Chuck Pennington, a native of Kansas, attended Mankato State in the mid-1930s. In addition to being named All-Conference in basketball, Chuck lettered twice in football and track. For these achievements, he was inducted into the Mankato State Athletic Hall of Fame. Pennington served with the Army in World War II. After leaving the service, he was employed as an electrical supplies sales representative for Graybar Electric in Minneapolis. He moved back to Mankato in 1952 and founded Katolight Corporation, manufacturers of portable electronic generating equipment. Pennington is now retired from the presidency of Katolight. Pennington has been an important supporter of both Mankato State and the Mankato community. As a member of the MSU Foundation from 1967 to 1983, he served as its vice president for 11 years and as president from 1980 to 1983. He also supports MSU’s annual fund drive and chairs the MSU Sports Classic, an athletic fund raiser. His service to the community has included membership on the Rehabilitation Board, Immanuel Hospital Board, Planning Commission, Housing and Development Board and the Rotary Club. The recipient of the annual 1300k of Golden Deeds Award, Pennington has been honored by MSU through the dedication of the Pennington Foundation Building on the MSU campus. This building is the first permanent classroom building constructed on a Minnesota state university campus under special legislation for private funding. Pennington remains active in the First Baptist Church, Rotary and the Mankato Golf Clubs, all of which he has served as president. He and his wife, Evelyn, live in Mankato. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on September 25, 1987.
