Here are the past winners of The News & Observer’s Tar Heel of the Year
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Tar Heel of the Year 2022
Ricky Moore grew up fishing in New Bern and Havelock and brought his love for North Carolina seafood to his restaurant and the people of the Triangle. Meet Moore, the owner of Saltbox Seafood Joint and The News & Observer’s 2022 Tar Heel of the Year.
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These are the people who have been awarded the honor of The News & Observer’s Tar Heel of the Year, which recognizes North Carolinians for their contributions to the Triangle, the state and beyond.
1997: Hugh McColl, Bank of America
1998: John Hope Franklin, Duke University historian
1999: Franklin Graham, CEO, Samaritan’s Purse
2000: Larry Wheeler, Director, N.C. Museum of Art
2001: Molly Broad, UNC system president
2002: Kay Yow, NC State women’s basketball coach
2003: Jim Goodmon, Capitol Broadcasting
2004: Howard Manning Jr., State Superior Court Judge
2005: Martin Eakes, CEO, Self-Help Credit Union
2006: Ann and Jim Goodnight, SAS founder, community leaders
2007: Christine Mumma, N.C. Center on Actual Innocence
2008: Joe DeSimone, Chemist at UNC
2009: Phil Freelon, Architect
2010: Ray Buchanan, Stop Hunger Now
2011: Betsy Bennett, Director, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences
2012: Robert Lefkowitz and Myron Cohen, Researchers at Duke and UNC
2013: Mary-Dell Chilton, Agricultural scientist at Syngenta Biotechnology
2014: Steve Schuster, Architect
2015: Aziz Sancar and Paul Modrich, Cancer researchers at UNC and Duke and Nobel Prize winners
2016: John Kane, Developer
2017: Ashley Christensen and Vivian Howard, Chefs and restaurateurs
2018: The Rev. William Barber II, Pastor and activist
2019: Gregg Warren, Affordable housing developer
2020: Dr. Mandy Cohen, Secretary of N.C. Department of Health and Human Services
2021: Dr. Ralph Baric, UNC researcher and professor
2022: Ricky Moore, chef and restaurateur
2023: Myrick Howard, former president of Preservation North Carolina
This story was originally published December 21, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
