GARNER - file

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP):

Actress Jennifer Garner has been honoured as the 2007 West Virginian of the Year by her hometown newspaper.

The Sunday Gazette-Mail says it chose Garner for her dedication, hard work and service as an ambassador and role model for West Virginia.

Garner is balancing the raising of her two-year-old daughter Violet, her marriage with fellow actor Ben Affleck and a career that includes a starring role in Cyrano de Bergerac on Broadway, the new film Juno and two more films yet to shoot.

Garner is actually a Texas transplant, but moved to the Mountain State as a four-year-old and considers West Virginia home.