MEET
Jenny
Jenny Houbler Boyd is a proud wife, mother, grandmother, restaurateur, and musician.
From a young age, Jenny was passionate about the arts. She danced in the Knoxville Ballet Company for many years and performed in the theater program at Bearden High School.
Jenny first met Randy in 1983. The couple married two years later at Erin Presbyterian Church where they continue to worship today. They have two adult sons, Thomas and Harrison, a daughter-in-law, Lindsey, two granddaughters, Wiley Mae and Penelope, and two dogs, a rescued dachshund, Oskar Mayer, and a golden-doodle, Jolene.
PRESERVING OUR APPALACHIAN HERITAGE
In 2011, Jenny opened Boyd’s Jig and Reel, a Scottish-themed musical pub, in the Old City of Knoxville, with the mission of preserving and promoting Appalachia and Scotland’s shared musical heritage.
You can find Jenny playing fiddle, mandolin, or banjo at Jig and Reel’s weekly Old Time jam sessions. Musicians from around East Tennessee gather each Tuesday and Wednesday, and all are invited to join in; the pub even has instruments to share! Jenny also plays in the Good Thymes Ceilidh Band, a traditional Scottish music band that plays at the pub every other Thursday.
Jenny is passionate about promoting the adoption of children, animal welfare, and the arts in our schools. She is a member of the Old City Association and serves on the boards of the Tennessee State’s Art Commission, Great Smokey Mountain Heritage Center and the Museum of Appalachia. She previously served on the boards of Young-Williams Animal Center, the Historic Tennessee Theatre, Knoxville Chamber of Commerce, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, East Tennessee Historical Society, and Dogwood Arts.
She also works alongside her family and the Boyd Foundation to help make Tennessee the most pet-friendly state in America.
