Pynchon Awards

Nominations Sought For Region’s Original Community Service Award

The Advertising Club of Western Massachusetts has presented the William Pynchon Medal to more than 200 deserving individuals since 1915.

 

The Advertising Club of Western Massachusetts is seeking nominations from throughout Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin, and Berkshire counties for the Pynchon Award, which recognizes those citizens of our region who have rendered outstanding commitment to the community.

The Order of William Pynchon was established by the Advertising Club in 1915 to recognize and encourage individuals whose lives and achievements typified the ideals of promoting citizenship and the building of a better community in western Massachusetts. Past recipients include community volunteers, social activists, teachers, journalists, public servants, business leaders, philanthropists, historians, physicians, and war heroes — a diverse group united by their passion for our region. Pynchon nominees are people you know/live/work with, who are passionate about their community or cause, and give selflessly of their time, talent, or treasure (sometimes all three). Pynchon recipients are recognized for giving a little more and doing a little more, making them role models for community involvement. Though nominees may serve in a leadership role, they are just as likely to work anonymously or behind the scenes. The Pynchon award is not a recognition of “lifetime achievement” — age and length of service are unimportant — rather, it is depth of dedication and influence on the community that matters. A nominees’ impact need not be region-wide, just meaningful and impactful within the community, (and the trustees’ definition of “community” is broad, including neighborhoods, municipalities, and region). There are many people doing great things in our community … “unsung heroes,” if you will. This is your chance to sing their praises. A complete list of recipients since 1915 can be found below.

To nominate an individual, please submit a letter explaining why the nominee should be considered. Be sure to include biographical information, outstanding accomplishments, examples of service to the community, organizations he or she is or has been active in, and the names, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of at least three people who can further attest to the nominee’s eligibility for induction into the Order of William Pynchon. The Pynchon Trustees respectfully reserve the right to eliminate nominations from consideration due to insufficient information.

Qualifying nominees will be considered and researched by the Pynchon Trustees, composed of the current and five past presidents of the Advertising Club. Nominations must be submitted by March 31, 2023 to: William Pynchon Trustees, Advertising Club of Western Massachusetts, P.O. Box 1022, West Springfield, MA 01090-1022 or by e-mail to info@adclubwm.org.
Pynchon medalists are chosen by unanimous decision of the Pynchon Trustees. The 2023 recipients will be announced in June of this year, with an awards ceremony tentatively scheduled for the fall of 2023. Recipients are presented with a bronze medal cast with the name and likeness of Springfield’s founder, William Pynchon, and bearing the inscription: “They honor us whom we honor.”

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

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: 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.”

