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The co-winners of the 2010 Ronald H. Levine Award for Public Health were Paul M. Stone, president and CEO of the N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association, and Beth Lovette, Wilkes County health director. Pictured (left to right) are Dr. Jeff Engel, State Health Director, Paul M. Stone, Beth Lovette, and former State Health Director Dr. Ron Levine.
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The Legacy Award for Public Health is given in two categories:
1. Legacy Award for Public Health – Statewide Impact
The person honored with the Legacy Award for Public Health – Statewide Impact, will have a distinguished record of achievement in one or more of the following areas:
- Expanding the scope and impact of public health services and programs;
- Significantly improving public health systems, capacity or infrastructure;
- Enhancing public health capacity through policy development or collaboration with the private sector;
- Improving the public’s health through the creation of sustained partnerships; and/or
- Fostering public health improvement through sound science and research.
In order to be considered for the Statewide Impact Award, the selected individual’s contribution in one or more of these areas must have been sustained and significant.
Criteria for Selection
To be eligible for the Legacy Award for Public Health – Statewide Impact,
the selected individual must have been:
- Active in the practice of public health for a period of not less than 10 years; or,
- In a position to directly influence or guide public health systems change with regard to the body of public health work under consideration;
or,
- Successful in making an enduring contribution to North Carolina’s state and local public health system.
Selections are not limited to state and local public health staff.
2. Legacy Award for Public Health – Local Innovation
The person honored with the Legacy Award for Public Health – Local Innovation, will have a distinguished record of achievement in one or more of the following areas:
- Expanding the scope and impact of local public health services and programs;
- Significantly improving local public health systems, capacity or infrastructure;
- Enhancing local public health capacity through policy development or collaboration with the private sector;
- Improving local public’s health through the creation of sustained partnerships; and/or
- Fostering local public health improvement through sound science and research.
In order to be considered for the Local Innovation Award, the selected individual’s contribution in one or more of these areas must have been sustained and significant.
Criteria for Selection
To be eligible for the Legacy Award for Public Health – Local Innovation, the selected individual must have been:
- Active in the practice of local public health for a period of not less than 10 years; or,
- In a position to directly influence or guide local public health systems change with regard to the body of local public health work under consideration;
or,
- Successful in making an enduring contribution to North Carolina’s local public health system.
Selections are limited to local public health staff.
The Legacy Award for Public Health winners are selected solely by the NC State Health Director. At the discretion of the State Health Director, a nominations committee may be established to; design a nomination process, receive nominations, select at least three individuals who best meet the stated criteria for each award category, and make recommendations to the State Health Director. The State Health Director will then make the final decision for each award.
Award Announcement and Past Recipients
Recipients of the Ronald H. Levine Legacy Awards for Public Health are announced during an awards luncheon at the state health director’s conference. Award recipients are honored with a special commemorative gift, and the winner’s name is entered upon a permanent plaque displayed within the Office of the State Health Director. Legacy Award winners are also given lifetime complimentary registration to the annual state health director’s conference.
| PAST RECIPIENTS |
| 2009 |
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| 2008 |
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| 2007 |
- 2007 Ron Levine Award Page
- Carmen Hooker-Odom, former Secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services
- Sen. William R. Purcell
- Rep. Edd Nye
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| 2006 |
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| 2005 |
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| 2004 |
- Dr. J.N. "Newt" MacCormack
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The head of the N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association and the Wilkes County health director have each been awarded the 2010 Public Health Legacy Award in recognition of their outstanding contributions to public health in the state. The two awards were announced by State Health Director Jeff Engel at the 2010 State Health Directors Conference in Raleigh on Jan. 29.
Named for former North Carolina State Health Director Dr. Ron Levine, the annual awards honor individuals whose work and commitment on behalf of the public’s health has resulted in significant, sustainable and positive improvements to health and quality of life in North Carolina.
Paul M. Stone, president and CEO of the N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association, received the Ronald H. Levine Legacy Award for Statewide Impact on Public Health for his efforts to protect restaurant and bar workers and patrons from second-hand smoke, helping North Carolina become the first tobacco-producing state in the nation to pass legislation making restaurants and bars across the state smoke-free. The new law became effective Jan. 2, 2010.
“The smoke-free restaurants and bars law was several years in the making, and there is agreement that it was the support of the business community that made the difference in the end,” said Engel. “Paul Stone’s leadership was to work with his board and bring the board along, and they became a key factor in the debate over this legislation. The result was passage of a strong bill in May 2009 that is good for business as well as good for health.”
Engel also recognized Stone for his contributions in planning the business tools that have assisted the 24,000 businesses in North Carolina that must come into compliance with the new law.
Beth Lovette, Wilkes County health director since 2002, was presented with the Ronald H. Levine Legacy Award for Local Innovation in Public Health. Lovette is known for her tireless leadership in improving health in the community and state and for advocating with policymakers and legislators for public health issues.
Through boards and through partnerships with schools, hospitals, non-profits and other organizations, Lovette has worked to build collaborations, develop and implement action plans for the community’s health, improve children’s health and tackle childhood obesity, improve access to care for the uninsured, and address the high rate of accidental deaths due to prescription drug overdoses, as well as to expand health care services and build a stronger health care system in the community. Under her leadership, the Wilkes County Health Department was accredited by the state in 2006.
More information about the award, including past recipients, can be viewed in the "About the Ronald H. Levine Legacy Award" sidebar.
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