The Altoona Area High School Alumni Association has announced the winners of its Distinguished Alumni Awards that will be presented on the weekend of October 1-2.

The awards were established in 2000 to honor graduates who have achieved greatness in their chosen fields and through public service. The six persons chosen this year include:

*Rear Admiral George Aitcheson (retired) is a 1948 Altoona High School graduate who resides in San Diego, CA.  During a distinguished 30-year career in the United States Navy, Aitcheson accumulated more than 6,000 hours of flight time and flew 153 combat missions as a fighter pilot over Vietnam.

It is extremely rare for a Naval Air Cadet, like Aitcheson, to rise through the ranks to become the commanding officer of a ship, and eventually, the commanding officer of a battle group. Following his retirement, he worked as a consultant to aerospace companies in southern California.     

He earned a BA in economics from the University of Pittsburgh and an MA in international relations from George Washington University. He also graduated from the Naval War College and the Army War College.

*Maureen McEvoy Black, Ph.D, of Severna Park, MD, graduated from Altoona High School in 1963. Dr. Black is a professor in the Division of Growth and Nutrition in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Maryland’s School of Medicine in Baltimore.

As a child psychologist, Dr. Black has earned a national and international reputation for the way she has used her intellect, academic prowess, energy and passion to achieve substantial advances benefiting children in high-risk situations.
She earned a BA in mathematics and computer science from Penn State; a Master of Arts in occupational therapy and psychology from the University of Southern California; and a Ph. D. in developmental psychology from Emory University.
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*Brian E. Kamoie is a 1989 Altoona Area High School graduate who currently resides on Annapolis, MD. He is the Senior Director for Preparedness Policy on the White House National Security Staff. In this role, he leads the development of national policy related to all-hazards preparedness, individual and community resilience, domestic critical infrastructure protection and resilience, preparedness grants and national security professional development.

Kamoie received his bachelor’s degree in policy studies and political science from Dickinson College; and his law degree and master’s degree in public health from George Washington University where he served as managing editor of The George Washington Law Review.

*Robert G. Sharrar, MD, a resident of Philadelphia, PA, and a 1958 graduate of Altoona High School, is the executive director of safety, epidemiology and risk management for United BioSource Corporation.

Dr. Sharrar has a long and distinguished career in public health and in pharmacovigilance. He spent 17 years as the epidemiologist for the Philadelphia Department of Health. He also had 17 years with the pharmaceutical industry monitoring the safety profile of products as an employee of Merck.

After earning a BA in chemistry at Franklin & Marshall College, Sharrar attended the University of Pennsylvania where he completed the requirements to become a medical doctor. Later, he earned a Master of Science in epidemiology from the same institution.

*William G. Sharrar, MD, also a 1958 graduate and the twin brother of Robert Sharrar, is the chief of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Camden, NJ.

This former Peace Corps physician, who served in Somalia, was also chief resident at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
In addition to caring for children, Dr. Sharrar has taught countless classes of medical students and addressed physicians throughout the United States regarding topics he is passionate about – family centered-care, behavioral pediatrics and child abuse.

Sharrar earned a BA in biology from Franklin & Marshall College and a MD from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School.

*Joseph M. Sheetz, a 1963 graduate who passed away in 2006, is the deceased alumnus who will be recognized this year.
After earning a BS in business administration from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Sheetz joined his brothers, Bob and Steve, in establishing Sheetz convenience stores. His responsibility included locating and developing more than 200 stores throughout Pennsylvania and surrounding states and providing strategic direction for the company.
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Sheetz also found time to be actively-involved in the community. For more than 15 years he was a little league baseball manager in the Altoona Area Baseball Association and helped the league develop its current facilities on Pleasant Valley Boulevard near Ninth and Tenth streets.

On Friday, October 1, the honorees will spend the day at Altoona Area High School. In addition to touring the school, they will visit classrooms and talk with students. They will also visit the Alumni Association Museum located in the Altoona Area Public Library as well as the new Altoona Area Junior High School.

An awards dinner will be held at the Soho Room in The Casino at Lakemont on Saturday evening, October 2. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased in the Alumni Office of Altoona Area High School, 1415 Sixth Avenue, Altoona, PA 16602.

There have now been 34 recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Awards which are presented every other year.

For more information, contact Tom Bradley, Alumni Association executive director, at 946-8424.