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WOMAN POWER

Marcelle Fenton an unmatched force – Part II

Published:Sunday | May 31, 2020 | 12:27 AMTamara Bailey - Sunday Gleaner writer
Fenton
Fenton

“She’s the type of woman that brings a lot to the table: love, prayer, support, intelligence, wisdom, purpose, class, ambition, value, and drive.”

– Unknown

It is never the easiest task playing the balancing act with all aspects of your life when there are competing elements that require the same amount of time.

But what makes Marcelle Fenton a class act at this is that she plans to the T.

“Planning and organising – having a schedule and using it to plan my time on this Earth … I am guided by my five-year plan, which is broken down into a one-year plan, then monthly, then weekly, with time slated for work and for family. I would recommend this strategy to all my fellowmen and women. Then I would add: plan always for the worst, but always expect the best. Live each day as if it is your last, giving all that you can each and every day to all aspects of your life. Live, love, and work as if there is no tomorrow.”

It is this meticulous nature that saw Fenton attaining several educational achievements to include being a Fellow of the Life Management Institute, a chartered life underwriter, a chartered financial consultant, Life Underwriters Training Council Fellow, a financial services certified professional, certified teacher of English and mathematics, receiving a bachelor of arts in social sciences with language and literature from The University of the West Indies, and a master in business administration from Nova South-Eastern University.

Surely, it is not all work and no play for Fenton as nothing screams ‘let down your hair’ like a good road trip and family time.

“I play Scrabble, domino, and Boggle. I love to dance, to entertain, and to read John Grisham novels. I love to travel. I first travelled the length and breadth of Jamaica – from Negril to Morant Point - then I turned my sights overseas.”

She continued: “I love spending time with my immediate family as well as my siblings and their families, so we have a family reunion that I plan every two years as we are so widely dispersed in the world. For Mother’s Day, we had Zoom time with our mother, who is 96 years old. My siblings, my children, and grandchildren, my nieces and nephews and other members of the extended family sang, danced, and shared memories.”

Fenton said she learnt the value of family and having respect for all from very early, and the lessons have never left her.

“I learnt to have integrity, to be my brother and sister’s keeper, to be respectful to all persons, to be helpful, to let your word be your bond, to give service as service is the price you pay for the space you occupy on the Earth. Do a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay and respect your elders.”

This selfless woman, who has admitted to already living a full life, has given back to thousands of persons not just in the community where she lives, but to other parts of Jamaica.

She said there is nothing she wants to do that she has not yet done but she would tell her younger self to go get that PhD.

“Some years ago, I wanted to see Australia, Singapore, South Africa, and the centre of the Earth but not anymore. I have had a wonderful life, working and loving wonderful people along the way. God has been good to me, and I am extremely grateful. Maya Angelou said, ‘If you must look back, do so forgivingly. If you must look forward, do so prayerfully. However, the wisest thing you can do is to be present in the present gratefully’. I just want to continue touching and moulding persons to be the best they can be,” Fenton said.