Chamber to Honor ‘Black Man on Wall Street’ Author

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – J. Derek Penn, author of “Diary of a Black Man on Wall Street: From Youngstown, Ohio, to the Big Apple,” will be awarded the Valley Champion Award by the Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber at the chamber’s annual meeting April 7 at Mr. Anthony’s in Boardman.

A Rayen High School graduate, Penn spent 34 years on Wall Street dealing with financial giants like Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers. He now serves as an independent trustee on the corporate board of Charles Schwab Corporate Individual Fund and Exchange Traded Funds.

Penn’s career path included playing college football, world travel and surviving the 9/11 terror attack in New York. He recounts all of this and more in his 2021 book, which is available for purchase on Amazon.

Jon Arnold, CEO and founder of The J. Arnold Wealth Management Co., will receive the Spirit of the Chamber Award at the meeting.

The Spirit of the Valley Award will go to the National Center for Urban Solutions.

Boardman native George Limbert, president of Red Roof Inn, will be the keynote speaker.
Limbert oversees 660 Red Roof locations in the United States. He joined the company as corporate counsel in 2013 and was named to the top post 2021.

A 1999 graduate of Boardman High School, Limbert learned the hotel business from his grandfather, who is believed to have opened the first La Quinta Inn in the 1970s. His father was a federal magistrate.

Tickets for the annual chamber meeting are $40 ($50 for nonmembers). For information or to register, click HERE.

Pictured at top: J. Derek Penn as seen on the front cover of his book.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.