On Tuesday, May 25, 2010 State Champion Awards were presented as part of the opening session of the Region VII Head Start Association Leadership Conference.  The award recognizes leadership on issues that positively impact young children.  The state of Kansas chose to recognize Laura Cano, Jim McDaniel, and Dr. Robert Morton as their champions.  The three recipients are administrators with the three school districts involved in the Demonstration Learning Communities project funded by the Kansas Early Childhood Block Grant.  Mary Baskett, Executive Director of Kansas Head Start Association, introduced the recipients and presented the awards.