Piedmont Natural Gas, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, today will receive the Charles T. Hagan III Chairman's Award from Leadership North Carolina for its longtime support of the organization.

Victor Gaglio, Piedmont's chief utility officer, will accept the award during the organization's graduation and awards ceremony at the North Carolina State Capitol in the Old House Chamber. The ceremony will run from 4 to 5:30 p.m.

The award honors a person or organization that has provided significant support to Leadership North Carolina's mission to inform, develop and engage committed leaders in the state by broadening their understanding of and involvement in issues and opportunities facing North Carolina.

The award was established in 2004 in honor of Chip Hagan, a member of Leadership North Carolina's founding committee. Since then, just six organizations have been chosen as recipients, including Duke Energy, Appalachian State University, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, The Crumley Group and Capitol Broadcasting.

In addition to financially supporting Leadership North Carolina, Piedmont Natural Gas has sponsored employee participation in the program and provided subject matter experts for panel discussions and events.

"Leadership North Carolina's continued work to improve the lives of North Carolinians aligns with Piedmont's commitment to building strong communities as well as our focus on leadership development," Gaglio said. "We are very proud to receive this award and honored to support Leadership North Carolina's mission."

Piedmont Natural Gas

Piedmont Natural Gas, a North Carolina corporation, is an energy services company whose principal business is the distribution of natural gas to more than a million residential, commercial, industrial and power generation customers in portions of North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Piedmont provides a foundation for establishing a broader strategic natural gas infrastructure platform within Duke Energy to supplement and complement the previous natural gas pipeline investments and the natural gas business located in the Midwest.

Duke Energy is a Fortune 125 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com.