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Town of Holly Springs Awards and Accolades
Below are some of the awards, honors, and recognitions that the Town of Holly Springs has received in recent years, plus other honors that reflect on the community.
2025
Holly Springs Named as One of Nine Friendliest Towns to Visit in North Carolina
WorldAtlas recognized Holly Springs as one of the top nine friendliest towns to visit in North Carolina. Beautiful outdoor spaces, rich culture, hospitable locals, the Holly Springs Farmers Market, and more were noted.
Holly Springs Recognized as One of the Safest Communities in North Carolina
WorldAtlas recognized Holly Springs as one of the top nine safest communities in North Carolina. The Town's family-friendly festivals, parks, and downtown Sip & Stroll social district were mentioned as some of the highlights.
Holly Springs Earns National Recognition for "Mission Accomplished" Video
The Town of Holly Springs was recognized for its excellence in communications and marketing, taking home a second-place award in the national Savvy Awards Competition hosted by the City-County Communications & Marketing Association (3CMA). The video features Fire Chief LeRoy Smith and follows a blockbuster movie theme as he embarks on a “mission” to attend the grand opening ceremony for Fire Station 3.
Communications Initiatives Earn State Recognition
The Town’s Communications & Marketing team took home multiple awards from the North Carolina City and County Communicators conference. Awards included two first place recognitions for Best Social Media Campaign in the state for the “Back to School Safety” reel series and Best Public Service Announcement for the “Return of the Vacuum Trucks” Instagram reel. The team earned a second place in Videography for the Holly Springs Police Recruitment video.
2024
Town Budget Recognized for Excellence by Government Finance Officers Association
Holly Springs received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association. The award reflects the Town's commitment to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting, satisfying nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation.
A Double Win: Town Receives Planning Awards
Town of Holly Springs Development Services and Parks & Recreation departments received two prestigious awards from the North Carolina Chapter of the American Planning Association. The Holly Springs Downtown Area Plan was selected as the 2024 Marvin Collins Award recipient in the “Small Area Plan” category. This esteemed award recognizes projects that demonstrate exceptional quality, innovation, and advancement in planning. Additionally, Eagles Landing Park was named a 2024 Great Place – Great Healthy Place, an award that celebrates planned community amenities that will foster active lifestyles and well-being.
Holly Springs in the top 10% of U.S. Cities for Service Delivery
The Holly Springs Town Council received the “Leading the Way Award,” which recognizes local governments for outstanding achievement in the delivery of services to residents. ETC Institute compared resident satisfaction surveys from municipalities across the U.S. and found the Town of Holly Springs in the top 10% in three core areas, satisfaction with the overall quality of services, customer service provided by employees, and the value residents think they receive for local taxes and fees.
Communications Initiatives Earn National Recognition
The Town’s Communications & Marketing team has taken home top honors in the nation. The 3CMA - City-County Communications & Marketing Association awarded Holly Springs first place for the marketing of Holly Springs 311 and first for the 2023 parks bond video. Holly Springs also won second place for the Keeping it Green campaign about the switch to yard waste carts.
Town Earns N.C. Department of Labor Gold Award for Safety
The Town of Holly Springs took home its first N.C. Department of Labor gold award for safety. The awards program acknowledges agencies throughout the State that achieve and maintain outstanding safety records. It is designed to stimulate interest in accident prevention and promote workplace safety. The gold award level is based on achieving a low level of incidents that result in employees taking time off, being restricted to certain tasks, or being transferred to another role
Holly Springs Recognized as One of the Friendliest Towns in North Carolina
WorldAtlas recognized Holly Springs as one of the top nine friendliest towns to visit in North Carolina. The Town's beautiful outdoor amenities, rich culture, hospitable locals, and national award-winning farmers market were mentioned as some of the highlights.
Town Receives Two Maggie Awards
Main & Broad Magazine in conjunction with Cary Magazine recognizes local businesses, venues, and events that are voted on as top experiences or locations by the local community. Holly Springs was recognized with two Maggie Awards this year! HollyFest received the most votes for Best Local Event or Festival, and Parrish Womble Park received recognition for Best Place for Outdoor Recreation.
Town Communications Team Wins State Awards
The Town Communications & Marketing team was awarded top honors at the North Carolina City and County Communicators conference. Holly Springs took home three first-place awards and one second-place award. First-place awards were for work to share information about the 2023 Parks Bond. The overall informational campaign, the website, and a bond video took home the top honor. The Town’s Missing Minutes video about the discovery of a historic Town meeting minutes book in a local antique store won a second-place award in the special programming category
2023
One of the Best Small Cities in America
Holly Springs ranked as one of the Best Small Cities in America. WalletHub "compared more than 1,300 U.S. cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 based on 45 key indicators of livability." They discovered what we all know to be true - Holly Springs is a great place to call home!
#2 Safest Town in North Carolina
Once again, Holly Springs is ranked one of the safest towns in North Carolina! The latest ranking from MoneyGeek continues a consistent trend of the Town being ranked as one of the best and safest places to live in the state and nation. MoneyGeek cited the Town’s low violent and property crime rates and minimal economic losses attributed to crime as factors influencing their ranking of Holly Springs as the #2 safest town in North Carolina.
