DATE: Tuesday, August 5, 1997               TAG: 9708050124

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

                                            LENGTH:   20 lines

HUNT HONORED BY THE NGA

Gov. Jim Hunt has received the National Governors' Association's 1997 Building Block Award, which honors programs that promote the healthy development of children.

The award was presented at the NGA's summer meeting in Las Vegas for his efforts to help children through his early childhood initiative, Smart Start.

Smart Start, launched by Hunt in 1993, is the nation's first statewide public-private partnership designed to provide quality day care, health care and family services to every North Carolina child who needs it.

Thirty states submitted more than 60 early-childhood initiatives for award consideration. North Carolina was one of eight states to receive the NGA's Building Block Award. The other award-winning states were Colorado, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Vermont and West Virginia.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu