Barry is a life-long Northlander, a graduate of North Kansas City High School, and earned his bachelor’s in Business Administration, Marketing from Missouri Western State University.

After college, Barry had an interview scheduled with an insurance company and went to Pat James for insurance industry advice. Pat had opened Jenkins & James Insurance Agency with Chuck Jenkins a year earlier. During the course of this conversation, Pat and Chuck offered him a producer position with Jenkins & James. After a few years of hard work, Barry became a principal in the agency.

Barry has a full family life with his lovely wife, Anita, three daughters, and his grandchildren.

Barry is active in the community by being involved with the Gladstone Area Chamber of Commerce as well as volunteering with the Gladstone Rotary Club. Barry has always had a passion for cars –  especially Jeeps and muscle cars and also enjoys camping, hiking, canoeing, and snow skiing.

As a sort of introduction and open resume, my education and experience include the following:

• Bachelor of Arts from Baker University, Baldwin, KS 1982
• Degree in Psychology, with minors in Mathematics and Business Administration
• While at Baker, served as President of my fraternity, Gamma Theta Chapter, Delta Tau Delta
• Professional Experience includes a relatively short hitch in restaurant management, with Smaks, Inc., and also Pizza Hut prior to a three-year experience with the Boy Scouts of America as a District Executive in Tri-Trails Council, North Platte, NE.  I left the Boy Scout professional ranks in order to begin my career in the insurance business in 1988.

With the encouragement of a fraternity brother, I took on a highly intensive, two-year sales and insurance training program with The Aetna Insurance Company, called the Prime Agent program. During this two-year period, I went to numerous sales, marketing, and insurance product knowledge classes and seminars and also developed a small client base, helping my customers with personal auto and home insurance as well as life and health products.  After successfully completing this two-year contract, I became a subcontractor/agent in an independent agency in Kansas City North, which gave me more, real-world experience.

In March of 1992, I co-founded,  Jenkins & James Insurance Agency to serve Gladstone and the Northland area.  With good fortune, hard work, and a keen emphasis on customer service, we have seen strong and steady growth in the Agency.  Today, we still concentrate on personal lines insurance offering coverage for automobiles, homeowners, umbrellas, motorcycles, boats, and more. Our product lines have grown and expanded to a point where today, we offer some of the best companies available in the Independent Agency System, including Hartford, Allied, Travelers, and Progressive, to name a few.  Additionally, we have grown in personnel as well.  We have full-time staff for customer service as well as additional agents that specialize in various insurance areas, including commercial lines.  These days I have a tendency to concentrate on small commercial customers including contractors and main street retail, as well as my many other administrative duties.

Most of the rest of my time is spent chasing my three teenage children, Douglas, Gwen, and William. (or my wife, Carrie!)