Press release from WNC Communities:
In recognition of 71 years of service, the WNC Honors Awards is renamed the George H.V. Cecil Honors. Mr. George Cecil, who recently passed, was instrumental in the creation and guidance of the WNC Honors Awards program. The WNC Honors Awards is built on a 71-year tradition of recognizing rural community development clubs for their innovative ideas and grassroots solutions. These centers and clubs are the backbone running through our beloved mountains. The culmination of this year’s program occurred at a virtual event held on Thursday, December 3rd with community leaders from 14 Western North Carolina Counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The program was live streamed and is archived for viewing on our WNC Communities Video YouTube channel accessible at: https://wnccommunities.org.
The 70 communities participating in this year’s program made a $3 million investment of volunteer time, talent, and effort in our Western North Carolina Communities with more than 4,500 volunteers investing more than 112,180 hours of their time in outreach programs dedicated to conservation, education, beautification, health, wellness, and economic development. During this challenging year, many of the clubs focused their efforts on much needed food distribution. At least 22 of the clubs, along with the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, participated in the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box program, our WNC Communities partnership with Baptists on Mission, getting food to those most in need in their communities. More than 50,000 boxes of food were delivered over the past 8 months. Additionally, 42 clubs including 8 of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians participated in our WNC Communities Get Counted census program in partnership with Dogwood Health Trust. The clubs ensured that an additional 2907 persons were counted; thus, helping our region surpass its 2010 response rate.
The Golden Valley Community Club in Rutherford County received the Calico Cat Jr. award and the Glenville Community Development Club in Jackson County received the Calico Cat Sr. award for their significant efforts toward the improvement and upkeep of their existing community centers over the past year. The competition for these awards is always strong. Additionally, Walnut Community Center Foundation and Spring Creek Community Center, both of Madison County, received the President’s Award for 25 years of participating in the WNC Honors Awards.
Generous sponsorships from Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, Harrah’s Valley River Casino & Hotel, Biltmore Farms, Inc., Duke Energy, The McClure Fund, First Citizens Bank, Buncombe County Farm Bureau, Carolina Farm Credit and Wells Fargo brought in $35,000 to award to the 70 community centers and clubs participating in the 2020 WNC Honors Awards.
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