SAY HELLO TO JENA
TBDBITL alumna, scrapbooker extraordinaire, professional euphoniumist, with a servant’s heart.
Say hello to Jena Evans, Permit Coordinator and newly minted Service Coordinator at Integrated Building Systems. She joined the firm in 2018.
Jena manages the company’s right-of-way permitting services, providing the meticulous attention to detail required to research, document, and keep time-sensitive projects on track. Her knowledge and experience with easement research and local government officials yields the reliable data needed for construction, engineering, and municipal infrastructure projects.
Jena Evans, Permit Coordinator at Integrated Building Systems
She also now lends her exceptional organizational skills to the company’s Service program. When clients reach out for help with adding network cables for new workstations or warranty repairs, for example, Jena makes sure every request is given precise and swift attention.
In fact, if you call Integrated Building Systems’ Service number (614-340-2770), odds are Jena’s friendly voice will greet you and make sure help is on the way.
“Lending a helping hand is very important to me,” Jena said. “I like solving problems and jumping in to help, especially when I see that our clients have an urgent need or other people on my team are swamped.”
“I think that’s why our team’s core value of being proud to ‘do IT right’ really resonates with me.”
BUCKEYE BEATS
An ardent Buckeye fan and alumna (we hear she owns enough scarlet-and-gray gear to fill a closet!), Jena earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in music education from The Ohio State University. She played the trumpet, mellophone, and French horn in high school, but turned to the euphonium at OSU when she studied under the esteemed Dr. Paul Droste, who directed TBDBITL from 1970 to 1983.
“I’d never had a music lesson before OSU,” Jena explained. “Dr. Droste didn’t give up on me, and I learned a lot from him about life and music.”
While at OSU, Jena missed only one of her music lessons—the week after she and her husband Eric welcomed their son Zach to the world.
Today, Jena performs in several bands, including the OSU marching band alumni, Scioto Valley Brass & Percussion Company, and Central Ohio Brass Band.
PICTURE FREEDOM
An avid and creative scrapbooker, Jena values the memories and emotions connected with special events and milestones. For example: one of her favorite gifts she ever received was a green-and-white Schwinn bicycle with a banana seat, for her twelfth birthday. A treasured family photograph captured her joy in the gift—and shows her 12-year-old self sporting a big smile, pink outfit, and white roller skates.
“That bike was my first taste of freedom,” Jena recalled with a smile.
LEARN MORE ABOUT JENA
Global names, local roots: raised in London, Ohio—married in Paris, Ohio
Family: Husband Eric and son Zach
First job: at 12, rode her bike to deliver daily newspapers for The Madison Press
Favorite quote: “Life is too important to be taken seriously.” – Oscar Wilde
Candy, please: peanut butter and chocolate, a la buckeyes or Reese’s cups
Best weekend: Time spent watching the sun rise or set, and playing a concert (sometimes she gets to enjoy both, simultaneously!)
Hobbies: scrapbooking, music, art, photography
“I can’t live without”: Family, friends, and music
Heed this advice given to members of the OSU marching band, “To be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late, and to be late is to be left.”
CONNECT
Get in touch with Jena at jevans@ibswebsite.com or 614-240-5999.