Willie Pennington says he is living proof that the proverb "It takes a village to raise a child" is far more than mere words.
From his parents, to his college professors and football coaches at Tuskegee University and even an induction officer at a military recruiting center during the height of the Vietnam War, Pennington credits all of them with helping shape him into the person he is now: someone who recognizes that hard work, perseverance and focus are key tools needed to navigate through life's stormy seas.
Pennington's relationship with Tuskegee came full-circle on Sept. 15 when he and nine other former Golden Tigers were inducted into the Tuskegee University Athletic Hall of Fame.
"You'd be surprised at who some of the people are in that village," Pennington said."They taught you perseverance, the frailty of life, the hardships of life, that you would struggle to get somewhere in life. When you're surrounded by folks of that caliber, things stick with you. You know there are going to be tough days ahead, but you can ease through it and get to where you are trying to go if you stay focused on that end goal.
"The hall of fame wasn't about me, it was about that village."
Those old-school values serve as the founding principle of Tuskegee where a statue of the school's founder, Booker T. Washington, reads: "He lifted the veil of ignorance from his people and pointed the way to progress through education and industry."
Those words helped Pennington on the football field at Tuskegee where he was a four-year starter at guard, and in life and they continue to resonate with him today. On Friday, Sept. 22, the 69-year-old Pennington, a native of Lisman, Alabama, will celebrate his 45-year anniversary with BASF.
Pennington was a four-year starter at guard on the Tuskegee football team and helped lead the Golden Tigers to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship in 1967, 68 and 69. He was named to the all-SIAC team in 1968.
"What an honor to be recognized when you look at the accomplishments of all those young kids," Pennington said.
"When I got there, I was only 16 in 1965. We were just young kids having a good time. Never in my mind did I ever think anything like this would happen to me."
Each year since 1974, the Tuskegee University Athletic Hall of Fame honors many of its former athletes, athletic staff and supporters who have "demonstrated outstanding achievement in areas such as sportsmanship, leadership, community service, education, university support and professional fields."
He lifted the veil of ignorance from his people and pointed the way to progress through education and industry."
The accomplishments of Tuskegee University graduates read like a who's who of medicine, science and industry, entrepreneurship, politics, civil service, athletic endeavor and entertainment.
George Washington Carver taught there, the university gave rise to the Tuskegee Airmen, and the The Commodores originated there during Pennington's freshman year.
When Pennington arrived on campus as a green-behind-the ears teenager, he did so with aspirations of following in the footsteps of his idol Daniel "Chappie" James Jr.
A 1942 graduate of Tuskegee, James was as a flight instructor and combat pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps and U.S. Air Force during World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam War. He was the first black man to attain the rank of four-star general and eventually served as the commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in Colorado.
"I wanted to be a Tuskegee Airman," said Pennington. "I wanted my bars as a second lieutenant, and I wanted to fly B-52s in Vietnam."
After going through Tuskegee's ROTC program, Pennington arrived at an induction center in Montgomery hell-bent on earning his wings.
Surprisingly, an officer there told him to stay in school and forget about life in the military.
"He saw potential in me to do something more," Pennington said. "He told me I was better off not to go to a war-torn country and be back in six weeks in a body bag.
"I look back on it as a blessing. He saw potential. He saw that I could do something better and be part of society and contribute to it."
Although Pennington excelled on the football field, the road to matriculation at Tuskegee wasn't always so easy. As a football star, he recalled how he didn't think he needed to attend English classes.
"I felt I didn't have to go to class," he said. "I was a football player."
His professor eventually set him straight.
"She asked me if I couldn't converse or write a letter, how was I ever going to be able to talk with anyone," he said. "It was all part of being the best you can be."
After earning a degree in chemistry education in 1970, Pennington briefly joined the football staff as an interim coach and scout, before moving on to General Electric later that year where he worked as a nuclear technician reprocessing spent nuclear fuel in the company's Midwest Fuel Recovery Plant in Morris, Illinois.
Two years later, he moved on to begin a long career with BASF. Currently the company's sales representative for the Carolinas region, Pennington has filled a number of roles throughout his 45-year career with the company, including national accounts manager, market manager and fumigation specialist.
He has been named BASF's salesman of the year three times and developed a method for regrassing golf courses that still is used today. For some perspective, Pennington said that when his career with the company began, Jon Sweat, BASF's director of professional and speciality solutions, was just one-day old.
Pennington has given back to others on mission trips to Europe and Central America with his church in his home of Raleigh, North Carolina.
"Tuskegee has a unique history," Pennington said. "When you just look at that statue of Booker T. Washington, whose goal was to lift the veil of ignorance for those who didn't think they could get anywhere, you realize you can do something with your life and be the best you can be. It just takes perseverance and hard work. Tuskegee taught me that."