NEWS

Local angles: S.C.: Greenville, Florence, Dillon County

Dr. Ron Hyatt, professor of exercise and sport science at UNC, has received the state’s highest award for his leadership, scholarship and service to advance public fitness programs in North Carolina.

State Health Director Dr. Leah Devlin presented Hyatt with the Order of the Long-Leaf Pine award on behalf of Governor Mike Easley during a meeting of the Justus-Warren Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Task Force on May 6 in Raleigh.

The Order of the Long-Leaf Pine is presented to individuals who have a proven record of leadership and service to the state of North Carolina.

Hyatt has been involved with physical education and fitness programs for nearly 50 years. Before joining the UNC faculty in 1966, he was an intramural sports director and coach in public schools and

colleges for 10 years, and he directed health and physical education at the N.C. Advancement School in Winston-Salem for two years.

The Dillon County, S.C., native holds master’s and doctoral degrees from UNC and is a retired colonel in the North Carolina National Guard with 41 years of service.

He collected data for the first North Carolina Fitness Test in 1959 and has been engaged in fitness research since then. He served for seven years on the former Governor’s Task Force on Cardiac Health and Stroke Prevention and 10 years on the Governor’s Council for Fitness, including three years as chair. He was previously named an Outstanding State Volunteer.

Hyatt is a past recipient of the university's C. Knox Massey Award for service and was the faculty marshall for 10 years.

Hyatt wrote the textbook, "The Organization and Administration of Intramural Sports," and is director of UNC’s Program for Public Policy in Sport.

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Contact: Dee Reid, (919) 843-6339