Recognized among the best in the world. By a community college.

Out of 4,185 entries from 33 countries, only six two-year colleges on the planet earned a 2026 Circle of Excellence Award. Forsyth Tech is one of them.

CASE
Circle of Excellence Awards
BRONZE
WINNER

4,185
Entries Worldwide

33
Countries

493
Winning Entries

6
Two-Year Colleges

Forsyth Technical Community College has earned a 2026 Circle of Excellence Bronze Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education for the Trailblazer Tribune, the college’s 65th anniversary Report to the Community.

The award recognizes the report in the President’s Reports and Annual Reports category of the Publications division.

Recognized as the premier accolades in educational advancement, the Circle of Excellence Awards honor colleges, universities and schools whose teams demonstrate exceptional ingenuity, creativity and resourcefulness in work that strengthens educational communities worldwide. In 2026, teams from 628 institutions in 33 countries submitted 4,185 entries across 93 categories spanning the full breadth of the profession, from magazines and publications to fundraising campaigns, alumni initiatives, special events, marketing and video. A panel of 570 volunteer judges selected 493 winning entries for bronze, silver, gold and grand gold recognition, evaluating each on overall quality, innovation, effective use of resources and measurable impact.

A Bronze Award in the Circle of Excellence. In the entire world. Of the 493 winning entries, only six came from two-year colleges. The Trailblazer Tribune stood among a field led overwhelmingly by major four-year colleges and universities, placing Forsyth Tech in the rarest of company: a community college recognized on the global stage of the advancement profession.

A Newspaper for a Milestone Year

The Trailblazer Tribune broke from the traditional annual report format entirely. Produced as a 24-page broadsheet newspaper printed on real newsprint and mailed to 3,000 households across Forsyth and Stokes counties, the publication paid tribute to the college’s 1960 founding with a design drawn straight from the era of ink-stained presses and bold headline decks.

Every element reinforced the concept. Classified ads recruited faculty. A crossword puzzle tested readers’ knowledge of the college. A letter to the editor came from Mark Owens, president and CEO of Greater Winston-Salem, Inc., and a vintage recipe page from Blaze’s kitchen closed the back cover. The pages chronicled the people and milestones of the 2024–2025 year, from College Lift graduates to the Trailblazer volleyball team’s first season.

The print edition told only half the story. QR codes throughout the newspaper connected readers to an immersive digital companion at annualreport.forsythtech.edu, featuring expanded stories, video and interactive features. Readers can also browse the printed newspaper page by page in the Reports to the Community archive.

A Year Worth the Front Page

The 65th anniversary year gave the Tribune no shortage of headline material. The report chronicled record enrollment at an 11-year high, the launch of Trailblazer intercollegiate athletics, a national Bellwether Award for College Lift, the largest commencement in college history and an invitation to compete for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, a distinction reserved for the top community colleges in the nation.

The report was built for two audiences at once: the Forsyth and Stokes County residents who fund, attend and hire from the college, and the students, faculty and staff whose work fills its pages.

The print edition honored where the college has been. The digital experience pointed to where it is going.

Together, the two formats created a report that felt nostalgic, inventive and unmistakably Forsyth Tech.

What the Judges Saw

We liked the blended approach to print and digital strategy with this piece given the anniversary year. Out-of-the-box and great metrics.

CASE Circle of Excellence Judges

Beyond the format, the results carried the entry. The report generated community engagement, drove traffic to the college’s digital platform, strengthened donor relationships ahead of the Forsyth Tech Foundation’s annual giving cycle and gave the college a distinctive storytelling vehicle during a milestone year.

“The Trailblazer Tribune told the story of 65 years of blazing trails in a way our community could hold in their hands,” said Dr. Janet Spriggs, president of Forsyth Tech. “This recognition belongs to our talented team and to the students, faculty and staff whose stories filled every page.”

The recognition may not be the last word on the Tribune. Entries this year were judged for both global and regional honors, and CASE will announce its Best of District recognition later in 2026.

Read the Award-Winning Report

Explore the Trailblazer Tribune in both of its forms:

Experience the Digital Companion
Read expanded stories, watch video and explore interactive features from the 2025 annual report.

Browse the Printed Newspaper
View the annual report page by page in the Reports to the Community archive.

The full list of 2026 winners is available on the CASE Circle of Excellence website.

Forsyth Tech’s Trailblazer Tribune Wins International CASE Circle of Excellence Award