FROM THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF STATE HIGH SCHOOL ASSOCIATIONS

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (May 16, 2007) – North Carolina’s Jerry McGee, CAA, one of the nation’s top athletic directors who founded the National Executive Directors Council (NEDC), has been chosen as the 2007 recipient of the National Federation of State High School Associations

(NFHS) Award of Merit.

McGee, currently executive director of the North Carolina Athletic Directors Association, will receive the Award of Merit July 3 during the luncheon at the 88th annual NFHS Summer Meeting in Palm Desert, California.

The Award of Merit, which has now been presented to 37 individuals, is the highest honor an individual can receive from the NFHS, aside from the National High School Hall of Fame. The award recognizes significant contributions to the NFHS and interscholastic activity programs at the national level. In addition, criteria include

contributions to the high school community at the state and national levels, as well as an individual’s character and integrity.

McGee’s service and accolades in athletic administration are extensive. However, his greatest contribution to the profession may be the creation and leadership of the NEDC. McGee’s vision of a leadership

organization for state athletic directors associations has led to many states creating an executive director position. Taking his idea from concept to reality, McGee hosted the first-ever NEDC Summer Summit in 2002 and has helped organize, plan and direct the summits each year.

At the national level, McGee has been very involved in the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA). He spent a number of years as the North Carolina liaison to the NIAAA and served on the NIAAA Certification Committee from 1994 to 2001. He has

been a presenter at several National Conferences of High School Directors of Athletics and has been published in IAA Magazine. McGee also served a term on the NFHS/NIAAA Athletic Directors Advisory Committee from 2000 to 2004.

Among his national honors, McGee was awarded the NFHS Citation in 1997, the NIAAA Distinguished Service Award in 1998 and the NIAAA Thomas E. Frederick Award of Excellence in 2003. He was also honored with a Distinguished American Award by the North Carolina Triangle Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame in 2006.

McGee has been a member of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) Board of Directors since 1991 and currently serves on the NCHSAA Hall of Fame Selection Committee. He has also served terms on the NCHSAA Realignment and Presidents Advisory Committees. McGee currently serves as executive director of the North Carolina Athletic Directors Association, a position he has held since 1991.

In 1995, McGee was named athletic director of the year by both the NCHSAA and the North Carolina Alliance for Athletics, Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (NCAAHPERD). In 1996, he earned the NCAAHPERD President’s Award and in 1999, was inducted into the NCHSAA Hall of Fame.

McGee’s involvement and leadership throughout North Carolina and the nation has earned him the recognition of a leader in the profession, to whom so many look to for guidance and encouragement of what an athletic administrator ought to be.

About the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)

The NFHS, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the national leadership organization for high school sports and fine arts activities. Since 1920, the NFHS has led the development of education-based interscholastic sports and fine arts activities that help students succeed in their lives. The NFHS sets direction for the future by

building awareness and support, improving the participation experience, establishing consistent standards and rules for competition, and helping those who oversee high school sports and activities. The NFHS writes playing rules for 17 sports for boys and girls at the high school level. Through its 50 member state associations and the District of Columbia, the NFHS reaches more than 18,500 high schools and 11 million

participants in high school activity programs, including more than 7 million in high school sports. As the recognized national authority on interscholastic activity programs, the NFHS conducts national meetings;

sanctions interstate events; produces publications for high school coaches, officials and athletic directors; sponsors professional organizations for high school coaches, officials, spirit coaches, speech and debate coaches and music adjudicators; and serves as a national

information resource of interscholastic athletics.