NC Community College System honors top educators and business partners at annual awards celebration

The North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS), State Board, and Foundation hosted the 2026 N.C. Community Colleges Dinner and Awards Celebration on April 15, 2026 in Raleigh. 

At the celebration, 10 awards were presented to students, faculty, staff, and workforce partners from across North Carolina. The awards, presented by leading sponsor Duke Energy, highlighted achievements in education, workforce development, and community impact across North Carolina’s 58 community colleges.

The award recipients were chosen because they exemplify the mission of North Carolina’s community colleges to “meet students where they are and provide life-changing opportunities,” according to a press release. From building AI pathways in the classroom to creating global training hubs in rural counties, the winners represent the engine of North Carolina’s economic development and workforce innovation.

“Our goal is simple. We intend to dominate workforce development across the United States,” said Tom Looney, chair of the State Board of Community Colleges. “North Carolina will be the national gold standard for workforce. Our community colleges will lead the nation. And when that happens, remember this moment. It all started with the people in this room tonight.”

Prior to the dinner, attendees had the opportunity to visit exhibits from community colleges and see a snapshot of what’s available at colleges across the system.

For example, Johnston Community College’s Wildlife Initiatives shared a table with Hawk Manor Falconry and provided displays of taxidermied animals and live birds.

Other exhibits included: Haywood Community College’s professional crafts programs had student-made clay, fiber, and wood crafts; Carteret Community College’s aquaculture division brought tanks with algae and live oysters; and Southwestern Community College showcased their electric vehicle next to Wake Technical Community College’s race car.

The following 2026 award recipients were honored:

• Dallas Herring Achievement Award: Cheri Landreth, student, Surry Community College
• I.E. Ready Lifetime Achievement Award: Rick Hendrick, Hendrick Motorsports
• Excellence in Teaching Award: Tonya Stephens, Blue Ridge Community College
• Staff Person of the Year Award: Heather Pack, Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College
• President of the Year Award: Janet Spriggs, Forsyth Technical Community College
• Apprenticeship Champion: Caterpillar Inc. with Central Carolina Community College
• Innovative Leadership Award: Okuma America Corporation with Rowan-Cabarrus Community College
• Business of the Year Award (<500 Employees): Aegis Power Systems, Inc. with Tri-County Community College
• Business of the Year Award (<500 Employees): Pratt & Whitney with Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College
• The Pathways to Employment Leadership Award: Sen. Michael Lee, R-New Hanover, Lisa Estep, and Nancye Gaj

During the event, NCCCS President Jeff Cox, who will be retiring as of June 30, took the opportunity to share a few remarks about what public education means to him.

Here is what he said:

This evening is a reflection of what makes this system worth celebrating. I’ll be honest with you, I’ve been really anxious to get up here and for this part of the program to get started. It’s not just because we’re about to recognize some extraordinary people, though we are, but this is because this is my last time with this rodeo in this position. I’m going to be retiring in July, and if you will give me just a moment, I’d like to tell you why this particular segment means something special to me. 

I grew up in Allegheny County in the mountains of North Carolina. My siblings and I were the first generation in my family to go to college. We got there because our parents supported us, but also because we had some awesome teachers along the way, not because they handed us anything, but because they showed up every day. We saw firsthand what the impact was of a great teacher and what they can have on an individual student, and what our public schools mean to our society. 

I’ve carried that with me my whole career, through the classroom, through the principal’s office, through the superintendent’s office, through my role as president of Wilkes Community College, and now in this role leading our terrific community college system. 

The reason I believe in this work deeply personally is because I’ve seen what a strong public education system, full of great teachers, can do to transform a life. 

So when I say tonight’s awards matter, I want you to know that means something really special for me. It’s really personal to me. These aren’t just recognitions, they’re a reminder of what this entire enterprise is actually built upon. It’s not built on policy. It’s not built on our new funding formula, as wonderful as it is, or our strategic plans, as great as they are. 

It’s built on people, people who walk into a classroom or an advising office or a financial aid window and decide that the person in front of them is worth their very best effort. When you look across our 58 colleges, what stands out isn’t just our scale and magnitude, it’s our commitment, a deep consistent commitment to students, to communities and to this state.

You can view more photos from the awards celebration here.