Aug 31, 2022
BILL DRENNEN JOINS SHEPHERDSTOWN ROTARY CLUB
The Rotary Club of Shepherdstown has inducted Bill Drennen as a new member.
The induction ceremony was held at the Club's August 30 breakfast meeting at the Bavarian Inn. The accompanying photo shows Drennen, center, with Club President Sean Murtagh, left, and Club member Hank Walter, right.
A longtime Shepherdstown resident, Drennen was a member of the Club many years ago and recently decided to re-join.
Professionally, he has a background as an executive, film producer, writer, teacher, and entrepreneur.
He was vice president of Comcorps, Inc., a film production company, from 1969 to 1978, and president of the Briar Mountain Coal and Coke Company, in Charleston, WV, from 1979 to 1989. In 1989 he was appointed by then-Governor Gaston Caperton as Commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Culture and History and served in that position until 1997.
Since that time, he has continued to work as a writer, producer, and consultant, and also been engaged in real estate sales and development. He has also taught history at West Virginia State College and Shepherd University. He has won several awards for his filmmaking and has authored three books on Appalachian history.
Drennen has been active in many nonprofit organizations. He was a founder of the West Virginia Association of Museums, the West Virginia Youth Soccer Association, and the West Virginia International Film Festival, and served as president of the latter two organizations. He has also served as president of the West Virginia Filmmakers Guild. Locally, he has been president of the Jefferson County Historical Society and served on the board of the Contemporary American Theater Festival.
He holds a B.A. in Architecture from Yale University and a M.A. in Humanities from West Virginia Graduate College. He served in the U.S. Navy in Vietnam and was decorated with a Bronze Star.