Glenn Jennings, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of Delta Natural Gas Company, was elected to Berea College’s board of trustees during the board’s February 2011 meeting. Jennings was appointed to a six-year term to begin immediately.
Jennings, a Berea native who was first in his family to graduate college, earned a business degree from Berea College in 1972. He has worked at Delta Natural Gas for 33 years (mostly as its CEO) after serving as a certified public accountant with Arthur Andersen accounting firm and a production supervisor with Ford Motor Company in Cincinnati. In 1977, Jennings returned to his hometown to work as internal auditor at Berea College. In 1979 he joined Delta Gas, a natural gas and distribution company headquartered in Winchester, Ky., and six years later became the company’s president and CEO. Under Jennings’ leadership Delta Gas expanded to become a publicly owned company listed on Nasdaq.
Jennings has served Berea College in several volunteer capacities: as president of Berea College Alumni Association from 1996-97 and as a fundraiser and guest speaker. “Even while I was a student at Berea College I realized how special that experience was,” says Jennings. “After graduation I felt a strong need and commitment to help Berea College any way I could and to give back to the college because of the opportunities that education provided for me.”
Jennings’ civic involvement in Berea spans four decades. As a member of Berea City Council since 1996, Jennings has emphasized financial responsibility and has worked to encourage positive growth for the city while preserving its distinctive character. He has served on the board of directors for Girl Scouts of Kentucky’s Wilderness Road Council, served three terms on the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce board and worked to support United Way.
Jennings has served as chairman of Berea National Bank board of directors, chairman of Southern Gas Association, president of Kentucky Gas Association and has served on Berea Hospital’s board. He currently serves on the board of directors for Southern Gas Association and American Gas Association.
Berea College President Larry D. Shinn says, “Glenn brings to the Berea College board an intimate knowledge of Berea College, a deep commitment to the welfare of the city of Berea and a global perspective on local challenges.”
Jennings resides in Berea with his wife Linda Katherine Owens Jennings, who also attended Berea College, and Austin Jennings, a sixth grader at Berea Community School. He has two daughters, Melissa Jennings and Laurel Strawser, both of whom attended Berea College. He is an ordained deacon at Berea Baptist Church where he teaches a men’s Sunday school class.