Industry Advocate Pennington Dies at 64
This story appears in the Dec. 15 print edition of Transport Topics.
Longtime trucking industry figure Mike Pennington passed away suddenly Dec. 5. He was 64.
Pennington died of a heart attack while out with his wife, Patsy, and friends. He and Patsy lived in Fernandina Beach, Florida, but were longtime residents of Michigan.
Pennington spent 25 years in corporate communications and 15 years as a business magazine journalist, editor and photographer, primarily in trucking and affiliated industries.
His lengthy client list included Meritor Inc., Wabco, Maxion Wheels, Trucker Buddy International, the Truck Writers of North America and Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week.
“Mike will be remembered for his love of the trucking industry, his incredible work ethic, his influence, generosity and passion for people,” American Trucking Associations President Bill Graves said in a statement.
A Memphis, Tennessee, native, David Michael Pennington earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Memphis in 1972. He began his career as a reporter and editor for Southern Motor Cargo magazine.
Pennington worked for Meritor — beginning with Rockwell International in 1985 and later with ArvinMeritor, which spun off from that company — for 25 years, until retiring as senior director of marketing communications in 2010.
“Mike’s contributions to Meritor during his 25-year tenure, and over the past several years, were extraordinary,” said Krista Sohm, Meritor’s vice president of marketing and communications.
“He was passionate about the industry. His love for his work and drive for results was contagious. Mike was a mentor, a friend and a gentleman, and he left an impression on us that will not be forgotten. We are all better for having known him,” she said.
Pennington continued working with the trucking industry with his consulting business, PenNotes. He was awarded the TWNA’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008, and served two terms on Trucker Buddy’s board.
He was a member of ATA since 1978, was vice chairman of ATA’s Communications and Image Policy Committee since May 2013 and was an advocate for the industry’s Trucking Moves America Forward image campaign.
Pennington also was immediate past president of ACT 1, the Allied Committee for the Trucking Industry.
“Mike was one of the kindest and most decent people I have known and would have given you the shirt off of his back to help,” Tim Kraus, president of the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association, said in a statement
e-mailed to Transport Topics. “I will really miss him.”
Kraus credited Pennington for his work on Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week and many other industry events.
