CHAPEL HILL — Teams addressing community and school needs with action-oriented service have earned eight North Carolina High School Athletic Association member schools’ distinction as 2025-2026 Commissioner’s Trophy recipients.
The following schools will receive $1,000 stipends: Ashe County, Athens Drive (Raleigh), Eastern Guilford, Felton Grove (Apex), Franklin, Mount Tabor (Winston-Salem), North Henderson, and West Brunswick.
“These efforts embody the ‘why’ we do what we do in education-based athletics,” NCHSAA Commissioner Que Tucker said. “Student-athletes working as teams invested in greater community building endeavors demonstrates how classroom teaching and learning yields life lessons and practices that students will carry with them well beyond playing days.”
Commissioner’s Trophy recipients will be recognized at the NCHSAA’s annual celebration on June 10 in Greensboro.
ASHE COUNTY | Women’s Tennis
The women’s tennis team planned and implemented a canned food drive for a county food pantry to support addressing community food insecurities.
ATHENS DRIVE | Football
The football team partnered with a local church (which uses the school’s facility for Sunday worship) to host a community outreach day, dispersing food and clothing to area residents needing helping hands.
EASTERN GUILFORD | Cheer
The cheerleaders facilitated opportunities – in person and via social media – for all students to address mental health challenges. During lunch periods, affirming quotes were written on sticky notes and added to the school’s “You Matter” wall for students to take one as needed, and bracelets were distributed. Cheerleaders amplified these messages, too, during elementary school carpools.
FELTON GROVE | Multiple Sports
Student-athletes representing multiple sports prepared and distributed bagged lunches for homeless and hungry residents in the school’s immediate area.
FRANKLIN | Multiple Sports
Inclusive service within and beyond competition across sports was highlighted by offering an adapted physical education endeavor showcasing each March’s high school and college basketball tournament traditions, and track & field student-athletes being event hosts/hostesses for honorees at a community recognition celebration.
MOUNT TABOR | Soccer
The men’s and women’s soccer teams completed a multi-day home visits schedule – in conjunction with a formal community partner – delivering meals and offering conversational fellowship to intergenerational community members experiencing transportation challenges and loneliness.
NORTH HENDERSON | Volleyball
Volleyball student-athletes partnered with a non-profit dedicated to a cure for cancer among children. Selling apparel and in-game promotions were among a myriad of events yielding funds that helped a local hospital secure a service dog and create a teen room enjoyed by children battling cancer.
WEST BRUNSWICK | Dance
Dance team student-athletes reaffirmed school and municipal bonds by being welcoming presences at an annual town festival. Dancing, facepainting, and joyful discourse exemplified the school’s role as a community-binding force.
