He is married to the former El Tate of Arab and they live on the family farm in St. Clair Springs. Dr. McClendon did his undergraduate work at Birmingham Southern College and has his doctorate from the University of Houston. He served in the Navy Medical Service Corps in Viet Nam and afterwards taught clinical optometry at UAB. He was in private practice in Leeds and Moody for many years.

Senator McClendon is a past president of the Alabama Optometric Association and a former board member of St. Anne"s Home, and the Jefferson County Health Planning Commission. He was a founding director of the Davis Lake Fire Department and serves on several committees at First United Methodist Church of Springville.