promote democracy and human rights, fight poverty and improve relations with developing countries in Central and South America. In 1990, he and his wife Donna founded the Ballenger Foundation to continue their longtime charitable work in Central America. They established several medical clinics in high-poverty locations, sponsored an orphanage, sent school furniture and textbooks and delivered loads of other relief supplies. Their efforts began after the devastating earthquake in Managua, Nicaragua, in 1972 and continued for decades thereafter. Ballenger prioritized constituent service in the U.S. House of Representatives. A Comprehensive Guide to Constituent Service, his benchmark publication, is still updated for each new Congress and used to train new congressional staff members. As a member of the North Carolina Senate and former Minority Leader, he introduced the government in the Sunshine Act of 1976, which was enacted into law. It was the first substantive Open Meetings law enacted in North Carolina. He also authored legislation, known as the Ridge Law, to protect scenic vistas in the North Carolina mountains. He was recognized as the Most Effective Republican Legislator by the North Carolina Institute of Government in 1981. Ballenger previously served as Chairman of the Catawba County, North Carolina, Board of Commissioners and was recognized as North Carolina's County Commissioner of the Year in 1974. Both Catawba Memorial Hospital (now Catawba Valley Medical Center) and Catawba Valley Community College (formerly Catawba Valley Technical Institute) were established during his two terms as a County Commissioner. He was at one time Chairman of the Catawba County Republican Party and also served on the Jim Martin for Governor Steering Committee; the North Carolina Reagan-Bush Campaign (Western Co-Chairman, 1984); and was a co-founder and former Chairman of the North Carolina Legislative Forum. He was active in many community organizations, including the Community Ridge Day Care Center in Hickory (co-founder); Greater Hickory United Fund (Chairman); Western Piedmont Council of Governments (Board Chairman); Greater Hickory Chamber of Commerce (Director); the North Carolina School of the Arts (Sustaining Member); the North Carolina Symphony (Patron) and the North Carolina Arts Society (Patron). He also served on the Board of Development and Board of Directors at Lenoir-Rhyne College; the Board of Directors for the Salvation Army and the Board of Trustees for the Florence Crittenton Home. After graduating from Episcopal High School, he attended the University of North Carolina and later received a liberal arts degree from Amherst College in