MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Barb Goode - Denny & Associates
I’m a true blue Missouri girl (St. Louis to be specific). I grew up in St. Ann, MO just down the street from Northwest Plaza when it was a thriving outdoor mall. What a great place to ride bikes that was! Since then I’ve lived all over St. Louis and vicinity, including Florissant, Hazelwood, Maplewood, and even Eureka before finally settling with my family in O’Fallon.
I met my husband when we were just babies (age 20) and after 8 years of friendship and dating we were married in 1990. In the years that followed we were blessed with 2 wonderful children, a girl and then a boy! My youngest child has Autism. Receiving this diagnosis both shook and shaped my life. Now that he is 23 years old, I can honestly say that he has taught me so much more about life, love and happiness than I could have ever taught him. I became an advocate for him, which led me into the world of non-profit. I volunteered and later became the Walk Manager for the Autism Speaks Walk, which is a 20,000 person event that raises money for Autism Research. For years this was my true passion and a fabulous source of knowledge about autism and the resources available to my child and so many others. However, as time passed this career path became very difficult to sustain due to the very long hours that it took me away from my family.
I’ve always been a volunteer and this volunteerism led me to an event where I reconnected with Kelly Rector, the President of Denny & Associates, Inc. We had known each other for years because our daughters had done gymnastics together when they were young. Kelly, knowing my skill set asked me to come work with her at Denny & Associates. “But I am not a salesperson.” I told Kelly. Her response, “I don’t need you for sales, I need you for everything else!” And so… a new career in Health Insurance was born.
Denny & Associates falls right in line with my need to help others. Now I get the pleasure of helping both groups and individuals find the right plans and options that best fit their need and budget. Our mission is to guide our clients of every shape and size through the complexity of the insurance industry by evaluating and choosing plans to protect themselves, their families and their employees. We will create a plan to fit their personal needs and do so with the service and respect they deserve.
Through my new career path with Denny & Associates, I was led to the O’Fallon Chamber of Commerce & Industries where I found that I could volunteer my time and efforts to not only help my company, but also my community and the other businesses within it. I became an Ambassador for the O’Fallon Chamber and eventually became a member of the Board. My absolute favorite part about being in the Chamber is building personal relationships with its members. After all, when someone asks me for a referral, I love saying, “I have a friend that I trust that I can put you in contact with!”
