KICA LEADERSHIP
KICA Bids Farewell to Jane Ovenden
IN HER OWN WORDS
Four years ago in June, Jane Ovenden joined KICA as
Tropical Storm Colin swirled up from Florida. It was
a dramatic arrival for the new director of Finance
and Administration, who has since weathered many
storms (literal and metaphorical) with grace.
In early 2020, Jane made the difficult decision to
leave KICA. As Jane moves back to the upstate
to spend more time with her family, KICA has
hired a new director of Finance and Administration,
Johnny Wallace, who comes to the association from
Porter-Gaud School. (Read more on the previous
page.) Jane was eminently-qualified to bring KICA’s
financial management and reporting to another
level. In her office, a sign reads, “I do all my own
accounting stunts,” and Jane consistently lives up to
that motto.
She was instrumental in moving the reserve fund to
a professional money manager, where this money
can work for the community prior to its use to fund
the repair and replacement of community assets.
She also improved financial reporting, including the
audit and monthly financial reports, with the intent
of providing more transparency for members.
Throughout her time at KICA, Jane has worked to
improve processes and elevate KICA’s standards. In
2018-2019, she spearheaded the search for a cloudbased
member database that could either integrate
with KICA’s technology assortment or replace and
improve various siloed service tools. Jane initiated
conversations with Salesforce, the comprehensive
“I’m a self-admitted left-brained
accountant; I’m married to a leftbrained
accountant. I have a son
who’s an accountant. We have
another son who went rogue —
he’s a credit analyst.”
technology platform ultimately chosen due to its
exceptional service offerings, versatility and longterm
adaptability. The Salesforce platform is
currently being implemented and, once launched,
will be a groundbreaking improvement to KICA’s
ability to deliver seamless member service.
Prior to the environment we now know with
COVID-19, Jane anticipated the importance of
cloud functionality, overseeing the transition of the
general ledger software, the budgeting software, and
the telephone system away from a server-based local
system and into the cloud. This change helped KICA
pivot to safer remote work for many employees and
ensures continued accessibility during storm events.
She is well-known as a lover of reading, often
sharing her recommendations with other members
of staff. Jimmy Bailey noted this, saying, “One of my
favorite things about Jane is that she has a thirst for
knowledge. She reads a lot, and often finds great
information to share that educates, informs, and
inspires.” Jane will also be particularly missed for
her love of baking. She baked many of the desserts
for employee birthday and work anniversary
celebrations, with a deep-dish pecan pie and red
velvet cake high on the list of favorites.
During the search for her replacement, Jane has
continued to consult with KICA, providing her
much-needed guidance during an unusual time for
hiring. We’d like to offer our thanks for once again
going above and beyond in her dedication to KICA,
and wish her the very best in her future endeavors.
4 | KIAWAH ISLAND DIGEST