Previous Pynchon Award Events

Pynchon Recipients

YearName
1915Marcus Perrin Knowlton
1915George Dwight Pratt
1915Donald North
1915George Walter Vincent Smith
1915Charles Goodrich Whiting
1916F. Sturgess Allen
1916Joshua L. Brooks
1916Horace A. Moses
1916Elijah A. Newell
1916Frank A. Perrett
1917Embury P. Clark
1917Solomon Buckley Griffin
1917Robert O. Morris
1918Edwin C. Parsons
1919Harold R. Buckley
1919Thornton W. Burgess
1919Frederick H. Gillett
1920Harold A. Ley
1921A. Willard Damon
1922Mary A. (Ann) Booth
1922Eliphalet T. Tifft
1923William G. Ballantine
1924William W. McClench
1925George M. Hendee
1926Nathan D. Bill
1927Charles E. Duryea
1928Dr. William N. DeBerry
1928Lucy W. Mallary
1928Henry L. Bowles
1929Hiller C. Wellman
1929Charles L. Long
1929Reverend Thomas
1929Frederick Davis
1930David Allen Reed
1931Joseph B. Ely
1931William J. Quilty
1932William H. Daggett
1932Maude Irving Tait
1933Wallace R. Heady
1933R. Nelson Hatt
1934Elbert E. Lochridge
1934Edward A. Hall
1935Frederick B. Sweet
1935William H. Stuart
1936George S.L. Connor
1936Frederic Whitmore
1936Herman Isenburg
1937William Orr
1937William F. Adams
1938Frank D. Korkosz
1938Albert Steiger
1939John C. Garand
1939Ida F. Farrar
1940Waldo L. Cook
1941Alexander Hughes
1941Grace Pettis Johnson
1942Gilbert H. Steward
1942Edwin C. Bartlett
1942John H. Nolan
1943Margaret C. Ells
1943Edward H. Thomson
1944Chester Bowles
1944Thomas C. Fleming
1944Fred Stephenson
1945Henry A. Field
1945Hazel Clark
1945David J. Manning
1946Dr. Chester S. McGown
1946Colonel Burton A. Adam
1947Edward H. Marsh
1948Alice l. Halligan
1948Edward S. Bradford
1949James H. Higgins
1950Sally Leeds
1950Dr. William Hill
1951Cordelia S. Pond
1952Dr. Paul M. Limbert
1952John J. Duggan
1953Paul Samson
1958Dr. William B. Kirkham
1959Mary J. Foley
1960James J. Shea
1960Samuel G. Simons
1960Edward Kronvall
1961Bernard H. McMahon
1962Edward H. Breck
1962Dennis J. Brunton
1963Dr. Garry deNeuville Hough, Jr.
1963Leone E. Avery
1964Lt. Joseph A. Budd
1964Magnus F. Peterson
1965Frederick B. Robinson
1965Alfred G. Zanetti
1966Paul Craig
1967Charles M. Healy, Jr.
1967Maxwell H. Tasgal
1968Judge Donald Malcolm Macauly
1969Herman O. Grimmeisen
1970Sidney R. Cook
1970Rabbi Dr. Herman Eliot Snyder
1971Edmond P. Garvey
1971Charles H. Schaaff
1972Herbert P. Almgren
1972Jeremiah M. Finn
1973Dr. Frank E. Hurley
1973Romeo J. Cyr
1974Richard Booth
1975K.F. Broman
1975William A. Lieson
1976Dr. Robert W. Emery
1976Solomon D. Freeman
1976James J. Shea, Jr.
1977Mary H. Weckwerth
1977Richard C. Garvey
1977Donald O. Reichert
1979Paul J. Greeley
1979Alexander B. Mapp
1979Graham King
1980James R. Martin
1981Joan F. Putnam
1981Charles V. Ryan
1982Gordon Cameron
1982Rita M. Tremble
1983Emma Wilder Anderson
1983Alfred A. LaRiviere
1983Sr. Mary Caritas
1984Benjamin F. Jones
1984Edward B. Landis
1984Michael P. Pagos
1985Edward P. Boland
1986C. Norman Peacor
1986Robert J. Van Wart
1987Roswell L. Derby
1987Rev. Joseph F. Maguire
1988William J. Clark
1989Judge Sidney R. Cooley
1989David Starr
1990Robert S. Carroll
1990George R. Ditomassi
1991Anne V. Cooley
1991Gerald E. D’Amour
1991Helen Smith Fuller
1992Randolph W. Bromery
1992Dr. Leon M. Kruger
1992Richard A. Stebbins
1993Sr. Mary Dooley
1993Barbara Rivera
1994Robert Fowler
1994Harriette Michaels
1996John H. Davis
1997Frank D. Gulluni
1998Frances Gagnon
1998John Gallup
1998Peter Picknelly
1999Dr. Edward Bailey
1999Richard Milstein, ESQ.
2000Albert Ferst
2000Sr. Jane Morrissey
2001Janee Friedmann
2001Eric Bachrach
2002Raymond J. Chelte
2002Edward M. Clark
2003Teofilo Alvarado
2003Carol W. Kinsley
2003R. Lyman Wood
2004Carl G. Erickson
2004Lucia M. Guiggio
2004Rabbi Jerome S. Gurland
2005Stephen T. Clay
2005Paul S. Doherty
2006Steven D. Botkin
2006Kimball W. Howes
2006Brenda J. Lopez
2006Vincent McCorkle
2007Dr. Carol A. Leary
2007Allen G. Zippen
2007Dan Roulier
2008Dianne Fuller Doherty
2008Michael J. Ashe, Jr.
2008Frank W. Anderson
2009Gary L. Fialky
2009Susan R. Jaye-Kaplan
2009Marie M. Stebbins
2010Barbara C. Bernard
2010Mary Reardon Johnson
2010York Mayo
2011Aaron Lansky
2011Mary Pat McMahon
2012Ellen Freyman
2012Steve Hayes
2012Bob Perry
2013Jean C. Caldwell
2013Jean E. Gailun
2013Joan Kagan
2013Sirdeaner L. Walker
2014Kathy Picard
2015Gary R. Bernice
2015Harold Grinspoon
2015Ronn & Donna Johnson
2015Sue Ellen Panitch
2016Michaelann Bewsee
2016Jack Dill
2016Gale Kirkwood
2016Brian Tuohey
2016Angela Wright
2017Susan Canning
2017Bob Greeley
2017Judy Ingis
2017Paul J. Sears
2018Craig Carr
2018Sally C. Fuller
2018Robert Stacy McCarroll
2018Ronald Phillip Weiss
2019Charles R. Casartello, Jr.
2019Robert Charland
2019Heriberto Flores
2020Janine Fondon
2020Elizabeth Wills-O’Gilvie
2021Victor Rojas
2021Helen Caulton-Harris
2022Carol Moore Cutting
2022Sherry Elander