The University of Memphis has established the D. Mike Pennington award for Outstanding Mentoring in the Department of Journalism. The award honours distinguished alumnus D. Mike Pennington, Class of 1972, and is the first mentoring award in the College of Communication and Fine Arts and the first faculty award in Journalism.
Pennington, a significant presence in the North American trucking industry and retired Meritor Inc. employee, passed away unexpectedly on December 5, 2014, at the age of 64. Amongst his many activities, Mike Pennington was a valued contributor to ReMaTecNews Magazine.
The Pennington family and friends created the unique tribute to Pennington to honour his dedication to helping others and his loyalty to the University of Memphis, Tennessee. Honoured with numerous awards during his lifetime, Pennington spent 25 years in corporate communications and 13 years as a business magazine journalist, editor and photographer, primarily in trucking and affiliated industries.
After his corporate life, he established PenNotes LLC to continue his client counselling and his involvement in the industry. His client list included Meritor Inc. (formerly Rockwell Automotive), Meritor WABCO, Maxion Wheels and Cummins Filtration.
Highly respected in his field, Pennington devoted his time to many organisations, including the American Trucking Association (ATA), Act 1 (the Allied Committee for the Trucking Industry), Trucker Buddy International, the Truck Writers of North America, and numerous industry projects for Heavy Duty.
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The D. Mike Pennington Award for Outstanding Mentoring will annually recognise a Journalism faculty member who has been an exemplary guide to students during their learning experience. Current students, faculty and alumni may put forward nominations for this award.
