Thom Penney named as Joseph P. Riley Award Winner

CHARLESTON, SC – The Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce names Thompson E. Penney as the winner of the 2015 Joseph P. Riley Leadership Award. The prestigious award, given annually as part of the Chamber’s Honors Night, celebrates a visionary leader doing extraordinary work to strengthen the community, who is also an outstanding community volunteer that has demonstrated a lifetime of leadership.

Also referred to as the “Big Joe” Leadership Award, the Joseph P. Riley award was initiated in 1992 by the Charleston Metro Chamber, named for one of our region’s finest citizens, the late father of the City of Charleston’s mayor, who was also instrumental in many areas of growth in the region.

Penney, a leader in both the architecture field and the Charleston community, serves as President, CEO and Chairman of LS3P. Knowing early in his childhood that he wanted to be an architect, Penney worked for the firm’s founder, Frank Lucas, throughout high school and college. Upon graduating with honors from Clemson University, receiving his Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Architecture degrees, Penney joined Lucas’s firm, which he now leads.

Penney has lead the growth of LS3P, now consistently recognized by Engineering News Record as one of the top 500 Design Firms, Top 50 Architecture firms and Top 50 Green Design Firms in the U.S. Penney’s design work has received countless awards and has been featured in numerous national and international publications and books.

Highly engaged in both the architecture world and the Charleston region, Penney has served on various committees and boards, including serving as the Chairman of the Board for the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce in 2007. He has also served as Co-Chair of the Charleston Regional Development Alliance’s Regional Economic Development Strategy, was a founding board member of the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture and served on the boards of the American Architectural Foundation, The Clemson Advancement Foundation for Building + Design and The Clemson University Foundation, among others.

It is Penney’s passion and drive to have a positive impact on his community while implementing outstanding design that lead him to being named the 2015 Joseph P. Riley Leadership Award recipient.

Penney will be honored at the 2015 Honors Night event on Thursday, September 10 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Francis Marion Hotel. Winners of the following awards will also be presented: The Trailblazer; The Beacon; The Rock Star; The Pillar; The Milestone; and The One to Watch. Click to view a list of finalists.

For more information about the 2015 Honors Night Awards and to purchase event tickets visit charlestonchamber.net/honorsnight or call 843-577-2510. Tickets are $85 per person.

About the Chamber: With 1,600 member organizations representing 125,000 professionals, the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce serves as the collective voice of the business community, and a catalyst for advancing the region’s economy and enhancing members’ success through Advocacy, Innovation, Talent and Business Advancement. Visit charlestonchamber.net