Inducted
05/06/1995
Degrees
Associate in Arts degree, Riverside College Calif, 1949
B.S. Electrical Engineering, West Virginia University, 1956
W. Lee Kelvington, a Wheeling native, first attended WVU following graduation from Riverside College, California, in 1949. The Korean War interrupted his degree work with Mr. Kelvington serving in the USAF from November 1950 through September 1954. Returning to WVU, he received his BSEE in June 1956, and joined American Electric Power's Wheeling Power Co.
At Wheeling he progressed through Relay, Meter, & Station superintendent positions. Special activities included leading the effort to computerize the AEP Systems two million manual meter records, radio-logical defense responsibilities associated with the nuclear war concerns of the period, and the completion of the AEP management programs at the University of Michigan in 1962 & 1975.
In 1976, he was transferred to AEP's Ohio Power Co., where he progressed through management positions including Executive Assistant to the President and ultimately Director of Transmission & Distribution. As Director of T&D he managed the General Office & Division organizations responsible for the planning, engineering, operation, and maintenance of Ohio Power's 26,000 miles of transmission & distribution lines and related facilities.
He has been active with WVU and as a consultant to Wheeling's Oglebay Park. His activities with WVU include organizing and leading the Akron/Canton Alumni Chapter; service with the ECE Industrial Advisory Committee as a member & chairman and the organizing of the ECE Alumni Association.
Mr. Kelvington has been married to his wife Joan for 61 years and they have one son, Rick. He was a team leader in the initial restructuring of American Electric Power into a single operating company [1992-93]. Following retirement at age 65, he was Founder and President of The Wheeling Big Band Society Inc. non-profit [1999-present]. The Society's goals are to preserve and perpetuate the music and heritage of the Swing Era, era of the "Greatest Generation". He also serves as a Wheeling National Area Heritage Corp board member, a National Parks subsidiary that supports the preservation and renovation of Wheeling Area Heritage, He recently completed a book "It's Wheeling Steel" that was published in September 2012.