One of Kentuckiana’s most respected business leaders, and an Adair County native, Mr. Parnell was a member of the first class to graduate from Adair County High School. He then moved to Louisville, KY where he spent more than 20 years working at General Electric Co.’s Appliance Park, which included graduating from GE’s legendary 3-year management training program. Allan attended a variety of colleges at night & also received an honorary Doctorate from Lindsey Wilson College.
After leaving GE, Mr. Parnell embarked on a successful business career in the trucking industry. After spending almost 5 years working for other people, Mr. Parnell founded Mister “P” Express in 1987. What started with 3 leased trucks has evolved into a multimillion-dollar business with hundreds of trucks. For 6 of the last 8 years, Business First of Louisville has named Mister “P” Express as one of the Greater Louisville’s fastest-growing, privately held companies. Mr. Parnell serves as the company’s Chairman of the Bd. & has used his entrepreneurial skills to grow the company.
He is described by friends & business associates as a person of faith, who lives by his Christian beliefs by practicing the “Golden Rule.” Mr. Parnell is extremely active with a number of non-profit organizations in KY. As a Rotarian, Mr. Parnell has 22 years of perfect weekly attendance & was voted Rotarian of the Year in 2009. He also sits on a number of other boards in the Louisville area. For the past decade, Mr. Parnell has been a member of the Lindsey Wilson Board of trustees & now is Chairman of the Board. For the past 40 years, Allan has played the piano & lead singing at several nursing homes. As a licensed auctioneer, Allan is involved in several fundraising events in Louisville each year.
He donates his time & skills to the U of L department for Autism, the DePaul School, Kleinert & Kutz, U of K, Rotary International & the Louisville Art Center & several others who are benefactors of his giving. Mr. Parnell is a huge basketball fan, loves all animals & recently built a shuffleboard court in his backyard for his community to use.
Learn how Dr. Allan Parnell rose from a rural one-room schoolhouse to create a trucking empire.