The Advertising Club of Western Massachusetts’ Trustees of the Order of William Pynchon announced today their selection of two local residents as recipients of this year’s Pynchon medal. Brenda McGiverin, chairperson of the Pynchon Trustees, stated, “These are the times that we most need heroes, and we surely have them in this year’s recipients.”

Slated to receive the Advertising Club’s Pynchon Medal at an October 2022 event are two local residents.

The 2022 recipients are as follows:

Carol Cutting has been the owner and operator of WEIB – 106.3 FM since 1999. She persisted through a protracted legal battle to become the first Black woman to operate a radio station in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In so doing, she fulfilled a fifteen-year vision of bringing representation of the region’s African-American community to the airwaves. She has also served in a host of change-making organizations, including Alpha Kappa Alpha and the National Association of Black-Owned Broadcasters.

For nearly 24 years, Sherry Elander has served as a special education teacher in the Westfield Public School system, with a special focus in helping students transition to life after their formal education. Throughout her career, Sherry has built a program designed to bring college, careers, and other life goals within reach for countless students with intellectual, developmental, and/or physical disabilities. The program that she’s developed, and the network of advocacy she has built, has become a model for districts throughout the state — and for educators across the country. She has developed partnerships with colleges and universities, local businesses, and policy makers in western Massachusetts and beyond, all with a view to maximizing the opportunity her students deserve.

This year’s recipients were chosen from a pool of nominations for the award received earlier this spring by the Advertising Club. All nominees are researched by the trustees, who then deliberate before

selecting final recipients. All Pynchon medalists are chosen by unanimous decision of the Pynchon Trustees, who are the current and five past presidents of the Advertising Club. Pynchon Trustees for 2022 are Teresa Utt, David Cecchi, Mary Shea, Scott Whitney, Brenda McGiverin, and current Advertising Club President Kelly McGiverin.

The presentation of the Pynchon Medal and celebration will take place on Thursday, October 13, 2022 at the Delaney House in Holyoke. Event details and ticket information can be found on the club’s website: adclubwm.org or by calling 413-342-0533.

More than 200 citizens have been inducted into the Order of William Pynchon since its founding in 1915.

Selected for 2022 induction into the Order of William Pynchon are:
Carol Cutting, Nominated by Peter Landon
Broadcasting pioneer brings representation of women and Black community to the airwaves.

When Carol Cutting and her husband, Dr. Gerald Cutting, moved from Alabama to the Springfield, Massachusetts area in 1970, she naturally turned to the radio to find churches, beauty shops, and other neighborhood mainstays for the Black community. Much to her surprise, a Black-owned radio station that could provide such information didn’t yet exist in western Massachusetts. “There [was] nobody in this business … that looks like me,” she once told MassLive. “And I am not just speaking about being African American, but being a female in a male-dominated business.” This radio desert meant more than just an absence of information; it also meant an absence of Black voices on local radio.

Carol set out to fill this void, learning all she could about radio broadcasting prior to applying to the Federal Communications Commission for a permit to build an FM station in 1984. She soon discovered that she had competition for the one frequency that was available at the time, which led to a fifteen-year court battle. The legal process brought her to the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals, which ultimately awarded her the license and gave birth to WEIB, 106.3 Smooth FM. This win gave Carol several distinctions in the industry as a “first” and “only”:

● First African-American woman in Massachusetts to operate a radio station

● Only independently and locally owned commercial FM radio station in greater Springfield

● Only female-owned FM radio station in Massachusetts

● Only African-American-owned AM or FM station in New England

Since its founding, WEIB has broadcast steadily throughout western Massachusetts, and Carol has used her platform to mentor and advise countless other Black entrepreneurs and Black women who wish to join her in the rare ranks of “firsts” and “onlys.”

While the founding of WEIB may be Carol’s most public contribution to our region, it is far from her only service to our community—and those beyond. Carol has served with a constellation of local and national community-building organizations; including the Girl Friends, one of the oldest organizations of African American women in the United States, dedicated to charitable and cultural activities; and Alpha Kappa Alpha, a historically African-American sorority committed to the interests of girls and women, particularly those of color.

Sherry Elander, Nominated by Laurie Cecchi and Lyndsey M. Nunes
Transition specialist advocates for access and opportunity for all.

In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, some students who receive special education services are required by law to have access to transition services, preparing them for their adult life, until the age of 22. As a transition specialist in the Westfield Public School System, Sherry has been the architect of that district’s services—and the robust program she created for the young men and women she serves has become a model for districts across the state, and for her peers across the country.

After becoming one of the first in the state to receive endorsement as a transition specialist, Sherry built Westfield’s transition program. She developed an extensive network with businesses throughout the Westfield area, providing students a host of internship opportunities. She also forged relationships with area colleges, including as a high-school liaison with Holyoke Community College and the Westfield State University Inclusive Concurrent Enrollment Initiative (MAICEI). Sherry was one of the original writers of the MAICEI grant initiative and was instrumental in bringing the opportunity for a college degree within reach for Westfield students.

In addition to providing post-secondary opportunities for her students, Sherry has focused on preparing them to live as independently as possible. In one instance, she advocated vociferously to include a bus stop near her program to allow students access to public transportation. Although they could take a school bus, Sherry felt that that didn’t prepare students for the realities of public transit, which they would have to navigate on their own when they left the program.

In developing Westfield’s transition program, Sherry has created a model for other districts interested in creating student-centered programs that go beyond simple compliance. Since its inception, she has been a mentor to many such districts. She has also collaborated with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to improve transition services throughout the Commonwealth.

Krystal Torres is one of the countless young people Sherry has helped as a Westfield student. “Because of Sherry’s support, Krystal got the right support, and her self esteem is as high as it can be,” says her mother, Carmen. “I know that Sherry has occasionally struggled to convince people that [this level of service] is the right thing to do, but she’s not stopping. She knows it’s the best thing for them—so that’s what she does.”

The Order of William Pynchon

The Order of William Pynchon was established in 1915 by the Advertising Club of Western Massachusetts (then known as the Publicity Club) for the purpose of giving public recognition to those citizens in the region who have rendered distinguished civic service.

Nominees are brought forth each year by members of the community and medalists are chosen by unanimous decision of the Pynchon Trustees. The Trustees of the Order of William Pynchon are the current and five past presidents of the Advertising Club of Western Massachusetts.

Trustees for 2022 are: Teresa Utt, David Cecchi, Mary Shea, Scott Whitney, Brenda McGiverin, and Kelly McGiverin.

The Pynchon medal bears the name of Springfield’s founder, whose life and achievements typify the ideals of promoting citizenship and the building of a better community, qualities the award is intended to recognize and encourage. Recipients are presented with a bronze medal bearing Pynchon’s likeness and inscribed with the quotation: “They honor us whom we honor.”