• The Maggie Valley Sanitary District received the Pigeon River Award for its work to protect the town’s drinking water supply. The district services 10,000 users and counting, and since 2013 has protected more than 7,000 acres in the town’s watershed to maintain water quality. Other partners in the effort include The Conservation Fund, Blue Ridge Parkway, Pigeon River Fund of the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, U.S. Forest Service and N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. The Pigeon River Award is given to an individual or organization that has made a significant contribution to protecting Haywood’s land and water resources.
• The Town of Canton received the Big Creek Award for Partner of the Year. Canton hosts several Haywood Waterways events, including the 2018 Plunge fundraiser, Leaders in the Creek and nearly all 21 years of the Kids in the Creek program. The town also supports greenways, participates in the WNC Stormwater Partnership and serves on the Commission for a Clean County to beautify the landscape and keep trash out of the water. 
• Jack and Carol Bailey received the Richard T. Alexander Volunteer of the Year Award for their service. The Baileys help at events such as Kids in the Creek, stream cleanups, tree plantings and fundraisers. They also collect water samples through the Volunteer Water Information Network, data that Haywood Waterways uses to justify projects and leverage financial assistance. 

The membership dinner was sponsored by Derric and Donna Brown, Keller Williams Great Smokies – Yvonne Kolomechuk, Pigeon River Fund of the Community Foundation of Western N.C., Town of Clyde, and Town of Waynesville.