Howard A. Penton Jr.

#51 Howard Penton
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Howard Penton

Howard PentonDriver

Car # 51

Howard Penton

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Howard A. Penton , Jr : One of Wilmington's Civic Leaders

Howard A. Penton , Jr , one of Wilmington's Civic Leaders
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Howard A. Penton , JrHoward A. Penton , Jr. comes by his pride in Wilmington honestly.In a self-effacing way , this Wilmington native played pivotal roles in projects that shaped Wilmington , making it the much-desired community that it is today.

The Committee of 100 , the University of North Carolina at Wilmington , New Hanover Regional Medical Center , the downtown parking deck , even the Blockade Runner Resort Hotel at Wrightsville Beach all benefited from Penton's quiet influence.Businesses as diverse as Springer Oil Company , Cardinal Lanes , Wachovia Bank , Peoples Bank and Atlantic Shores Distributing have profited from Penton's guidance over the years.Today , Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina gains direct benefit from Penton's leadership as he serves the company as chairman of the board of trustees.

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Civic work was always important to my grandfather , Daniel H. Penton , my uncle Dan Penton , and my father , Howard.All were very diligent workers.I guess I inherited their desire to give back some to the community , says Howard A. Penton , Jr..

The Penton family traces its Wilmington roots to the mid-1800's , a fact Penton notes with pride.His grandfather worked for Springer Coal Company , ( now known as Springer-Eubank Oil Co. and owned by Kenneth Sprunt ) eventually purchasing the coal and fuel oil business from the Springer family.Penton's father later bought out his uncle's interest in the business , and Howard , Jr. assumed direction of the company after his father's sudden death in 1959.Springer Company was a big firm by Wilmington standards in the 1940's , 50's and 60's - before the advent of electric heat and an abundant supply of natural gas.

Coal and oil were the fuels then , so every building in this area was either a customer , or potential customer , and that was a great situation , recalls Penton.At one time the Springer Company had over forty pieces of equipment and trucks around the city and area , and was one of the largest retail fuel oil dealers in North Carolina.In the early 1960's it was a formidable business and I was very proud to be its owner and manager..

A graduate of New Hanover High School , Penton attended UNC-Chapel Hill and enlisted in the Army , serving in the Infantry during the Korean War.Though he served only two years active duty and was never in combat , ( the Korean armistice was signed during his Ranger training ) he continued in the Army Reserve and retired as a Colonel in the Intelligence Branch.He returned to Wilmington in 1954 to work for the family business and never completed his formal college education , a move he regrets to this day.

Penton literally learned the fuel business from the ground up , starting as a truck driver.As a teenager he worked for the company every weekend and during holidays and summer vacation time.

There was never any question that I would come back to it when I was a young man , he says.Penton didn't want to insist on the same path for his son Howard Penton , III.I wanted Howard to find his interest in a profession or business where ever it might take him and not feel obligated to join me at our family business here in Wilmington , Penton says.Needless to say I am delighted my son is now back here after a few years of traveling and working in the Washington , D.C. area..Today his son runs a successful company developing small real estate projects in the area.

A former member of the Wilmington Rotary Club , Penton adheres to the Rotary's motto.He or she profits most who serves the best..Penton explains , It was just natural for me to become involved in civic activities and as I look back I really enjoyed the work very much..

One of the first measures of Penton's civic mettle came with his involvement in helping to sell the community on a favorable vote for a bond issue for construction of New Hanover Memorial Hospital ( now New Hanover Regional Medical Center ).We needed a new hospital badly and the first referendum failed , recalls Penton.So we fought and worked to get the bond issue passed on the second vote..The hospital opened in 1967.

While serving as President of the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce in the mid-1960's , Penton broke with tradition and served only one term.I thought there were so many fine people out in the community to draw from that one year was enough and I declined another term , he says.

During his year as President , the chamber launched its industrial breakfast program which was well received and very successful at that time.The organization also worked diligently for , and obtained for , Wilmington the title of All American City..

I worked really hard in the background on this , Penton says.The chamber spearheaded the effort along with Dan Cameron and Van Reid , our executive director.There were eleven winners that year ( 1965 ) and I promise you , had there been only one winner , it would have been Wilmington.It was a fabulous time for the spirit of our community..

A few years earlier in the late 1950's , the community's spirit had reached a low ebb after the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad announced it was pulling up stakes , leaving Wilmington , and moving its headquarters to Florida.Penton joined fellow Wilmingtonians in the effort to attract new industry to the community through efforts of the Committee of 100 , also known as Wilmington Industrial Development.Penton served as vice president to president Dan Cameron before being elected to the state House of Representatives.Early Committee of 100 successes included attracting DuPont , G.E. and Corning to the area.

Penton , and other Chamber of Commerce members helped pave the way for construction of the area's first resort hotel , the Blockade Runner at Wrightsville Beach in 1964.The chamber had been challenged by Lawrence Lewis of Richmond to raise $40 , 000 to buy the oceanfront property at Wrightsville Beach.Penton was active in this endeavor as treasurer of the Chamber of Commerce , as was Wallace Murchison and Buddy Rose , Mayor of Wrightsville Beach.

Lewis said he wanted to see some civic pride come out of Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach , and if local people would buy the property and put it in a corporation he'd formed , he would build a first class oceanfront resort , something we didn't have at the time , Penton recalls.

Penton , along with Mike Brown , Bill Beery , Mayor O.O. Allsbrook , B.D. Schwartz , Thomas Wright Jr. and others conceived the idea and sold the bonds that funded construction of Wilmington's downtown parking deck.At the time the deck became an important cog in downtown development.

Nearly thirty percent of the city's tax base was within a four-block area of the deck at that time , says Penton..It was badly needed and we were proud of it , it was a great success.Yet , I do agree that maybe the time has come to do something else with it.I think we missed great opportunity with PPD.
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Penton ran for and won election to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1969 and 1971.He represented Wilmington when Wilmington College was brought into the state university system.

Considerable groundwork had been laid by others : Addison Hewlett , Bill Hill , John Burney , George Clark , notes the characteristically low-key Penton.Penton delivered a speech before the House of Representatives that helped the college become UNCW.Penton's wife , Roi , a cum laude graduate of UNCW was appointed by the governor to the Board of Trustees and served for several years.His father was on the original Board of Wilmington College.

While Penton enjoyed his work in the legislature , he admits to being lonesome for his family and Wilmington , and chose not to run for a third term.I missed being home with my wife and young children , he says simply.

In addition to son , Howard , and his wife , the Pentons have a daughter , Elizabeth , who has a PhD in anthropology from UNC-Chapel Hill.She is teaching an art and culture course at Chapel Hill this year.Elizabeth and her husband have two children , making the Pentons unabashedly devoted grandparents.

Over the years Penton served on numerous civic and business boards including the Board of Directors of Wachovia for over twenty years , and Peoples Savings Bank for over thirty years.Currently he serves as a director of First Citizens Bank's Wilmington office.He's always wondered , inwardly , if he had missed his calling as a banker.

His tenure on Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina's Board of Trustees began in the mid-1970's , first as chairman of BCBS , investment committee , later as chairman of the executive committee , and now as chairman of the board--a task that is demanding and carries a lot