Governor Stein, Department of Natural and Cultural Resources Raise Nearly $200,000 for Hurricane Helene Recovery at 2025 North Carolina Awards

Yesterday Governor Josh Stein joined the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources at the historic Grove Park Inn in Asheville for the 2025 North Carolina Awards. The Governor celebrated the six recipients of the state’s highest civilian honor and recognized eight Helene Heroes. The event raised nearly $200,000 for the North Carolina Community Foundation to continue its Hurricane Helene recovery efforts.  

“I am honored to celebrate our 2025 awardees and bring the awards out west, where there is so much resilience and talent to celebrate,” said Governor Josh Stein. “The recipients, who all have connections to the mountains, represent the best of North Carolina and have contributed to our state in so many important ways – through science, literature, art, and public service.”

“This year’s North Carolina Awards were a celebration of resilience, creativity, and community,” said Department of Natural and Cultural Resources Secretary Pamela B. Cashwell. “Hosting the ceremony in Asheville allowed us to spotlight western North Carolina’s strength and spirit while honoring extraordinary individuals whose work continues to shape our state for the better.”

The 2025 North Carolina Awards mark the first time the ceremony was held outside of Raleigh in the North Carolina Awards’ 61-year history. This year’s event focused on the resilience of western North Carolina, featuring special performances by artists from the region. North Carolina’s 2025 Teachers and Principals of the Year were also honored last night.  

At the event, the following people received awards: 

• Fine Arts: Woody Platt – Woody Platt is a Grammy award-winning bluegrass guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and producer originally from Brevard, N.C. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Platt is a founding member of western North Carolina-based bluegrass and roots band Steep Canyon Rangers. He helped shape modern bluegrass, earning multiple Grammy nominations, receiving International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) awards, gaining induction into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame, and touring alongside actor, comedian, and banjo player Steve Martin for more than a decade. A passionate fly fisherman and environmentalist, Platt worked with Conserving Carolina and a host of partners to restore a section of the East Fork of the French Broad River near his home in western North Carolina.
• Fine Arts: Buddy Melton – As a guiding force and founding member of the bluegrass band Balsam Range, fiddler and singer Buddy Melton has been the voice behind multiple hit songs and has performed on some of the most prestigious stages in the country, including the Grand Ole Opry, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and Merlefest. Balsam Range has received countless awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), including multiple trophies for Entertainer of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year. Melton was named the Male Vocalist of the Year by the IBMA in 2014 and 2018. Buddy has produced multiple history-based musical projects to help preserve and promote the heritage of North Carolina. Originally from Haywood County, N.C., Melton is a graduate of Western Carolina University.
• Literature: Wiley Cash – Wiley Cash is an award-winning and New York Times best-selling author of four novels. He has published widely on issues ranging from the environment to music and is the host of the “Our State Book Club” podcast. He teaches fiction writing at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, where he serves as the executive director of Literary Arts. Cash’s short stories and essays have appeared in The Oxford American, Garden & Gun, Our State Magazine, and other publications, and his fiction has been adapted for the stage and film. He has taught creative writing and literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Bethany College, the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. He holds a doctorate in American Literature from UL-Lafayette, master’s degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a bachelor’s degree in literature from UNC Asheville.
• Public Service: James Ferguson – James Ferguson II, an Asheville native, was a trailblazing civil rights attorney, best known for his involvement in a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 1970 that required school districts to desegregate their schools. Ferguson earned his undergraduate degree at North Carolina Central University and received his Juris Doctor degree from Columbia University in 1967. He co-founded North Carolina's first interracial law firm with Julius Chambers, James Lanning, and Adam Stein, father of North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein. In 1972, Ferguson defended the Wilmington 10, a group of Black men wrongfully charged with arson and conspiracy, and 40 years later, he successfully gained pardons of innocence for them. Throughout his career, Ferguson used his legal skills to desegregate schools, police departments, and countless other public and private agencies. Ferguson passed away in Charlotte on July 21, 2025, at age 82.
• Public Service: Roy Williams – Roy Williams retired in 2021 with the third-most wins by a Division I head coach (903) and the sixth-highest winning percentage (.774) in college basketball history. The Asheville native was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007, where he is one of 14 Tar Heels enshrined. Williams won 418 games in 15 seasons at Kansas from 1988 to 2003 and 485 games in 18 seasons at UNC, his alma mater, from 2003 to 2021. He is the second-winningest coach all-time at Carolina, is third at KU and is the only coach in college basketball history to win 400 games at two schools. Williams is a member of the NABC College Basketball, North Carolina Sports, and Kansas Sports Halls of Fame. In 2024, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper awarded Williams the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the Governor’s highest honor, which is presented to North Carolinians who have made significant contributions to the state and their communities through their exemplary service and exceptional accomplishments. Williams grew up in the Biltmore neighborhood in Asheville. He attended Roberson High, where he played for Coach Buddy Baldwin. He played on Carolina’s freshman team in 1968-69, earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 1972, and earned a master’s degree in teaching in 1973. After five seasons as the head coach at Owen High School in Black Mountain, Williams joined Dean Smith’s staff at UNC, where he served as an assistant coach from 1978 to 1988. Williams led UNC to NCAA championships as a head coach in 2005, 2009, and 2017 and was an assistant coach when the Tar Heels won the title in 1982. He is the only head coach to win three national championships at his alma mater. In addition to his remarkable basketball accomplishments, Coach Williams is known for his commitment to his players, not only when they are in school, but for many years after they graduate. He has also dedicated himself to charity. Williams has been a major supporter of the Carolina Covenant, a scholarship program at UNC-Chapel Hill, and helped to raise funds for cancer research while he was head coach at UNC. Most recently, he partnered with Verizon to help erase millions of dollars of debt facing North Carolinians who were affected by Hurricane Helene.
• Science: Kathie Dello – Dr. Kathie Dello made history as the first woman to be North Carolina’s State Climatologist and the director of the North Carolina State Climate Office (NCSCO). She currently serves as the assistant secretary for resilience at the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.A recognized leader in climate resilience planning and impact assessment, Dello is a skilled science communicator who frequently collaborates with local and national media, NGOs, and climate organizations. Her experience includes adaptation planning in New York and Oregon, as well as service as a technical advisor for North Carolina’s 2020 Risk and Resilience Plan. She was an author on the Southeast chapter of the 5th National Climate Assessment. She holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from Oregon State University, a master’s in geography, and a bachelor’s in Atmospheric Science from the State University of New York at Albany. 

The ceremony also honored eight Helene Heroes. Click here to learn more about these Heroes.

The North Carolina Award was created by the General Assembly in 1961 to recognize significant contributions to the state and nation in the fields of fine arts, literature, public service, and science. Since the award’s inception, more than 300 people have been honored by the state of North Carolina, including James Taylor, Etta Baker, Maya Angelou, and Selma Burke. Awards recipients are chosen by the North Carolina Awards Committee, a selection committee appointed by the Governor.  

Since Hurricane Helene swept through western North Carolina, Governor Josh Stein has been committed to the long-term recovery of the region through investing in western North Carolinians and rebuilding critical infrastructure lost to the storm. The Stein Administration has recently distributed new funding for the Hurricane Helene Dislocated Worker Grant, announced $9 million in grants to Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters (VOADs) that are supporting Helene recovery, awarded $50 million in broadband recovery grants and nearly $14 million to 19 new small business recovery projects in the region through the Department of Commerce’s Small Business Infrastructure Grant Program. Governor Stein also welcomed applications for the state’s Renew NC Single-Family Housing Program to recover and rebuild home lost to the hurricane. Governor Stein continues to urge the federal government to deliver for western North Carolina by passing $13.5 billion in new appropriations to get people back into their homes, support small businesses, and rebuild critical infrastructure.