Diversity Mini-Business Tour, Calgary.
We can’t do a mini business tour without insurance to protect in case something bad happens.
A stop at one of the friendly and award winning Desjardins Insurance and Financial Services Agency in Calgary….
Owned and managed by Neva Perrotte, she’s originally from St. Georges, Grenada, located in the Caribbean. In October 1969, Neva came to Calgary with her parents and older brother, Aden.
Her father tells a story of arriving in Canada with $80 dollars in his pocket with no job or prospects, his only thought was to make a better life for his family.
From her parents Neva learned that education and work ethic were something to value. She saw her father work as a mover and collecting bottles to pay the bills and her mother go from being a teacher in Grenada to preparing meals for seniors.
From these humble beginnings her father became the first black police officer in Calgary in 1975 and her mother a supervisor at the Royal Bank.
Neva graduated from the University of Calgary in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Major in Political Science. While attending the University of Calgary, she joined the black students association by hosting radio shows during black history month and attending meetings.
After graduating, Neva started her career with State Farm Insurance as a claims representative in Calgary.
During university, Neva met her husband, Oliver who she married in 1993. After marrying Oliver they moved to Mississauga, Ontario.
While in Mississauga she continued to work in insurance and became the manager of an insurance consulting firm helping insurance companies with writing compliance manuals to meet provincial guidelines. During her time in Mississauga, Neva and Oliver had 2 beautiful children, Ethan and Ashley.
With a return to Calgary in 2007 to be closer to family, Neva continued her career in insurance and was recruited by State Farm to come back to the company as an agent in August 2009. In this role as a business owner, Neva and her team have won awards such as Chairman Circle for being the top 50 agency in North America, Small Business Leader for being top 50 in North America for selling business insurance; Ambassador Travel for being top 50 in the company for selling auto, home, life and mutual funds.
Her office is consistently top 50 out of 525 agents in Canada. Her focus is always her team and the customer.
Neva has also worked on committees such as the agency transition team from State Farm to Desjardins; various business lines committees and chosen to pilot groups on new marketing tools and products. Recently Neva developed a female study group to help female agents share ideas and to help each other grow.
In her community, she is on the board of the Grenada Association and regularly volunteers at the Mustard Seed, the annual Grenada Independence Dance, Carifest and Sports Day. She can be seen at association events helping out in the kitchen and serving food.
This year Neva and her family created the Celia J Wells Memorial Scholarship in memory of her mother who passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2011 and awarded the first $500 scholarship to a University of Calgary student.
