grades up and install
satellites, but I soon found it hard to do both. Then one day in-between
classes, I reached up and turned my old CB radio on. I still used it
on the highway, and occasionally to talk to a fellow driver. To my surprise,
I heard a CB Shop on the air. I had lived in this town for 6 months,
and I had no clue there was a CB Shop anywhere near. I found out where
this little shop was, and drove up to see what they had.
I remember walking through the door, and seeing about 4 radios, and
a handful of antennas on the wall. While looking around, I started some
small talk with the CB Shop owner. Little did I know that this man would
soon be my boss. For the next couple of weeks, I went to the shop between
classes, and started learning small tricks and minor repairs from the
shop technician. I soon realized that this little "hole in the
wall" CB Shop had quite a following. I met drivers from all over
the US, Mexico and Canada. Many of these drivers made trips once a year
or more through East Texas just so they could let the CB Technician
work on their radios. Within a few more weeks, I started working part
time for the CB Shop. This job enabled me to keep a steady job, while
studying for my EST degree.
When I first started, I basically did what no one else wanted to
do. I installed anything that had wires, and often worked way past
midnight on tough installs. I quickly learned how to install anything a customer
could bring in the door, into any vehicle that could fit in the parking
lot. Before too long, I actually had a following of my own. Then, I
started into selling. When I wasn't installing, I was selling anything
in the store to walk-ins. This soon became my career.
In July of 1999, my boss's son took over the business and instantly
made some major changes. By October, he had built a website, and was
shipping CB equipment to every country on the planet. By the following
April, we had outgrown the four walls of the CB Shop, and were forced
to move 20 miles up the road to a 9000 square foot warehouse. In addition
to this warehouse, we had a small office building. This included my
office.
Over the next year and a half, I met every manufacturer, distributor,
and dealer in the industry. I even flew across the country on occasion
to meet with these companies. During this time, I became lead sales
representative, then Sales Manager, and then Executive Manager of Express
Electronics Incorporated. I am sure that many who read this can say
that they have spoken to me in each one of these positions.
In December of 2001, I sat down with my then fiancé, parents, and
pastor and had a long talk. I felt that I had reached the peak of my
career at EEI, and knew that there was no more room for me to grow with
the company. From day one, I heard suggestions from customers, and was
now ready to make those suggestions a reality. I had become very limited
in my position (even though the position was very high) to make major
decisions, and new company policies. Some of which I think would have
made the business stronger. As with any other job, though, what the
owner says always goes. I knew I could either stay, and never see my
goals achieved, or I could move on and make my own decisions for my
own company. Each one of my contacts (manufacturers & distributors)
said they would back me 100%. This was a major decision, and I spent
a lot of nights praying that the Lord would direct me to make the right
decisions. I remembered the saying, "What Would Jesus Do?"
I thought to myself, "What would Jesus do in my situation?"
Well, to say that breaking away and starting my own company is risky,
is definitely an understatement. However, I can sleep at night, and
can wake up happy. With all of this being said, I made myself some promises
based on the many things I had learned while being employed at EEI.
I promised myself that I would build a business where the customer comes
first. One in which customer service was a priority, and honesty was
the policy. If you decide to shop at Pacetronics, you will not be buying
from the biggest. In fact, we may not always have the best prices. However,
if you choose Pacetronics I can guarantee that we will do what we can
to make every order right, and treat it like it is our only order. Your
order will not get overlooked if we get busy, and your order will not
be placed on backorder unless you know about it in advance. In other
words, if an item is not in stock, we will let you know. If you have
a suggestion for us, email us. I want to make sure that each one of
my employees treats you like you are important. If not, I will make
it right. That is my guarantee.
David Pace, Jr
Owner
Pacetronics
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Pacetronics.com is now owned by Omnitronics. However, we still
operate with the same standards that Mr. Pace believed in. If you have a
comment, concern, suggestion, or even a complaint, please email our
sales department. We take pride in our customer service, and we want to
be your online superstore.
