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Contact: Russell Thomas (202) 857-4517 or Bruce Buchanan (336) 728-7027

Gov. Jim Hunt, a Womble Carlyle attorney and former four-term governor of North Carolina, has been inducted into the North Carolina Business Hall of Fame. Gov. Hunt is the state's first Governor to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

During his tenure as governor, Gov. Hunt focused on promoting industry through business-friendly policies and a dedication to improving public education. North Carolina has regularly led the nation in new job creation per capita and in foreign investment. Gov. Hunt also focused on job creation through new technology by establishing the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, the Microelectronics Center of North Carolina, and the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.

"In a lot of places, business and government leaders fight. In North Carolina, we work together," Gov. Hunt said. "Businesses create jobs. We have to have a business climate that allows businesses to operate and be successful."

The North Carolina Business Hall of Fame was created in 1988 by Junior Achievement of the Central Carolinas. A committee from the North Carolina Chamber recommends each year's class of honorees.

The ceremony took place Thursday, Nov. 15, in Charlotte. Also inducted this year are Charlie and Ed Shelton, founders of Shelco, Inc. and Shelton Vineyards, Inc.

To view Gov. Hunt's WRAL-TV interview, please click on photo below.

About Womble Carlyle - Innovators at Law

A full-service business law firm, Womble Carlyle ranks among AmLaw's 100 leading firms in the country and is a top law firm for companies doing business in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic states. The firm is a recipient of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund Corporate Leadership Award, making Womble Carlyle the first law firm ever to receive the highest honor given to a business organization in recognition of its support of the Fund and its 45 member educational institutions.

Founded in 1876, Womble Carlyle operates in six states and the District of Columbia with nearly 550 attorneys in eleven offices located in Atlanta, GA; Greenville, SC; Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh, Research Triangle Park, and Winston-Salem, NC; Washington, DC; Tysons Corner, VA; Wilmington, DE; and Baltimore, MD. Womble Carlyle is located in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic regions, and serves clients nationally and globally.