BEVERLY EAVES PERDUE
GOVERNOR
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
20301 MAIL SERVICE CENTER • RALEIGH, NC 27699-0301
January 14, 2011
Contact: Chris Mackey
Office: (919) 733-5612
Gov. Perdue Announces 2011 Dr. John R. Larkins Award Winner
RALEIGH – Gov. Bev Perdue today announced Antonio Coor as the recipient of the 2011 John R. Larkins Award. Coor was recognized posthumously for his many contributions as a state employee to human and race relations in the workplace and to his community. The award was presented at the Annual State Employees’ Martin Luther King Jr. Day Observance Program.
“Antonio Coor was known for his extraordinary talent and skill in mediating conflicts and easing heightened tensions, his unrelenting advocacy and his humility and respect for others by his colleagues and associates”, Gov. Perdue said. “He embodied the Larkins’ ideals through his commitment to human and race relations in the workplace and community.”
Coor worked at the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services. He served as the South Central Regional Service manager for the Willie M. program and director of the MAJORS (Managing Access for Juvenile Offender Resources and Services) program. He passed on November 8, 2010 due to declining health.
Coor was actively involved in his fraternity. He served as chairman of the Social Action Committee for the Sixth District of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. He led his fraternity’s focus on health, housing, civil rights, education and Boys Camp. He organized and directed the Boys Camp for the Sixth District for over twenty years.
The John R. Larkins Award was created in 1998 as one of North Carolina’s highest honors in public service. Larkins, who joined state government in 1942, helped create and expand the state’s programs for minorities, the poor and the disadvantaged, including establishment of the Good Neighbor Council, now known as the Human Relations Commission.
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