GRAND MARSHALL

Keith Denny

By Pete Wilson
Telegram Editor

A man who has quietly -- but powerfully -- given back to his Jackson County community for many years in
several different ways has been chosen to serve as the Grand Marshal of the Jackson Apple Festival.
Last April, the Apple Festival Committee bestowed that great community honor on longtime Jackson County
resident Keith Denny in recognition of his impressive record of community service and the high personal standing
and respect he has earned as a leader and a citizen.
Quiet and unassuming by nature, Denny’s good deeds and initiatives have spoken louder than words.
-- As one of the foremost leaders of the Jackson Elks Lodge #466 since 2013, Denny has been a major player in
the Lodge providing literally thousands of dollars in grants, donations and scholarships to support many worthy
causes in both Jackson and Vinton counties. Denny brought additional prestige to himself and the Jackson Elks
Lodge when he served as State President of the Ohio Elks Association in 2025.
-- As the longtime Plant Manager of OSCO Industries in Jackson, Denny has not only helped to provide
employment to local residents but also has had the plant support Pig Iron Day in Jackson by donating iron plaques
and keepsake iron bars.
-- As an individual, Denny founded and served as the owner of the Jackson County Patriots, a semipro football
team which provided an additional live sports option from 2014 through 2016 for local participants and football
fans.
“He has been a big supporter of the community,” Jackson Apple Festival President Chris O’Boyle said of Denny.
“There have been so many good things he has done through the Elks.”
While the Apple Festival is proud to put Denny in the spotlight as its 2026 Grand Marshal, Denny feels
extremely honored to be selected.
“I've been fortunate in my life and I've achieved a lot of goals, being President of the Elks, and being a Plant
Manager of a pretty good-sized company,” Denny reflected. “But being selected by your local people to be the
Grand Marshal of the Apple Festival, which is something that I've been to my whole life, is very special. There's no
way for me to describe it, but it certainly is the number one thing that's ever happened in my life. I would never
dream to be selected for this thing.”
Denny has been a member of the Jackson Elks Lodge for 25 years but did not get involved in leadership duties
until 2012 when he began to assume officer positions. He served four terms as Exalted Ruler, the Lodge’s top
position from 2013 through 2017. He currently serves at the Chairman of both the Jackson Lodge Trustees and the
Jackson Elks Lodge Past Exalted Rulers Association and also as President of the Jackson Elks Past Exalted Rulers,
Inc.
“The Elks are celebrating our 127th year in Jackson; they have been a contributor to the community all those
years, but we've become stronger and stronger in the last 10 or 12 years as we now can contribute more to the
community,” Denny noted.
Denny mentioned annual grants totaling $8,500 from the Elks National Foundation and money the Jackson
Lodge receives from the Ohio Elks Association which is then given each year to the Jackson County Board of
Developmental Disabilities and the Vinton County Board of Developmental Disabilities.
Three years ago, Denny established a new 501c3 organization, the Jackson Elks Past Exalted Rulers (PER)
Association, which made it possible to increase the Lodge’s charitable contributions in the area.
“In Ohio, if you bring in money through electronic or paper bingo, you have to donate 25 percent of the profits to
a 501c3 in Ohio, and we were sending that money to Columbus for other things,” Denny explained. “So, I formed
this PER Association with our own 501c3, and we keep that money locally. So, we're able to donate between
$70,000 to $75,000 a year locally now to that organization that I formed. We contribute to our youth of the
community, we contribute to the veterans, and we also contribute to our communities. All of our programs are
tailored toward those people that I really enjoy helping.”
Denny’s dedication and commitment to the Elks has been truly phenomenal at all four levels -- local, district,
state and national. Starting in 2018, he began his leadership ascension at the state level, climaxing with his one-year
term as State President. He is only the second person from Southern Ohio to hold that highest office.

“It was quite an experience,” Denny recounted. “There was a lot of years to progress, but once I became the
State President, I had a goal of going back and visiting every lodge in the State of Ohio. And Lynn and I did that last
year. There were 74 lodges strung out all over Ohio. We were able to visit every one of them. We traveled every
weekend except between Christmas and New Year's last year. We drove around 40,000 miles last year to visit all
these lodges to help them with their charitable programs and so forth.”
As for his professional side, Denny, just as he did with the Elks, worked his way up at OSCO Industries over a
48-year period from a laborer’s job to the top job of Plant Manager, a position he has held for 35 years. As for now,
he has no plans to retire from OSCO or step away from what he does through the Elks Lodge to help the community.
Denny and his wife, Lynn, have two adult daughters, five granddaughters, two great-granddaughters and a great-
grandson on the way.
During Jackson Apple Festival Week, Tuesday, Sept. 22 through Saturday, Sept. 26, Denny will be honored for
all he has done to make Jackson and Jackson County a better place to live. As the record clearly shows, he certainly
deserves it.
Photo in Mugs as Keith Denny APPLE
Longtime Jackson County resident Keith Denny (pictured) will serve as the Grand Marshal of the 2026 Jackson
Apple Festival, which is scheduled for Sept. 22-26 on the downtown streets of Jackson. Denny was selected for his
outstanding contributions to the community through his leadership with the Jackson Elks Lodge and as the Plant
Manager of OSCO Industries in Jackson. (Telegram Photo by Pete Wilson)
Photo in Community Photos
Elks 125 – Keith Denny
Keith Denny has played a leadership role with the Jackson Elks Lodge since 2012. He is shown speaking during the
Lodge’s 125 th -year anniversary celebration in 2023. (Telegram File Photo by Pete Wilson)