Department employees recognized with teamwork awards

For each quarter of the year, the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services recognizes a group of employees with the Excellence in Team Accomplishment Award. The award honors employees who demonstrate service-oriented teamwork while working together on projects that improve efficiency, make good use of taxpayer resources and benefit the citizens of North Carolina.

Teams are recognized during the department’s regular meeting of division directors. Over the past year, four groups of employees from across the department were selected for the award. Their work ranges from improving facilities for public events to responding to natural disasters and strengthening programs that support farmers and agricultural markets.

The following is a look at the four teams recognized for their accomplishments.

Southeastern Agricultural and Events Center Team
The Southeastern Agricultural and Events Center team was recognized for a year of record activity at the Robeson County facility along with numerous improvements that enhanced the property and expanded its role in the community. The team members were honored with the 1st Quarter of 2025 Excellence in Team Accomplishment award during a presentation in March 2025.

In 2024, the center saw three-and-a-half times more rentals than in previous years. That surge in activity kept staff busy hosting events, but the team also found time to tackle projects around the facility and develop new partnerships that highlighted agriculture in the region.

Thirteen employees were honored with the award:

During the year, the team installed new parking lot and pavilion lighting, constructed a shavings shed and created a trail through the woods on the property. They also partnered with the Robeson County Arts Council on an agriculture-themed mural in the horse pavilion and worked with the Horse Council to obtain new jumps and equipment for horse shows.

Staff also worked with local Master Gardeners to add native plants to flower boxes and roadside areas, and they planted sunflowers along with peach and plum trees and blueberry bushes to highlight agriculture on the grounds.

“Site manager Michelle Shooter is obviously open to lots of possibilities, and she’s passed along that willingness to do just about anything,” Commissioner Steve Troxler said during the award presentation.

The team’s willingness to handle projects themselves saved significant money. Employees painted the center’s 10,000-square-foot meeting building, saving about $7,500. Staff members with mechanical, welding and construction backgrounds also helped each other complete repairs and improvements across the property.

Beyond facility upgrades, the team also helped organize the inaugural Robeson County Ag Awareness Day, where about 1,500 third-grade students visited the center to learn about local agriculture. The event was held in partnership with Robeson County Extension, Farm Bureau and AgCarolina Farm Credit.

Customers who rent the facility regularly praise the staff for their willingness to help make events successful, Troxler said.

“Because of their teamwork, the Southeastern Ag Center shines as a place for the community to come together,” he said.

In nominating the team, Shooter summarized her thoughts by writing, “It’s amazing the joy, life and fun that our facility transforms into every week. We are a canvas for our community to use, and we are grateful. What we accomplish and the services we provide our community would not be possible without the amazing staff here. Servants hearts are everywhere, and it’s truly special to see a team like this where we can come together and get things done.”

N.C. Forest Service GIS Hurricane Helene Response Team
In July, five members of the N.C. Forest Service were recognized with the 2nd Quarter of 2025 Team Accomplishment Award. They earned the award for their work providing mapping and data support during the response to Hurricane Helene, one of the most destructive natural disasters to affect North Carolina.

The GIS Hurricane Helene Response Team deployed to the N.C. Emergency Management western branch in Newton, where they worked long hours to provide critical information for emergency responders, National Guard troops and local governments.

In the storm’s aftermath, infrastructure across western North Carolina was heavily damaged. Roads were impassable, communication systems were disrupted and many communities were temporarily cut off.

The GIS team helped bridge those communication gaps by creating and updating maps showing shelters, food and water distribution sites, damaged roads and bridges, landslides, fuel depots and other critical resources. Those maps were used directly by first responders working in affected areas.

When counties lacked equipment to produce large maps, the team printed them in Newton and arranged delivery so emergency crews would have the information they needed.

“They worked long hours in stressful conditions, providing timely, accurate and highly technical information that helped save lives,” Troxler said.

The team also helped restore internet access by deploying Starlink satellite systems where communication infrastructure had failed. In addition, they created onboarding resources that helped incoming GIS responders quickly begin assisting with the disaster response.

