By Jenny Callison
Enquirer contributor

FOREST PARK - A determined mother is a powerful force.

Evans Nwankwo knows this well. If not for his mother's vision and tenacity, he might be living a marginal existence in Nigeria instead of heading a successful construction company in Greater Cincinnati.

Civil war in Nwankwo's native country during the late 1960s uprooted his affluent family and threatened its safety. When he was 9 years old, his father died, leaving two wives and 13 children to an uncertain future.

"As a result of the war, we were living as poor as you can get," Nwankwo said. "But it builds your character and who you are. I learned from my father, who lived by biblical principles and instilled them in his children"

The two widows decided to pool their resources and rear their children together. Through sheer tenacity, hard work and tremendous sacrifice, they sent all 13 to college.

Said Nwankwo: "As a kid, you don't think of them as life lessons, but they become important. My mother didn't have even an elementary school education, but she is very intelligent and understood the importance of education."

Nwankwo came to the United States to attend Texas A&M University. After graduation, he was hired by Turner Construction Co. and worked at its Tulsa, Okla., office until being transferred here.

He became an American citizen, climbed Turner's corporate ladder and learned every possible aspect of construction management. Life was good.

However, Nwankwo's parents had ignited an entrepreneurial spark in him, and he longed to set his own course. In October 1993, he started his own construction company, adding his own initials to his mother's nickname, Meg.

"In recognition of her example, I thought it important to name the company after her," he said.

A week after establishing Megen Construction, Nwankwo married, cementing another essential relationship.

His wife, Catherine, is a civil engineer who was then employed by Messer Construction Co.

Her paycheck kept the couple going as Megen Construction got on its feet.

"The economy bottomed out in 1993," Nwankwo said. "As things started to pick up, we were ready to take advantage of it." Two years later, the company was doing well enough that Catherine Nwankwo could resign from Messer to work full time for Megen.

As a result of their management experience at the two firms, Catherine Nwankwo said, she and her husband were able to combine the best practices of their former employers.

Megan has maintained cordial relationships with both Turner Construction and Messer Construction.

In fact, building and sustaining such relationships is at the heart of Megen's credo and is directly responsible for its growth to a 25-employee firm with annual revenues approaching $10 million, its owners say.

"Our firm is one that is based on developing relationships," Nwankwo said. "We recognize that people like to do business with people they like. We are not cookie-cutter. We do what it takes to please our customers.

"Quality work is another key, and being mindful of people's capital is also key. We meet the owner's budget, eliminate headaches and avoid surprises."

Said Larry Savage, president and CEO of Humana of Ohio: "His word is something you can take to the bank. When you deal with Evans, you sense immediately the integrity he has; his commitment to excellence."

Just as Nwankwo's mother invested in their children, Megan Construction makes a major commitment to its employees.

"We hire the best people who fit our culture," he said. "We acquire talent, and we grow talent from within. We will continue to invest and grow our people. Other stuff will kind of take care of itself."

"Every job they've done for us, there's no other way to describe than 'exemplary,'" Savage said, adding that he uses Megen's customer relationship focus as an example for his own health-care organization.

"Evans spends a lot of time and energy trying to understand what we're trying to accomplish. I cannot envision that we would have any kind of construction project that he would not be involved in."

E-mail jcallison@zoomtown.com.