Hall of Fame Interview on WPNR 90.7 FM
Penny Armstrong Acree personified the term student-athlete over the course of her three stand-out seasons as a member of the Utica College women’s swim and dive team. From 1980-1983 she took the Utica College swimming scene by storm, posting 13 school-records to go along with State Finalist recognition each year under the guidance of coach Ron Kielar.
As of 1995-96, 12 years after graduating from UC, she still held the individual school records in the 50 yard freestyle (0:26.06), 100 yard freestyle (0:57.01), 200 yard freestyle (2:03.90), 500 yard freestyle (5:40.51), 100 yard butterfly (1:03.31), 200 yard butterfly (2:26.66) and 200 yard individual medley (2:22.28). She was also apart of relay teams that held four of the five possible team relay records, including the 200 yard freestyle (1:51.51), 400 yard freestyle (4:07.45), 200 yard medley (1:58.84) and 400 yard medley (4:22.50). As of 2008, her 200 yard medley relay team held the longest standing pool record in school-history.
Her swimming accomplishments at UC will certainly be engrained in the lore of the program forever, but it was her work in the classroom that really made Penny an incredible student-athlete. She graduated from UC in 1983 with a degree in Business Administration and a concentration in Computer Science, while compiling an impressive grade point average of 3.78.
Just one month after graduation in 1983, Acree accepted a position at General Electric, and has been a faithful member of the GE team ever since. She is currently the Lead Service Project Manager where she is responsible for data conversion and data quality for a global roll out of SAP software for the Power & Water division. Her current implementations cover 11 sites in eight different countries. She has also taken on duties as a programmer, analyst and information systems management program trainer.
Her community services efforts are endless, as she is actively involved in the Hoosick Armory Youth Center and Community Coalition and the Hoosick Falls Food Co-Op. She has also coached swimming, bocce and snowshoeing for the Special Olympics in Southeastern Wisconsin.
She is the proud mother of two, Brett and Lauren, who have both played Division I soccer. Brett played one year at Western Illinois before transferring to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he served as team captain in his senior season.
Lauren played four years of varsity soccer at Marquette University and guided the Golden Eagles to three Big East American division championships and an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance as a captain in her senior season.
Penny currently resides in Hoosick Falls, NY.