“Sean Brogan, who is the division director of Forest Management and Development, nominated this team,” Troxler explained. “As he put it, ‘regardless of the challenges, the N.C. Forest Service’s GIS Specialists worked long hours in stressful situations away from their families and homes. N.C. Emergency Management GIS staff can say without any hesitation that the Helene response would not have been possible without this team.'”

Agricultural Disaster Crop Loss Team
A large group of employees from the Agronomic Division and the Plant Industry Division were recognized for their work helping administer the Agricultural Disaster Crop Loss Program (ADCLP) following multiple severe weather events in 2024.

The program provided financial assistance to producers who suffered losses to nursery crops, Christmas trees, sod, fruit trees, hemp and other specialty crops following disasters including Hurricane Helene, drought conditions and Tropical Storm Debby.

Thirty-two employees were honored with the team award.

“I should also acknowledge the division directors for supporting their staff in this work – Dr. David Hardy in Agronomics and Bill Foot in Plant Industry who nominated this team,” Troxler said during the presentation for the 3rd Quarter 2025 team award this past November.

The program received more than 8,600 applications from producers across the state. Once applications opened, the team had only 75 days to review and verify claims.

Their work included more than 500 phone interviews, 250 in-person interviews, over 225 farm visits and the review of thousands of documents and photographs submitted by producers.

“What stands out most is how this group came together,” Troxler said.

Many employees took on the work in addition to their regular duties, traveling to farms across the state to document losses and help producers navigate the application process.

Because many of the staff members already had relationships with farmers in their regions, they were able to begin work quickly and build trust with producers seeking assistance.

“Every single person who was asked stepped up,” Troxler said. “There were no complaints, no hesitation — just a sincere willingness to help farmers who had been hit hard by disaster.”

The team’s careful review process also identified fraudulent claims, ensuring the integrity of the program while protecting taxpayer funds. Troxler said the team’s work provided more than financial assistance.

“Beyond financial relief, they also helped restore morale for families facing profound losses,” he said. “They provided not just support, but hope.”

Western North Carolina Farmers Market Commodity Tracking and Reporting Team
Employees at the Western North Carolina Farmers Market in Asheville were recognized in February 2026. They earned the 4th Quarter 2025 Excellence in Team Accomplishment award for developing a system that measures the economic value of agricultural products moving through the facility.

The Commodity Tracking and Reporting Team created a process to collect delivery information at the market gate and translate it into monthly and annual reports showing the value of commodities entering the market.

Employees honored with the award were:

Before the system was created, the market could track visitors and vehicle traffic but had no reliable way to measure the value of the agricultural products being sold through the facility. Phil Jacobus, who manages the market, pointed out in his nomination that prior to 2022, it was a significant challenge to truly show the economic value delivered by the WNC Farmers Market.

“Today, with the implementation of [our] Commodity Tracking program, we can present important economic data across three critical dimensions – annual commodity sales, total economic impact, including supported employment and return on public investment,” Jacobus said.

That’s because, beginning in 2022, the team developed a daily process for gathering commodity information from vendors and truck drivers entering the market. Office staff then verify and compile the data into monthly and annual reports.

The system requires coordination every day as gatehouse staff collect data while management and office personnel review and analyze the information.

“It is a true team effort that depends on communication, accountability and trust,” Troxler said.

The results have helped demonstrate the economic impact of the market. In 2025 alone, more than $38 million in commodities moved through the facility, representing about a 16 percent increase from the previous year.

The data has also strengthened the market’s national profile. Because of the consistency and reliability of its reporting, the market was approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service to operate as a designated terminal market. That designation allows it to contribute weekly commodity information alongside major markets across the country.

Troxler said the initiative demonstrates how employees can strengthen programs by identifying opportunities and working together to implement solutions.

“Perhaps most impressive is how this effort began,” he said. “It wasn’t a requirement, but an idea. A group of employees saw an opportunity to make their organization better, so they worked together to develop a practical system and committed themselves to sustaining it year after year.”