Sycamore Education Foundation Announces 2025 Distinguished Alumni Recipients

The Sycamore Education Foundation has announced the 2025 recipients of its Distinguished Alumni Award. Three alumni will be recognized this year:

• Virginia Sherrod, Class of 1972
• Wright B. George, Class of 1961
• Chad McGehee, Class of 1999

They will be honored with a ceremony at Sycamore High School on Saturday, April 5, 2025 at 11:00 AM. Please RSVP to Rachel Sauber at rachelsauber@sycamoresef.org if you plan to attend.

About This Year's Recipients

Virginia Sherrod is a 1972 graduate of Sycamore High School and was born and raised in Sycamore, where currently resides. She was elected to the Sycamore City Council in 2017 and re-elected for a second term which she is currently serving. She was the first black woman to be elected and serve in this role. She is heavily involved in the DeKalb County community where she serves and is involved in many boards and organizations, including the Dekalb County Democratic Party, Dekalb County Community Gardens, The League of Women Voters, and SIMBAS/IMSA. She served as a teaching assistant for Sycamore CUSD 427 for many years where she was part of the formation of a classroom assistance union. 

Wright B. George is a 1961 graduate of Sycamore High School. He went on to study at the University of Wisconsin in Madison where he enrolled in the ROTC and earned a degree in Economics with a minor in Math. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force, later earning the rank of Captain and serving in Vietnam. He was presented with the Air Medal with an Oak Leaf Cluster and a Vietnam Service Medal with two Bronze Stars. He went on to earn his MBA from Harvard in 1973 and later returned to flying as a pilot for both Eastern and later United Airlines. He was chairman of the Eastern Airline Pilots Pension Trust Committee. He currently splits his time between Ft. Myers, Florida and Vail, Colorado.

Chad McGehee is a 1999 graduate of Sycamore High School. He is currently a performance coach, meditation teacher, scientific collaborator and trusted expert working at the intersection of elite performance and rigorous meditation training. At the University of Wisconsin Athletic Department, Chad became the first ever Director of Meditation Training in major college sports. Chad is an honorary research affiliate of the Center for Healthy Minds at UW-Madison and co-founder of Inner Edge Meditation. Chad’s work has been featured on ESPN, in the Wall Street Journal, NPR, Business Insider and as a co-author in peer-reviewed scientific journals. His training has been integrated into a range of environments including K-12 education, FBI SWAT Teams, the elite Hostage Rescue Team in Quantico, VA, Fortune 500 companies and elite athletics. He is passionate about bringing rigorous and accessible meditation training to life as strength and conditioning for the mind.