Raleigh, N.C. — Former Gov. Jim Hunt on Tuesday received the A.E. Finley Distinguished Service Award at the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce's annual meeting.

Hunt is nationally known as a leader in education. He launched Smart Start, a nonprofit, public-private partnership incorporated in all 100 North Carolina counties that provides quality health care and family support for every child that needs it. Also, Rand Corp. reported that North Carolina public schools improved their test scores more than any other state during the 1990s, when Hunt served his second set of back-to-back terms as governor.

Hunt now chairs the boards of two organizations which he founded, the Hunt Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and the Institute for Emerging Issues at North Carolina State University.

The A.E. Finley Distinguished Service Award has been given annually since 1970 to recognize a person who has contributed time, talent and service to the benefit of the community.