Mar 10, 2008
McGee Gets NF Hall of Fame Honor

Jerry McGee, a driving force among high school athletic directors in North Carolina, will be inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame in Washington, D.C., in July.
McGee, 69, will be the fifth person from North Carolina to enter the national hall.
"It is about the most humbling thing you can imagine," he said. "You work as hard as you can and do as much good as you can, and you never think about an award.
"And then you get one, and you think, 'Why me?' I am very grateful, but very humble."
McGee is the executive director of the N.C. Athletic Directors Association. He has been active on the national level with the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association and currently serves on its advisory council.
"Jerry McGee has helped change the culture of the high school athletic director in North Carolina," said Charlie Adams, the executive director of the N.C. High School Athletic Association and another national high school hall of fame member.
"He has brought a new level of professionalism and has worked tirelessly for the boys and girls of this state."
McGee said his life branched in 1981 when he had to pick between remaining as football coach at Elizabeth City Northeastern or becoming the county athletic director.
"I didn't have any mountains left to climb in football coaching," he said. "I had teams win state championships, and as a college assistant I had coached against some of the best teams in the country.
"I thought I could do the most good as an athletic director. I could have more of an impact."
McGee and his twin brother, Mike, were born in Washington, D.C., but grew up in Elizabeth City. They played at Duke, and Jerry entered high school coaching in 1962 at Edenton Holmes, where he won two state titles.
He coached college football for nine years, including stops at East Carolina and Duke, before returning to Elizabeth City as Northeastern's coach.
Last summer McGee received the National Federation of High School Athletic Associations' Award of Merit, its highest honor other than the hall of fame.
In 2006, McGee received a Distinguished American Award from the North Carolina Triangle Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.
He already is a member of the NCHSAA Hall of Fame.
"I was taught that you have a brain and a heart for a reason," McGee said. "You follow your heart to help other people and to make the world a better place. You use your brain to dream of better things and to find a way to make them a reality."
tim.stevens@newsobserver.com or (919) 829-8910
Goto: http://www.nfhs.org/web/2008/03/2008_hall_of_fame_class_announce.aspx