Burleson Star (Burleson, Tex.), Vol. 20, No. 15, Ed. 1 Monday, December 3, 1984 Page: 2 of 26
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IEC dream comes true
BY DOTT1E WILSON
Even More Burleson resident Al-
len Pennington took office as national
president of the Independent Elec-
trical Contractors (IEC) in August of
1982, he had a dream of unifying and
expanding the membership. With
four previous years of tenure as the
national treasurer, he had formulat-
ed some ideas for nuking that dream
come true.
The way he accomplished the
changes, the growth which has oc-
curred, is a lot like the man himself.
Pennington doesn’t believe in waiting
around for things to happen. He’s a
positive-action person who believes in
making it happen rather than taking
a "watch and see” attitude.
Now serving his second elected
term as IEC national president, Pen-
nington has been instrumental in the
recent growth in IEC membership
from about 500 to 4,000, all accomp-
letter he sent to the national associa-
tion in 1980, while he was still presi-
dent of the Fort Worth chapter,
Pennington pointed out the most im-
portant action to be taken was to
approach the other independent elec-
trical contractor organizations in the
country, not on the basis of joining the
association, but to seek a merging of
ideas, programs, and philosophy.
In 1981, the headquarters of the
national association was moved from
Arlington to Washington, D.C. Twen-
ty-six associations were invited to a
meeting in Denver, but only two of
those invited attended. Alien Pen-
nington, however, is not a man to be
put off when he has a dream.
HIS APPROACH as he began his
first year as national president was to
personally visit the state and regional
associations, explaining on a one-to-
one basis the benefits of a stronger
national organization. During that
first year, his travel time was ex-
tensive, and it has continued into this
year’s tenure as well.
The executive is owner of Penning-
ton Electric Co., a $1 million a year
Fort Worth based business—the re-
sult of almost a lifetime of interest in
the electrical field. But that’s only
one area of his time and energy
commitment during past years. Pen-
nington and his wife Jean (who now
shares part of the responsibility for
the family business), both received
their educations at Texas Tech Uni-
versity. Pennington took courses at
the university during the day, attend-
ed electrical apprenticeship classes
at night, worked as an electrician,
and preached on weekends.
Before living in Lubbock, Penning-
ton had served four years in the Air
Force, and while stationed in Illinois
he first began preaching. After mov-
ing to this area, he pastored the
Garden Acres Baptist Church, and a
tremendous growth in the church
occurred during those years.
He attended Southwestern Baptist
Theological Seminary where he
earned a Masters of Divinity and a
Masters of Religious Education in a
six-year program. While studying at
the seminary and continuing as pas-
tor at the Garden Acres church, he
kept his hand active in the electrical
industry.
“THE LORD SEEMED to open up
doors for me in the electrical field.
People have asked why I got out of
the ministry after so much education
and went into the electrical industry.
Well, I’m still bringing light into the
world,” he said with a smile. Pen-
nington carried his beliefs with him
into the industry in his dealings with
contractors and owners. His ability to
speak and motivate groups which has
been so beneficial to the growth of the
national organization is probably
/(
Which Task To
Tackle Next?
based on his background as a country
preacher.
Pennington now resides in Burleson
proper with his family and is still
very involved with church work.
Even during the past two very busy
years he has found time to teach an
adult class at First Baptist Church
and to chair the personnel committee
there.
Since Mrs. Pennington came into
the family business as payroll and
accounts bookkeeper a few years ago,
she has learned a great deal more
than how to carry out those duties. “I
understand his business life and re-
sponsibilities so much more since
I’ve been working here. I used to
really fuss when he called to say her
would be late for dinner, but now I’m,
the one who advises he can’t leave
until certain things are taken care
of,” she laughed. The Burleson cou-
ple make up a husband/wife work
team which really clicks, producing
efficiency in the office and a sharing
of experiences which has enriched
their personal relationship as well.
They are proud of the company and
the recent growth of IEC, and the
couple are equally proud of their
three children, who grew up in Bur-
leson schools and attended Baylor.
The eldest son Brent, 24, is an up-and-
coming entrepreneur with multiple
business interests; 21-year-old Bryan
was Baylor’s top graduate last spring
and is now a part of the Ph.D.
program in finance at the University
of Chicago; and 19-year-old Bridgett
is a sophomore at Baylor.
THE BENEFITS DERIVED from
a strong national association of IEC
are many for both the industry and
individual members, he pointed out.
An apprenticeship program is one of
the largest benefits. “Independents
do 60-70 percent of the nation’s elec-
trical work, but we have only been
training 10 percent of the work
force,” he commented. Training and
education are two of the major goals
of IEC.
The Business Roundtable, an or-
ganization of the top 200 businesses of
the country (with company names
As national president of the Independent Electrical Contractors during the
past two years, Allen Pennington has often had to juggle commitments to
that position to his own Fort Worth company, to his family, and to his church
activities. All of those efforts have come out nice and even for the Burleson
resident, though much of the past two years has been spent in travel time for
IEC work.
such as Dupont holding member-
ship), extended an invitation to IEC
to Washington during the past year,
where Pennington was one of eight
speakers invited to address the dis-
tinguished membership.
Though his second year as national
president will be completed soon, the
Burleson resident’s work for IEC
is far from being over. He will be in
charge of the upcoming national IEC
convention. It’s a big responsibility.
but one which Pennington looks for-
ward to as just another challenge. His
soft-spoken but persistent1 ‘way with
people” will continue to bring bene-
fits to IEC and increase his own
personal satisfaction as growth of the
organization continues.
But members may never quite
forget all that was accomplished
during the two years Pennington was
in the lead, and some may continue to
See IEC President, Page 9
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Moody, James. Burleson Star (Burleson, Tex.), Vol. 20, No. 15, Ed. 1 Monday, December 3, 1984, newspaper, December 3, 1984; Burleson, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth761082/m1/2/: accessed June 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Burleson Public Library.