BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University has been recognized by the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce as Watauga County’s Large Business of the Year, as part of the chamber’s 2025 Watauga County Business of the Year Awards. The honor recognizes the university for a milestone year that included the installation of Chancellor Heather Norris, its designation as a Research 2 institution and its continued contributions to the local economy.

App State and other winners were formally recognized Thursday, Jan. 15, during the 10th annual High Country Economic Kickoff Luncheon, held in the university’s Grandview Ballroom on the Boone campus.

“Each of these businesses holds high the value of community partnerships,” said David Jackson ’00, president and CEO of the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce and an App State alumnus. “While their individual missions and reach are diverse, their commitment to community is their unifying trait and nothing short of inspiring.”

Norris acknowledged the other awards recipients, High Country Radio, which received the Small Business of the Year Award, and King Street Flowers & Gifts, recipient of the Startup Business of the Year Award, and accepted the university’s award on behalf of the App State Community, including:

• the 21,798 students at App State — 18,000 of whom live in the Boone area and contribute to the local economy;
• the more than 3,600 faculty and staff, who live and work in the High Country;
• the more than 150,000 alumni, 75% of whom live and contribute to their communities across the state of North Carolina; and
• App State’s past leaders and its founders, B.B., D.D. and Lillie Shull Dougherty, whose vision for access and student success still guides the university.

“More than 126 years ago, Boone community members provided funding and supplies to build our very first living and learning spaces,” said Norris. “Through prosperity and extreme challenges, we have remained linked, and I am incredibly grateful to be part of this strong legacy of collaboration, which was built on the noble ambition of serving the people of this region.

“I look forward to being part of a future in which we continue to build on this extraordinary partnership in new ways — to shape an even brighter, more resilient, enterprising and robust future for our region.”

In its announcement of the Business of the Year Awards, the chamber also highlighted App State’s leadership in responding to Hurricane Helene and its ongoing impacts, noting the university’s role as a critical community resource and its continued support of regional recovery through collaborative efforts.

The chamber wrote, “With steady enrollment, strong student outcomes and a continued focus on regional well-being, Appalachian State University exemplifies responsibility, leadership and a deep-rooted dedication to the community it calls home.”

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About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.