When you’ve grown up in a home where every dollar had to stretch, you understand the weight of timing.

For Trecia Baker, timing has shaped both her struggles and her victories. If you ask where her drive comes from, she’ll point to her childhood in Vauxhall, St Elizabeth.

Her earliest memories are of a one-bedroom board house where she lived with her parents, three younger brothers, and an older sister. “It wasn’t easy,” she recalls. “When you grow up like that, you learn to appreciate every little thing. You learn to make what you have stretch.”

The road hasn’t been smooth. Her father worked tirelessly to provide for the family, most of his earnings going to support her mother, who suffered from schizophrenia. With medical bills piling up and four children to feed, he did his best to meet everyone’s needs. Growing up in that environment taught Trecia the value of hard work and responsibility from an early age — lessons she carried with her into every stage of life.

Determined to make her way, she attended Maggoty High School from 2002 to 2007, then began working almost immediately. Her first stop was through the National Youth Service, where she was placed at Appleton Basic School as a teacher’s assistant. She later worked as a pharmacy cashier, managed an office at the telecommunications company Claro before it became LIME, and took on shifts as a manager at a supermarket in Mandeville. Eventually, she joined Teleperformance and later became a supervisor at a gas station, a role she held for nine years

Even with steady work, money was often tight. “We’ve always had to work hard for what we have,” Trecia says. “That hasn’t changed much, even now.” Even after marrying six years ago, Trecia says the financial pressures have never truly let up. She now lives with her husband and his parents, and while they both work hard—she in her plus-size clothing business and he as a furniture maker—there are seasons when the budget stretches thin.

That’s why the call from Red Stripe’s Claim Yuh Crown promotion felt unreal. Her husband first mentioned it after hearing it on the radio, and later she saw it on Instagram. “I thought, ‘Let me try. I’ve never won anything before, but who knows?”

Trecia’s connection to Red Stripe runs deep, dating back to her years as an event host, when the brand was a regular fixture at her parties. She even owned a bar for a time, working closely with members of the sales team to keep it stocked. That chapter ended abruptly after a string of burglaries forced her to close the doors. Recently, while sharing a beer with her husband, he encouraged her to try her luck in the Claim Yuh Crown promotion. She decided to enter—and submitted not just one, but two entries.

She had never won anything before, so when she first heard the news, she wasn’t entirely convinced it was real. “I kept wondering if it was a scam,” she admits with a laugh. The call had said she’d won a J$25,000 supermarket voucher, but she hesitated to believe it. Four days later, the official confirmation arrived—and with it, instant relief.

Walking into Red Stripe that day, Trecia instantly knew it would be an experience to remember. “When I got to Red Stripe, it was an awesome experience. From the gate, the people were so warm and friendly. We laughed, we talked, and it felt like a celebration,” she says. “I’ve never been on the property before, so it was a good experience to see how things work. We got to take pictures and play games with other winners.” 

At the time, she had no food in the house and had just spent her last J$5,000 on gas for the trip from St. Elizabeth to Kingston. “I had no regrets, because I won when I had nothing. And I got my prize immediately, with no wait time,” she recalled. After collecting her winnings, she went straight to the supermarket, still riding the wave of excitement, and left with four boxes of groceries. “It came at the right time,” she said softly. “Everything worked out for the best.”

Even after the receipts were tucked away and the boxes unpacked, the memory of that shopping trip has stayed with her, and she remains grateful to Red Stripe for the win. “I’ve been telling all my friends to enter because I never expected to win anything, and I’ve already entered again.” For Trecia, the win went far beyond a supermarket voucher. It was a reminder that persistence and a little faith can open doors when you least expect them