Rod Johns has been a fixture at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma for more than two decades. But, prior to entering the workforce, Johns was faced with a proposition from his father.
His dad wanted Johns and his siblings to join their father at the oil company he worked for.
“I was thinking at the time ‘I don’t know if I want to work at the same company my dad does,’” Johns laughed.
Johns never took his dad up on the offer. Instead he chose a career in health insurance and now serves as the Director of Oklahoma Provider Network Operations. Years later, Johns realized the why behind his dad’s offer when his daughter, Amber Rentie, became a BCBSOK employee. Rentie has been a customer service advocate in the Medicare supplement department since Nov. 2022.
“My dad has always said Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma is a great company to work for,” Rentie said. “And I’ve always wanted to work for a great company like that. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma is not a like a lot of other workplaces. They work with you. They understand things can happen. They don’t just throw you out there. If you need help, they help you out.”
Ironically, Rentie never actually told her dad about the possibility of working at BCBSOK until she was offered the position. Johns laughed when recalling the story. He is now happy to have the opportunity to be both an influence and resource for his daughter.
“It really gives me the opportunity to really help groom her professionally, and I can relate to her,” said Johns, who also began his BCBSOK career in the same department as Rentie. “You always want to help your kids and help them professionally as well. Another benefit is I get to see her progress. So, when people I know reach out and say, ‘Your daughter is doing really well,’ that tells you the things you instilled, they’ve learned and display years later.”
Rentie admits she wants to follow in her father’s footsteps.
“I want to build my career and work my way up at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma, like he has,” said Rentie, who served older adults as a certified nursing assistant for a few years before coming to BCBSOK. “Watching him, it showed me I could grow up and be a businesswoman and take care of my family.”
As a caring father and longtime employee, Johns understood the benefits a place like BCBSOK could have for a young professional and mother of two children.
“I knew this was a good opportunity for her and my two grandkids,” Johns said. “There is stability, not the turnover there is in some other places. It’s a place where you can grow and move up, as long as you’re willing to put in the time.”
Armed with the ambition to learn and a mentor in her father, Rentie’s BCBSOK career seems to be off to a roaring start. Like Johns in his earlier years, Rentie is quick to heed her dad’s advice.
“Since I’ve been here, he’s taught me to go to work, go above and beyond for your members and do the right things, even when no one is looking,” she recalled.
Johns’ influence on his daughter is significant and he’s happy to know BCBSOK plays a role in that impact.
“I’m very proud that she’s here,” he said. “It’s a good feeling to know what the future holds for your kids. She has a lot of opportunities here.”