Grant poses for the cameras beside some of the trophies she has won over the years.

Who would have guessed that Barbara Grant - the daughter of a Pentecostal Bishop and quite the tomboy growing up in Moneague, St. Ann - would have become a pace setter in the health insurance industry - known for her outstanding record in sales and her passion for body-building?

Well, her friends and family might not have had a clue as to how Grant's life would have unfolded, but she felt it in her bones. This 43 year-old insurance executive seemingly has a penchant for breaking traditions.

"I have fallen in love with body building," declared Ms. Grant, whose hobby runs against the grain of traditional female leisure activities. "I like how it feels to lift weights and I can tell you from experience that there is nothing that tunes a woman's body more than weightlifting."

Those are words of wisdom from the fitness expert who spends three hours a day, four days a week lifting 135 pounds in barbells. Sure, dumbbells of various sizes, as well as bench pressing, leg pressing, squatting, bend-over rolls and dead lifts are all part of her exercise routine. Her peers feel she puts many men to shame with her prowess in the weightlifting sphere.

Barbara Grant feels at home in the gym, as she exercises with some body-building apparatus.

And why does Grant pump iron, instead of concentrating on aerobics, as most women who frequent gyms do? Is it just about breaking traditional male and female stereotypes?

"No. When I turned 30 I realised I did not want to get fat. Most of my sisters got fat when they reached that age, so I took up rigorous exercises," replied Grant. "I also discovered that aerobics could not keep the weight off like weightlifting."

Although Grant is in her forties, she has the petite stature and shape of a twenty year-old, thanks to her rigid fitness regime. "Weight-lifting keeps me young," she said.

It should come as no surprise that she does not get tired easily and goes for hours on end jumping in Carnival without breaking a sweat. In fact, the Easter Season caught her lyming on Friday nights at Mas Camp or practising the latest Carnival moves.

Barbara's sons share a proud moment with her during a BCJ awards function, when she walked away with several trophies.

This single mother of adult sons - ages 22 and 19 years respectively - does not know what it is to be shy. "When I walk into a room, everyone looks around. I love to dress trendy and elegantly. I have the right body to make my clothing come alive," she boasted.

One of her co-workers describes her as "an ageless fashion diva, who relentlessly pursues a life of health and fitness."

Grant is keen to point out her intention to take her fashion passion a step further, by opening an exclusive designer store. Outside of the world of fashion, she has already pulled off some proud professional moments.

In 1998, she began her stint at Blue Cross of Jamaica (BCJ) as a Sales Representative and was four years later promoted to the position of Executive Agent. In this capacity she has total responsibility for managing her business health portfolios, which numbers at least nine major Jamaican companies.

Over the seven years at BCJ, Grant has broken many a record, where she is certainly one of the most decorated workers at that company. Her enviable track record includes Agent of the Year, which she won in her first year with BCJ; the President's Club Award and the Individual Business Award.

She received the Individual Business Award in 1999 for having sold the most individual health insurance policies for a one-year period. She chalked up the President's Club Award that same year for being the Senior Agent/Executive Agent who settled the highest amount (of Annualised Premium Income) in new business for the year.

In the year 2000, Grant walked away with the runner-up accolade in the Individual Business Award Competition. For two consecutive years, 2001 and 2002, she was runner-up Agent of the Year. Currently, she holds the trophy for being the runner-up Agent of the Year for 2004.

Despite her significant responsibilities and gruelling schedule at work and home, Grant's impact on BCJ is not restricted to her core functions. She is an active member of the Staff Association, constantly supporting its outreach programmes, church services, fun-days, parties and sporting competitions.

Her colleagues view her as an incredibly responsive service professional who is very focused on health insurance issues.

" She is a go-getter, very ambitious. We are indeed privileged to have her as part of our team," says Winston Bennett, BCJ's Sales Manager.

Similar sentiments have been echoed by David Garel, BCJ's Vice President of Marketing and Customer Service who lauds her for throwing her weight behind the BCJ Staff Association and its outreach ventures, despite her demanding workload as an Executive Agent.
But it has not been an easy road for Grant.

"When I started out at BCJ, I found it was so difficult and hard to earn money," Grant said. "Many people had not seen health insurance agents before, and they believed you worked with the government. It was just a very hard sell, getting people to become health insurance subscribers."

Rejection in the health insurance business took many forms for this Insurance Executive. "I was actually thrown out of a building once when I went to see a client. The management thought I had come to sell insurance, but I had really come to speak with someone who was already a subscriber," Grant disclosed. "Later the management sent me an apology."
And what was the nature of her professional life before joining BCJ? She had seven years of experience in the Life and General Insurance industry. Grant's training and expertise embraced equity link policies, and ranged from certification in the Life Underwriters Training Course (LUATC), to training as a Certified Life Underwriter as well as courses in Personal Accident Insurance. She has also been the beneficiary of ongoing on-the-job training at Blue Cross of Jamaica.
So you see, with a history in the life insurance business and health insurance business, she is not used to taking 'no' for an answer. Throw into the mix the fact that Grant has an engaging personality, and it is hard for prospective clients of Blue Cross of Jamaica to turn her down. "When the 'nos' and the rejection come and you cannot escape them in our line of business, I just move on to the next prospect. I cannot afford to dwell on negativity," she said. "My guiding principle is try to get it right the first time and try to get it better the second time around."

Meanwhile, Grant's pride and joy are her two sons. As a divorcee and a widow, she has had some trying times raising her children. She noted that from the boys were 3 years old and 5 years old respectively she has been their sole breadwinner.

"It really was hard footing the expenses to send them through school and meet all their needs, but it was also rewarding because they made me proud by doing well in school and they have grown up to be rounded individuals," Grant said.

Noting that one of her sons was pursuing studies at the tertiary level in Canada, this single mother said that it was still a tall order for her to meet the daily living expenses of her sons. However, she confessed that her boys are her best friends and her motivating force in her drive to succeed.

"When I was growing up my parents had a hard time making ends meet. Economically, we didn't have it," the BCJ Executive Agent reminisced. "So I wanted to ensure that my boys get things and opportunities my parents were not able to give me. They are the driving force behind my will to do extremely well professionally and otherwise."

According to Grant, she expects and intends to continue being the leader in health insurance sales.

"I have exceeded my quota significantly every year, and I will continue to do so," she said.

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