McHenry High School District 156 recognizes 3 distinguished graduates

The city of McHenry’s director of parks and recreation, the owner of Jessup Manufacturing and a Sycamore doctor who has served in leadership roles at hospitals and the DeKalb County Health Department were this year and last’s McHenry High School distinguished graduates.

Bill Hobson, Dr. Michael Thornton and Robert A. Jessup were recognized as part of the annual homecoming tradition at McHenry High School earlier this month. Hobson, who was the 2020 Distinguished Graduate, was recognized this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

All three received plaques and were honored during the homecoming football game at McCracken Field in McHenry, according to a news release. They also were honored during a special McHenry High School Alumni Association event.

Distinguished graduates are nominated in the spring, and a committee through the McHenry High School Educational Foundation selects recipients, according to the release. Photos and plaques of all distinguished graduates are displayed at McHenry High School buildings.

“We’re pleased to add these three distinguished graduates to our long list of McHenry High School graduates who have excelled in their careers and service to their communities,” said Carl Vallianatos, assistant superintendent for learning and innovation for McHenry High School District 156.

Hobson, a 1992 graduate of the former West Campus who went on to attend Northern Illinois University, served as McHenry’s assistant city administrator and director of parks and recreation.

Thornton, who graduated from the former West Campus in 1974 and earned his medical degree from the University of Illinois in 1982, has worked as a family practice doctor in Sycamore and served as a medical director for the DeKalb County Hospital and the DeKalb County Health Department, as well as the chief of staff of Kishwaukee Hospital in 1997.

Jessup, a graduate of the former East Campus in 1987 who studied business at Valparaiso University, joined the family business, Jessup Manufacturing, in 1993. He bought the company in 2001 and continued to grow it. The company, which started with one employee in 1956, now has about 115 employees.