Finally, the Evans Family has Come Back to Charlotte (#TheRock #WWE)

Twenty years ago, I married John "JJ" Evans, Ph.D. at an historical AME Church in Georgetown, SC, we honeymooned in a fabulous log cabin in Asheville, NC, and we established a shared residence in Charlotte, NC.? We lived there for about 18 months, then General Electric moved us to Orlando, FL, since I was the Electrical Project Manager for the North Florida region and was traveling back and forth every other week.? After three years, I was promoted to Six Sigma Black Belt and General Electric assigned me to the Mebane, NC, manufacturing facility.? We purchased our first home in Whitsett, NC, and spent 10 years enjoying the space and location.? After the first five years in our new house, I left General Electric to pursue my passion of working in Healthcare and Jamal began his doctoral studies at NC State University.? Jamal was driving back and forth for in-person coursework at NC State and he had started a new position at the NC Community College System office in downtown Raleigh.? Meanwhile, I was working at Cone Health in Greensboro, NC, all day and volunteering with the Junior League of Greensboro in the evenings.? At some point, I realized that we were ships passing in the night every week and I did not like that (honestly, the biggest miss was not having our weekly date nights on Wednesdays).? That was when I put feelers out to secure a position in the Triangle area and I received an offer from UNC Health.? After listing our house and receiving an offer above asking within four days, I knew this relocation was meant to be!

We promptly moved to Raleigh and spent the last six years happily embedding ourselves within North Carolina’s capital city.? During this time, we experienced countless ups and downs together: 1) Jamal completed his doctoral studies at NC State; 2) I began my doctoral studies at Capella University; 3) COVID prompted a statewide/national/global shut-down; 4) We successfully transitioned to a 100% work-from-home lifestyle without resenting each other (another good sign); 5) We lost our 14-year-old fur baby, Domino; 6) My father and Jamal’s mother both had minor health issues/procedures; 7) I completed my doctoral studies at Capella University (with a virtual graduation); 8) I began full-time work with Cardinal Innovations, which unexpectedly transitioned to a contract role because the company needed to merge with another MCO; 9) I was able to truly focus on my consulting business after devoting 20 years to corporate America; 10) I was able to attend the in-person graduation for Capella University in Orlando, FL, where I was hooded for completing my doctoral studies; 11) I was slated as President-Elect of the Junior League of Raleigh, and then served as President one year later; 12) My father and Jamal’s mother both had major health issues/procedures; and 13) Jamal secured a new position at South Piedmont Community College, which serves Union and Anson Counties.

It was clear that once I closed out all of my client contracts in the Triangle and I officially completed my term as Junior League of Raleigh President, I no longer had any true physical reason to reside in the area.? However, it did not truly hit me until after Labor Day; we were at my parents’ house in Georgetown for the weekend and I started casually looking at properties in the Charlotte area.? The following week, I had secured client work in Mecklenburg County, so Jamal, Tiger, and I were going to actually be together every day and night like a “normal” family.? Around Wednesday of that week, I realized how much I had missed the normalcy of our household and I accepted the fact that we needed to move to Charlotte ASAP.? Six weeks later, here we are, back in Charlotte, creating new memories that we will cherish forever!