Holly Springs Named One of Seven Best Small Towns in North Carolina For A Weekend Escape
The community's many cultural and recreational activities, and the thriving historic downtown, are noted among the draws that rank Holly Springs among the seven best small towns in the state for a weekend getaway, according to WorldAtlas.
Town E-Newsletter is Best in Nation
Holly Springs has the #1 best digital newsletter in the nation. The 3CMA - City-County Communications & Marketing Association awarded Holly Springs the top honor for "answering the demand from residents to provide a streamlined way of delivering the news." The top award for cities under 100,000 population was presented to the Holly Springs Communications & Marketing team at the 2023 annual conference. Sign up to receive the biweekly newsletter via email or text message.
Planning Efforts Gain Recognition
The Holly Springs Comprehensive Transportation Plan won a first-place award from the American Planning Association’s North Carolina Chapter, and the Town took home an honorable mention award for the Northeast Gateway Master Plan.
Holly Springs Awarded for Communications & Marketing Initiatives
The Holly Springs Communications & Marketing Department was recognized with statewide awards for excellence by the North Carolina City & County Communicators Association. Thirty-nine North Carolina cities and counties were evaluated by an impartial, external group of judges from the Minnesota Communicators Association. The awards recognize the Town's work to inform residents and businesses about Town projects and initiatives. This year's awards include: First Place, Digital External Newsletter/Blog; First Place, Promotional Video; Second Place, External Newsletter; and Second Place, Multi-Platform Campaign.
2022
Citizen Engagement Award
The N.C. League of Municipalities Local Leadership Foundation awarded Holly Springs the 2022 Citizen Engagement Award for working with the community to develop the Black History Tour. The mobile, interactive tour can be viewed via cell phone or desktop computer and gives visitors a glimpse into the rich history of Holly Springs. Users can enjoy photographs, listen to residents' recollections, and view information. The Town also received a national Savvy award in the Digital Interactive Media category tour from the City-County Communications & Marketing Association for the tour.
2021
#3 Most Popular Zip Code in Triangle
Zillow ranked the most popular ZIP codes in June across Wake, Durham and Orange counties for home searches to see where home buyers are interested in living. Holly Springs' 27540 ZIP code ranks third.
Holly Springs Ranked #1 Safest City in North Carolina
Holly Springs is named the #1 safest city in North Carolina for 2021 by SafeWise. The home security research company noted factors securing the top spot for Holly Springs included having the lowest property crime rate in the state and the third-lowest violent crime rate. The Town also earned this recognition in past years, including 2019 and 2018.
2020
Holly Springs Ranked #1 Safest City in North Carolina
Holly Springs ranked #1 as the safest city in North Carolina in an analysis of data on violent and property crimes per capita according to HomeSnacks.
2019
Holly Springs Ranked #1 Safest City in North Carolina
Holly Springs ranked #1 as the safest city in North Carolina in an analysis of data on violent and property crimes per capita according to HomeSnacks.
Holly Springs Receives National Budget Presentation Award
The Town of Holly Springs has received a national budget award for demonstrating best practices. Last year, the Government Finance Officers Association’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award was given to only 1,604 government entities, such as local government agencies, school districts and community colleges, out of about 90,000 such entities in the United States. The association assesses how well a budget serves as a policy document, financial plan, operations guide and communications device. This is the first time the Town of Holly Springs has received the award.
Holly Springs Farmers Market #4 in Southeast, #1 in North Carolina
The Holly Springs Farmers Market ranked #4 in the Southeast and #1 in North Carolina in the American Farmland Trust Farmers Market Celebration contest. The market has been voted the #1 market in the state for the last several years.
Holly Springs Ranked Fifth Best Place in North Carolina to Raise a Family
The financial advice website WalletHub ranked Holly Springs fifth best in N.C. after analyzing 87 cities and towns on 21 factors of family-friendliness. Groupings of factors included family life and fun; education, health and safety; and affordability.
Holly Springs Tops List of Best Cities in N.C. to Get a Job
Holly Springs ranked first in Zippia's 2019 list of Best Cities for Jobs in N.C. The website ranked 40 municipalities with at least 5,000 people on criteria including current unemployment rate, unemployment rate change year to year; current median household income, and change in median household income from year to year.
Holly Springs Named Safest City in North Carolina
Holly Springs was ranked the #1 Safest City in North Carolina by SafeWise. FBI crime report statistics and population data were reviewed as part of the ranking system.
Holly Springs Top-Ranked in Triangle Area, Third in State, for Safety
Holly Springs was the top-ranked town in the Triangle area and third statewide in The Home Security Advisor’s 2019 Guide to North Carolina’s 50 Safest Cities. The ranking applies to cities and towns with at least 10,000 population.
Holly Springs Ranks Among Best Places to Live in N.C.
Holly Springs ranked fourth in the website HomeSnacks' Best Places to Live in N.C. for 2019.