WEST VALLEY CITY— It's official. Salt Lake County is now a "Community of Peace."

Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon made the announcement Saturday during a Peace Day celebration at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center. Salt Lake County is the first community in the United States to receive the recognition, which sets the county apart as a leading model of safety, nonviolence and prosperity.

During the event, Corroon designated March 10 as "Community of Peace Day" — the final task Salt Lake County needed to complete in order to receive the Community of Peace recognition.

The Community of Peace process was initiated more than 18 months ago by the Council of Diversity Affairs (CODA) under Corroon's office.

The council had to complete three other tasks to make it possible for Salt Lake County to receive the national recognition:

• A peace garden — a 10-square-foot area filled with pansies — was created in the southwest corner of the County Building.

• A peace forum — a panel that brought together a dozen local religious and community leaders — took place in January.

• A "children's cloth of many colors" — a quilt made by children from all over Utah, representing their various interpretations of peace — was created and displayed during the Peace Day celebration.

Several dozen awards were presented Saturday to community leaders from organizations including the Utah Pride Center, the Girls Scouts of Utah, Salt Lake Community College and Centro de La Familia.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. spoke about what it meant for Salt Lake County to become the first in the nation to receive the Community of Peace designation.

"What this will help others discover is that peace begins at local levels," Huntsman said. "Because if you can't do it from there and come together as one, you can kiss peace goodbye."

Huntsman also recognized Noor Ul-Hasan, chair of the CODA committee, for her service in making the recognition a reality. In an emotional speech, Ul-Hasan thanked Huntsman and said she hoped the national award would help bring diverse groups together in a peaceful way.

"Diversity is a vital form of enriching the world," she said, adding that even though the project is finalized, the effort to spread awareness about minority issues is not over.

Tamara Wharton, CODA volunteer, said celebrating diversity is a key component to bringing peace into a community.

"Acknowledging diversity in a peaceful way not only lets people know that the world is welcome here," Wharton said, "but that the world is here."

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