David Evans and Associates founder to retire

PORTLAND, ORE. —” Effective March 14, 2011, David Evans, P.E., PLS, founder of David Evans and Associates Inc. (DEA), will retire as chairman of the board of directors of DEA’s parent company, David Evans Enterprises Inc. (DEEI). Evans will continue to serve on the board as chairman emeritus.

Succeeding Evans as DEEI chairman will be Ken Wightman, P.E., PLS. Wightman is a 27-year veteran of the firm and is CEO of DEEI.

On April 1, 1976, “filled with the spirit of the day” as Evans often says, he left a secure position with Wilsey & Ham and opened David Evans and Associates Inc. in Portland, Ore.

“It was really David Evans and Associate —” just one —” my colleague Dave Gould,” Evans said. “We made Associate plural to impress to clients that we were capable of handling their work. Of course we both worked two shifts: 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. We called it backward hours … so it seemed like we were plural.”

In the intervening 35 years, DEA has grown to 17 offices in seven states, employed more than 4,000 people, generated nearly $2 billion in revenue, and served more than 7,000 clients. It has weathered recessions and enjoyed boom years; and experienced mergers, acquisitions, and spin-offs on its way to becoming ranked among the top 100 design firms in the United States. DEA’s clients include the Federal Transit Authority; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); the National Park Service; Horizon Wind Energy, PacifiCorp, Bonneville Power Administration; several local, regional, and state governments; and private developers.

“Over the past 27 years, I have had the honor and pleasure of working closely with Dave,” Wightman said. “His concern for the people that work at DEA has always been at the forefront of his thoughts. The pay structure, benefits program, retirement plan, and especially the Employee Stock Ownership Plan have all been ideas that he has championed to make sure we provide the highest quality programs we can to our employees.”

Evans, an engineer by trade, is a familiar face in the A&E industry nationally. He has served on the executive committee of the Design Professionals Coalition, a coalition of the larger firms in the American Council of Engineering Companies, and is an American Society of Civil Engineers Fellow.

Since its founding in 1976 in Portland, Ore., DEA has become a recognized leader for progressive and sustainable design and management solutions for complex transportation, land development, energy, and water projects nationwide. DEA’s staff includes professional engineers, surveyors, hydrographers, planners, landscape architects, and natural resources scientists. DEA has 17 offices in seven states and employs more than 650 people. DEA is an employee-owned corporation and consistently ranks among ENR’s Top 100 Pure Design firms in the United States.

For more information, visit www.deainc.com.