Trustee Spotlight
Shawn George
Shawn George ‘73 has served as a Trustee on the Northwood Board for fifteen years. He came to Northwood for his senior year and excelled as a student/athlete. He attended Hamilton College, where he earned 8 varsity letters in hockey and lacrosse, before pursuing a teaching fellowship in Greece at Athens College. He then graduated from Washington & Lee University School of Law and began his career as a trial lawyer representing plaintiffs and defendants in civil litigation and commercial matters at the trial and appellate levels. In 1991, he founded his own practice, which evolved into George and Lorensen PLLC. He and the firm have earned repeated local, state, and national recognition in several legal rating services, including US News and World Report’s Best Law Firms, West Virginia SuperLawyers, Chambers US Best Lawyers, and received Martindale Hubble’s highest rating.
Shawn joined the Board “To give back and try to pay it forward.” He feels Northwood’s greatest asset is “… its focus on the individual and ability to address appropriately the needs of a diverse student population in an intimate, healthy and supportive setting.”
During his time here, I got to know Shawn and his brother, Tim (who also attended NWS), and their parents well. I can fully appreciate Shawn’s response to my question about the biggest impact on the way he thinks and acts: Observing the love, commitment to family, and moral fiber of my parents.
Shawn and his wife Ginny live in Charleston, West Virginia, and are proud parents of three children, two of whom, Carter and Madeline, currently practice law; the third, Shawn, is in commercial real estate. Over the years, Shawn has invested much free time in the community, serving as a Member of the Law Council of Washington & Lee University School of Law, as an Advisory Member of the Center for the Arts and Sciences of West Virginia, as Chair of the Sunrise Museum, and as a Board member of Daymark- a home for troubled youth. He enjoys time with family, traveling, and playing golf with Ginny.
A few years ago, he was an entertaining and thoughtful speaker at a Northwood graduation. Asked for a bit of advice for Northwood students today, he suggested, “Define yourself. Do not let others define you. Identify, seek, and commit to what is of interest to you, and in the process, give more than you take. You will be glad you did."