Jeff Bays,
Vice President and Tulsa District Manager,
HP Engineering, Inc.
1) Give us a short bio...
Born and raised in Stillwater, OK. I played golf for Stillwater High School and attended OSU after high school. I worked as an electrician and operated a window tinting business to pay for college. I moved to Rogers, AR to work for a large AE firm. After 10 years, I moved to HP Engineering in the Rogers office. Now, I live in Tulsa and I'm closer to my family in Stillwater. Tulsa has grown on me over the last 3 years.
2) How long have you been a member of AIA?
2 years
3) Why did you join AIA? Are you involved with this chapter?
I joined AIA to help support our local Architects and network with Architects that have not worked with HP Engineering in the past.
4) What's your favorite AIA OK Event?
Golf Tournament
5) What's your favorite thing about AIA?
Consistency
6) What or who inspired you to become an architect?
My grandparents gave me Legos and blocks to build stuff when I was younger. They always said, "He is going to be an Architect". My love for electricity led my down the path to become an Electrical Engineer.
7) What do you think/hope your occupation will look like in 10 years?
I hope my occupation will look about the same as now, I will just have more experience.
8) What has been your most exciting project and why?
Jackson Technical, The project was a data center and office space. The project had been designed and Value Engineered too far. (I still have found no value in value engineering, there are always problems resulting from the option to VE.) The VE design left the owner with a generator that would only back up emergency lighting. I took over the project and made sure the owner got what he wanted and needed to have a fully functional and scalable data center.
9) What is an unusual hobby or absurd thing that you love?
Making Wine and beer
10)
What's your favorite piece/place of design in Oklahoma? OSU campus in Stillwater.
My grandpa laid a lot of the brick and built the clock tower near the student union.
11) On a Saturday morning, where could we typically find you?
In bed asleep.
12) How has failure set you up for later success?
Failure is life's greatest teacher. Lessons learned have transpired to all my success in life.
13) What are you listening to / reading or watching these days?
I am reading about Personality Disorders.
14) What recent purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life?
The apple pencil.
15) What's your go-to karaoke song?
Pour Some Sugar on Me
