Leaders must be prepared to communicate during times of crisis in a manner that ensures trust and enables the community college to continue its mission. Community colleges underwent tremendous turmoil during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is considered a landscape crisis. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to discover the crisis communication methods selected and utilized by North Carolina community college presidents with their employees during the prolonged crisis of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and to ascertain their own perceptions of the effectiveness of their communication. Two theories and one model borrowed from literature in communication and organizational culture formed the theoretical underpinning used to conduct the research. A purposeful sampling and two-tier maximum variation approach were utilized to select participants. The first tier included all sitting North Carolina community college presidents who also served in the role as of January 1, 2020, and all who met the inclusion criteria were invited to participate. The second tier utilized personal presidential demographics and college characteristics to ensure a broad selection and representation. Participants included 10 North Carolina Community College presidents. Interviews were conducted in-person on the participants' campus, which provided the data for this research. Constant comparative analysis and three levels of coding, In Vivo, axial categorical, and thematic, were used to analyze the data. The findings from the qualitative case study revealed that communication with employees that was strategic, timely, consistent, disseminated in a variety of methods and formats, which was strongly influenced by emotional intelligence, fostered trust within this sample. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]