Mary B. Regan, executive director of the North Carolina Arts Council, has won the Distinguished Women of North Carolina Arts Award.

Gov. Jim Hunt presented Regan with a silver medallion at a ceremony in Cary. The award, presented by the N.C. Council of Women, recognizes significant contributions to the visual, literary, cultural or performing arts media, to communications or to an organization that promotes artists, arts programs or historic preservation.

Regan was cited for her 28 years of service to the Arts Council, where she has developed innovative programs and advocated increased state and federal funds to support arts programs.

During Regan’s tenure, local arts councils have been formed in nearly every county, the number of nonprofit arts organizations has grown from fewer than 300 to more than 2,100, fellowships and folk heritage awards have been created to recognize North Carolina’s finest contemporary and traditional artists, and each of the state’s 100 counties has received state funds annually for arts programming through the Grassroots Arts Program.

More recently, Regan has been a leader in the development of cultural tourism, to bring economic development and conservation opportunities to areas of the state with a rich traditional heritage.

Regan has served on the boards of the National Endowment for the Arts and numerous national arts service organizations.

The N.C. Arts Council is a division of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.