Blackhawk Technical College received the 2022 Best of the Best Local College award on Thursday at Janesville Gazette’s 2^nd Annual Community Choice Awards dinner.

Blackhawk was a finalist for the Local College category along with Beloit College and UW-Whitewater at Rock County. This is the second year in a row that Blackhawk has won in that category.

“This award represents ongoing hard work by a team of dedicated staff and faculty whose focus is providing flexible education in a supportive environment day in and day out,” said Dr. Tracy Pierner, President of Blackhawk. “We are honored to serve as an essential resource in the community. Thank you to the voters and to the Gazette for this honor.”

This year, approximately 123,000 votes were cast by people throughout the community for these awards, which celebrate and recognize the best the community has to offer in many categories, including education.

On Thursday, 190 winners were announced during a dinner held at the Glen Erin Golf Club in Janesville with Miss Wisconsin, Grace Stanke, serving as the emcee.

It’s been a celebratory season for the Blackhawk community. The college has been honored with several awards over the past year, recognizing the college’s service to its students and the community. Starting with the 2021 Best of the Best Local College award a year ago, Blackhawk was also named the 2021 Large Business of the Year by the Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce, the 2021 Business of the Year (50+) by Forward Janesville, the 2022 Corporate Award of Merit by the YWCA and the 2022 Friend of the LDA by the Leadership Development Academy.

Dr. Tracy Pierner, President of Blackhawk (right), accepts the award from Janesville Gazette Publisher Orestes Baez at Thursday night's awards banquet.