Member of first baseball team credits Liberty with instilling the Christian principles he carried into the workplace
When Liberty University’s founder, the late Jerry Falwell Sr., first shared his vision for starting a Christian college, he said the goal was to see “thousands of young men and women, deeply in love with the Lord Jesus Christ, who will go out in all walks of life to shake this world for God.”
All walks of life, all fields. Even bugs.
Greg Clendenin came to Liberty from Florida in 1972, one of only a couple hundred students at the year-old college. He was a witness to many of Liberty’s firsts, including playing on the first baseball team in 1973. He left Liberty a year later to become a youth pastor in Tallahassee. (He later completed his undergraduate degree in general studies through the School of Lifelong Learning, now Liberty University Online Programs, and earned an MBA from Rollins College).
After five years in ministry, he entered the field of pest control. In 1982, Clendenin became a partner and the general manager of Middleton Lawn and Pest in Orlando, Fla., and was eventually named CEO. By 2005, the company was one of the most successful pest control companies in Florida and the 14th largest company in the country, in a field of over 20,000. Clendenin was presented multiple awards for his business success and community involvement, including the key to the City of Orlando in 2003.
After selling his companies, he went on to serve in other executive roles, including CEO, in the pest control industry. He currently serves as CEO of The Clendenin Consulting Group. Throughout his career, he held fast to the critical life lessons he learned during his time at Liberty, principles he said helped him lead a business, better his community, and share the Gospel.
“I learned two things at Liberty through Dr. Falwell. First, when you do something, you need to do it right. Quality has to be a mindset and everything you do should be done in a quality manner. Second, if you are going to do something, you should go big. I had a quality mindset and a growth mindset coming out of Liberty, and those two things were huge during my career.”
He fondly recalls a chapel service where Falwell talked about the necessity of “building people” to grow a business.
“You have to build people’s knowledge, and you have to build their skills,” he said. “You also have to create a work environment where you help develop their attitude. When you build knowledge and skill and help develop attitude, you really end up with a great team where everyone is heading in the same direction. (In doing so), we empower people to do their job and make decisions that benefit the customer and their team members.”
Clendenin played catcher on Liberty’s inaugural baseball team. He returned to campus in May, where he joined some former teammates for a 50th anniversary celebration of Liberty Baseball.
Clendenin has lived out this goal of supporting his employees and clientele through various initiatives and partnerships driven by his companies, including encouraging employees to prioritize major family events above work, offering additional paid time off to serve as mentors to underprivileged students, and sponsoring the local philharmonic or symphony to play at children’s events. His companies have also supported multiple local church activities and offered college scholarship funds.
Clendenin has fond memories of his time in Lynchburg and his friend, Dr. Falwell, such as playing basketball pickup games with Falwell at the gym.
“Jerry was a big, tough guy,” Clendenin said. “He could run the court back then too, and he was really tough under the boards. I caught an elbow from him one time in the mouth. I’m kind of proud of that. It’s a badge of honor. I’m probably the only guy on the planet that Jerry Falwell gave a fat lip to and also baptized,” he said with a laugh.
Through the years, Clendenin has remained a faithful supporter of his alma mater. In 2008, he donated $100,000 for lights to be installed at Worthington Stadium, Liberty’s former baseball stadium. He was also a major contributor to the Towns-Alumni Lecture Hall (in the former Elmer Towns Religion Hall). Because of his generous contributions to Liberty, a locker room at Worthington Stadium (the former home of Liberty Baseball) was named in his honor in 2009.
Clendenin faithfully follows Liberty Athletics and attends sporting events when he has the chance. He said his continued support for Liberty stems from his desire to see its mission of Training Champions for Christ continue for generations. He considers his involvement a personal “blessing.”
“Liberty is a light on the hill,” he said. “There just isn’t another place like it. It is respected across the country for a lot of reasons. Having played baseball for the school, it’s really great to see how Liberty is doing in a lot of sports now nationally. That (success) helps share Liberty’s message. Liberty has stayed true to its values and its foundation and is worth supporting. The world needs that kind of university to produce people who impact society.”
