Shelley White, president of Haywood Community College, has been named the North Carolina Community College President of the Year by the North Carolina Community College System State Board and the North Carolina Community Colleges Foundation. 

Three public information officers who serve the people of Haywood County were recently recognized in Asheville by the North Carolina City and County Communicators, a statewide network of dedicated professionals working in public information, communications, marketing and media across local governments and universities. 

Smokies Life received national recognition at the 2025 Public Lands Alliance Partnership Awards for “Letters from the Smokies,” which was named Publication of the Year.

Southwestern Community College is now accepting nominations for the SCC Foundation’s seventh-annual Distinguished Alumni Award. 

Each year the North Carolina Department of Education travels across the state to recognize one district or school per region that stands out for their work and commitment to the Science of Reading.

Junaluska Sanitary District (JSD) has been awarded $9,495,104 from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) for the HCC/Broyhill and Oak Park Waterline Rehabilitation Project. 

Judy and Ed LaFountaine, wife and husband, are the 2024 recipients of the Junaluska Leadership Award, an honor bestowed annually during Associates Celebration Weekend at Lake Junaluska, which was held recently at the new Warren Center. 

A team of Great Smoky Mountains National Park employees was recently awarded the 2023 Excellence in Education Award at a National Park Service awards ceremony in Washington D.C. Many of the agency’s top awards were presented at the 2023 National Service Awards ceremony. 

Less than six months after her death at just over two years old, Charlotte Joy Norris is posthumously receiving an award for her courage in the face of a dire situation she wasn’t even old enough to understand.

Smokies Life, formerly Great Smoky Mountains Association, received national recognition at the 2024 Public Lands Alliance Partnership Awards for its “Junior Ranger Activity Guide,” which won in a category for Outstanding Public Engagement.