Penny McElhaney is from a small town in southern Kentucky. Today, with a population of just over 1,700, the town of Burkesville has but a single stoplight, at the intersection of the main routes of access, Highways 90 and 61. Just a few hundred feet south from there sits an old-fashioned town square with the courthouse in the center.
The hamlet is largely unblemished by modern growth or economic development. Most of her family still lives there where hard work fills the week and family fills the weekend. Sunday mornings are for the Lord at Red Bank church and Sunday afternoons are for good food at her grandmother's house.
From those humble beginnings, Penny dreamed big of making a difference in people’s lives. She served her country in the United States Army Reserve where she earned a CDL and drove tractor trailers. She became involved in politics, working on several high-profile campaigns. Her adventures landed her in Washington D.C. where she worked as a lobbyist for a large, global insurance company, advised two U.S. Presidents, dined with Senators and Congressmen, and brokered deals with foreign governments. At 25 years old, she was one of the youngest executives in the company’s history.
Her career path changed when she was asked to lobby for the passage of a bill to remove repetitive motion injuries, like carpal tunnel, as recognized, compensable injuries under workers' compensation law. Penny's father had worked for General Motors for years and both of her parents currently worked at Toyota Manufacturing. She had seen her mom suffer a repetitive motion injury and wear an arm brace for carpal tunnel syndrome. She had firsthand knowledge that carpal tunnel was real and that its effects could be devastating. Overwhelmed by the amount of money insurance companies must buy influence and shape public debate to beat good people down, she decided to switch career tracks and go to law school to help people fight back.
The stars aligned when Rocky McElhaney and Penny met. In what can only be described as destiny well over a decade ago, these two hardworking, people-loving hometown lawyers from humble beginnings joined forces and have been changing lives and righting wrongs for injury victims across Tennessee and Southeast ever since.
In the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Rocky McElhaney Law Firm, Penny’s uncompromising ethics, generous spirit, and powerful perspective, have been influential in developing RML’s sought after employee culture and leading the firm forward to continuously win the title of Best Places to Work. She has been the driving force behind many of the successful community service initiatives at the firm, like: RML’s annual drive for Gallatin Cares Food Pantry, its sponsorship of educational camps and local sports teams, and support of local patrolmen and patrolwomen through special events and luncheons. Penny also serves as President of Sumner County CASA, she is a board member of the Hendersonville Area Chamber of commerce, and was recently recognized as one of Sumner County’s Women Impacting the Community.
At home, Penny is a wonderful and active mama to three adventurous boys – Luke, Jake, and Tate. On the farm she has helped the boys raise tadpoles from the pond, kill snakes with baseball bats, chase groundhogs with an ATV, and shoot BB guns. Penny is also responsible for the development of a curious, little, curly-haired girl named Isla Quinn - the self-appointed boss of the brood – whom Penny and Rocky are teaching to be strong, bold, and fearless, like her mother.
In her spare time, Penny still enjoys adventure. She loves traveling with her family. She SCUBA dives, snow skis, zip lines, hikes, and does Cross Fit whenever she can. She fulfilled her dream of jumping out of a perfectly good airplane and convinced Rocky to take the leap first. Penny always loved horses and recently brought Titan (named by the boys) to the farm, a retired thoroughbred that is 17 ½ hands. She is thrilled to be caring for the horse and learning to ride. She is working on becoming an excellent cook. However, she never has and never will be any good at ironing clothes.
