The WNC Honors Awards, a program of WNC Communities, is built on a 75-year tradition of recognizing rural community development clubs for their innovative ideas and grassroots solutions. These centers and clubs are the backbone of community cohesion running through our beloved mountains. The culmination of this year’s WNC Honors Program occurred virtually on February 27th with community leaders and volunteers from 15 Western North Carolina counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. These 73 communities received a total of $106,500 in cash awards.
This year’s annual presentation of awards occurred virtually, due to the in-person event having been postponed last November after Tropical Storm Helene. The storm affected over half of the 20 counties where WNC Honors communities are located, and for the following months, community centers stepped in to provide on-the-ground disaster relief for their neighbors. WNC Communities expressed their continued gratitude for the community volunteers who were ready to work when their community needed them the most. “Our community centers have always been the heart of our rural towns, but after Tropical Storm Helene, they became lifelines. They opened their doors, mobilized volunteers, and made sure no one faced recovery alone. This storm proved what we’ve always known—strong communities make all the difference in times of crisis,” said Jennifer Ferre, Executive Director for WNC Communities.
The WNC Honors Program encourages members to learn from one another, collaborate, and share their best practices to help other communities across the region. This is done through regional trainings, online “coffee hours” where community leaders share successful practices, and at the WNC Honors Awards.
This year, the 73 member community centers represent a total of approximately 101,000 households. These communities engaged over 5,800 volunteers, who invested over 128,600 hours of their time in outreach programs dedicated to helping their neighbors through benevolence projects, education, beautification, health, wellness, and economic development. The value of this volunteer time, combined with fundraising and grants won by the communities participating in this year’s program, added up to an incredible $6.7 million investment of time, talent, money, and effort to improve lives in Western North Carolina.
All participating communities received $1,000 to support their efforts. Additionally, communities were assessed across six different competencies and awarded a level of Trillium, Mountain Laurel, Redbud, or White Oak according to their demonstrated capacity to lead and serve. These competencies include Good Governance, Leadership Excellence, Financial Stewardship, Volunteer Recruitment and Retention, Community Programs and Civic Engagement, and Collaboration.
Some communities advanced to the next level and Best in Class Awards were awarded to the stand-out communities at each level. The fifteen Best in Class communities for Trillium took home an additional $500. Fourteen communities received an extra $1,000 for Best in Class in Mountain Laurel. Two communities were awarded an extra $2,000 for Best in Class at the Redbud level, and one community received an additional $3,000 for Best in Class at the White Oak level.
Mountaineer Ruritan was honored at the Trillium level. Deep Gap Ruritan, Foscoe Ruritan, and Peak Creek Ruritan were recognized at the Mountain Laurel Level, with Peak Creek receiving a Best in Class.
Bethel Rural Community Organization (BRCO) in Haywood County received Best in Class at the White Oak Level. Their club was recognized for expanding their youth offerings and their Historical Preservation Committee work.
WNC Communities also awarded the Calico Cat Awards, President’s Awards, and the Impact Award. The Spring Creek Community Center in Madison County received the Calico Cat Jr. award and the Peachtree Community Development Club of Cherokee County received the Calico Cat Sr. award for their significant efforts toward improvements of their facilities over the past year.
Big Ivy of Buncombe County received the President’s Award for 50 years of participating in the WNC Honors Awards.
Lastly, Wolftown Community Club in Jackson County took home the Impact Award. This award recognizes a community for their outstanding effort to achieve a measurable increase in their community’s well-being. This year, Wolftown was awarded for their organized activism to support 212 families in crises across the wider EBCI community in 2024. This began with a support group called the Community Cafe where individuals could come to Wolftown to express their mental health needs during the pandemic. Once Wolftown members began realizing the extent of the needs, they began weekly meetings. They organized coordinators to collect statistics on residents’ needs, to identify helpful community resources, and to guide families in need to specific mental health, employment, recovery, family support, housing, and transportation resources. Then, during a special meeting with Public Health and Human Services, the Wolftown group and Community Cafe participants were able to voice their concerns regarding social services being provided to EBCI families, using well-researched facts and statistics. Now, one of the Wolftown coordinators sits on the EBCI Family Safety Policy Board as a community liaison. The winner of this prestigious award receives $3000 and a site visit from the Dogwood Health Trust team and WNC Communities to help them identify ways to move forward with their community’s goals.
Generous sponsorships from Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, Harrah’s Valley River Casino & Hotel, Duke Energy, Wells Fargo, Biltmore Farms, Inc., First Citizens Bank, The McClure Fund, Buncombe County Farm Bureau, New Belgium Brewing, AgSouth Farm Credit, Henderson County Farm Bureau, and MB Haynes brought in $74,000 to award to the 73 community centers and clubs participating in the 2024 WNC Honors Awards.
About WNC Communities
WNC Communities empowers the people of Western North Carolina to cultivate the vitality and prosperity of our mountain communities through collaboration and agricultural opportunities. For additional information, please
visit wnccommunities.org.
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