When Keri-Ann Salmon, client relations manager at JN Bank Small Business Loans - Region 4, first met an aspiring entrepreneur in Manchester about 18 years ago, the businesswoman was operating a modest grocery shop with stock valued at approximately $50,000.Salmon encouraged the businesswoman to purchase goods in bulk to keep her shelves stocked and to respond to customers’ requests by carrying the products they wanted. The advice, along with access to financing through JN Bank Small Business Loans, proved transformative.“She now owns a home, and her stock level is well over $1 million. She now sells from a pin to an anchor, and her shop continues to be profitable,”  Salmon pointed out.For Salmon, it is one of many success stories that remind her why she loves her job.“I thoroughly enjoy working with small business owners due to their ambition and resilience.They can do a lot with what some would consider a little.”“Many of them own their homes and they commend JN Bank Small Business Loans for helping them to grow their businesses and enabling them to use the profit to build their houses and school their children,” she said.It is this passion for empowering entrepreneurs that has earned Salmon the title of Outstanding Customer Relations Manager for the 2025/2026 performance review period for the fourth consecutive time. The recognition was announced during a recent staff awards ceremony at the JN Group Corporate Offices.In addition to claiming the top award, Ms Salmon captured four other competitive awards from the 10 award categories. She was recognised for recording the highest value of micro one loans disbursed, the highest number of new micro one loans, the lowest value of micro one loans transferred to the Delinquency Management Unit portfolio, and the lowest average micro two portfolio at risk. She also received five recognition certificates, including one for achieving the highest conversion percentage of leads to loan application.Micro one loans are from $10,000 to $500,000 while micro two loans start at $500,001 and go up to $1.5 million.For Salmon, who recently celebrated 21 years with the JN Group and has been serving as a customer relations manager since August 2021, the awards are especially meaningful.“It shows that my purpose of serving the clients and staff would have been achieved and that I have made an impact by helping small business owners achieve their objectives, which includes growing their businesses and ensuring they are able to take care of their families,” the Manchester High School alumna pointed out.Salmon credited her achievement to the hard work of her 17-member team, who consistently demonstrate a strong work ethic and willingness to always go the extra mile. “It would not have been possible without them,” she stressed.Gillian Hyde, deputy managing director of JN Bank, commended Salmon for her outstanding achievement, describing her as a dedicated professional.“Earning the Outstanding Client Relations Manager award four times speaks volumes about her leadership and the consistently high standard she brings to her work. We are immensely proud of her achievements and grateful for the positive impact she continues to have on the organisation as a whole,” Hyde said.“Ms Salmon exemplifies the qualities we value at JN Bank - professionalism, integrity, accountability, genuine commitment to helping entrepreneurs achieve their goals and ability to inspire others. Her disciplined approach to managing her portfolio is commendable, making her an outstanding ambassador for JN Bank Small Business Loans,” she maintained.During the review period, Hurricane Melissa devastated many of the communities served by Salmon and her team in Region 4 which comprises Mandeville and Christiana in Manchester and Albert Town in Trelawny.“Many of our clients were affected by the hurricane, especially those in South Trelawny. Many of them lost crops due to landslides, others lost livestock as well as the roofs of their homes. Many are still in the recovery phase, as they had to seek other properties to farm on and some had to stay with relatives. We have been able to assist many with recovery loans,” she shared.The client relations manager underscored that small businesses play a critical role in driving Jamaica’s economic development and enabling families to have a better quality of life.“Knowing that I can make a difference in the lives of entrepreneurs and the communities they serve inspires me every day,” Salmon said.