In his 20 years of service to both the North Carolina Governor's School Foundation and the Alumni Association, Jim Hart (GSW 1979) has inspired everyone around him. When Jim realized that the State had failed to retain contact information on the thousands of students who have attended Governor's School, he undertook the daunting task of recording the name and address of all alumni. Jim created the original database used by both GSAA and the Foundation. In 2012, he created the scholarship process and chaired the Scholarship Committee for three years. In 2013, Jim designed and implemented a survey of 750 alumni, that proved instrumental in convincing the legislature to restore funding for the Governor's School.

Jim's leadership is manifest in every decision the Foundation makes, and his dedication to Governor's School has remained constant. Jim's leadership on the Board of Directors of the GSF continued through a full two terms of service.

For those and many other reasons, the NC Governor’s School Foundation is proud to honor Jim as the Jim Hart Governor’s School Champion Award winner for 2014.