Quotes from David Steward

My mother was the only musician. She played piano and she sang. She also played saxophone. And she played at home a lot.

I vividly remember segregation - separate schools, sitting in the balcony at the movie theater, being barred from the public swimming pool.

It takes getting the right talent. It takes a lot of patience. It takes investment and passion and commitment and entrepreneurial spirit, and everyone in the organization must buy into that.

We still live in the greatest country in the world, and God blesses persons of color too.

I see my people having babies and moving into nice homes, not just at this company but at our suppliers and customers.

We were re-engineering the entire business and at the same time having accelerated growth. That's like changing the engine while the plane is in the air.

There have been some doors opened to us as a result of our being a minority-owned business. But that's not going to sustain us over the long term.

We intend to pursue future gifts to exceed $8.1 million in conjunction with UMSL, Jazz St. Louis and the business community to ensure perpetual growth and a sustainable impact to the education of St. Louis children and beyond.

I was part of integrating the public swimming pool in the 1960s. A group of us decided one day we were going to go swimming. Nothing happened. No resistance. We just went and jumped in.

You remember the dates that changed your life.

It was clear in my mind that my belief in God, coupled with the desire to work hard to serve others, meant I was destined to succeed.

The generational cycle of people returning to prison has enormous, negative impacts on all Americans, especially the family members of incarcerated people.

I don't know any other leader in this community who is more serious about diversity than Michael Neidorff.

One of the reasons we are profitable is the changes that we've made and the long-term relationships we've built with major corporations. We have gotten out there and put our nose to the grindstone and simply been competitive.

It's all about culture. If you can get the right people with the right mindset, the right core values and the ability to change on a dime, then you have the ability to invest and do what's best for the health and long-term value proposition of the business.

During the struggles, the one thing I remember was the continued support from my wife. I was running up phone bills and did all kinds of things to begin the process. When times were bad we bought food with credit cards. We had bill collectors calling. We maneuvered through this together.

The company has grown so by hiring the right people, and a key person responsible for finding the right people is Ann Marr. Ann is responsible on both ends - finding the people and retaining them.

I didn't know much about hockey.

Tom Wall has the unique ability to extract, cultivate and realize a vision that goes far beyond simple bricks and mortar. He has an amazing appreciation of art and beauty and his designs begin with listening to his clients.

My biggest obligation is to serve the people of this organization, and to serve them well. I serve them with the best benefit packages, whether it's health care, dental or a 401(k) plan. I support them with the tools they need to be the very best they can possibly be.

We're probably one of the few Internet dot-com B2Bs business-to-business companies that have improved their bottom line.

Every day, at the end of the day, I ask myself, 'Am I living my life worthy of the sacrifice and commitment the people who went before me made on my behalf?'

I literally lived on the other side of the railroad tracks, but I learned that division doesn't work.

I went to St. James Methodist Church in Clinton, a segregated church on the other side of the tracks.