Ad Club to Honor 3 Area Leaders with Pynchon Awards

SPRINGFIELD – Three distinguished individuals have been selected to receive the William Pynchon Medal and induction into the Order of William Pynchon. The honor is bestowed annually by the Advertising Club of Western Mass. to individuals from the region who have demonstrated exceptional community service with compassion, humility and grace.

The 2007 honorees are Carol A. Leary, president of Bay Path College, Allen G. Zippin, of the Springfield School Department, and Dan Roulier, president of Dan Roulier & Associates.

The William Pynchon Award was established in 1915. It honors individuals from all walks of life who go beyond the call of duty to make life better for the Western Mass. community. The awards dinner and ceremony for the 93rd annual William Pynchon Awards will be held on Nov. 29, from 6 to 9:30 p.m. at Chez Joseph in Agawam. Tickets and more information are available at www.adclubwm.org, or by calling the Club Administrator at 736-2582.

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President of Bay Path since 1994, Leary has been a staunch advocate of young women throughout Western Mass. She is described by friends and colleagues as “tireless, optimistic and humble.” Leary helped organize the first health and fitness expo for women at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, in conjunction with the Pioneer Valley Women’s Running Club and Baystate Health.

She has also mentored young women from the Go FIT Inc. clinics and actively participates in the running and physical activity programs. As one of the directors noted “she thinks nothing of showing up at a Go FIT clinic in her business attire, putting on her running shoes and heading out for a run with students in the program.”

Leary was an early supporter of the Women’s Fund of Western MA, helping raise millions of dollars for the organization. She has served as president of the board of trustees at local public television station WGBY, and has served on the board of the Western Mass. Economic Development Council.

She was awarded the Pioneer Valley Woman of Distinction Award from the YWCA, the Woman of the Year Award from the Women’s Partnership of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield, the 2005 Heart of Gold Award from the American Heart Assoc. of Greater Pioneer Valley, and the 2006 Women’s History Award from the U.S. Postal Service.

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Zippin is well known in Western Mass. for his considerable contributions to education. An advocate for children and children’s education for more than 45 years, Zippin had a long career as director of Education at the Children’s Study Home. Today, he holds a position in the Pupil Services Department with the Springfield School Department, where he works to ensure that children of the city receive the proper educational services they need.

At the same time that he started his career, Zippin became involved with the Shriners Organization, and at the age of 21, he became a Shriner in Springfield. His legacy to the entire organization and the Shriners Hospital for Children are celebrated. In 1983 he served as potentate with the Shriners.

He currently serves on the board of governors at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Springfield, and was responsible for overseeing the construction of the Shriners Hospital facility that exists today. Zippin holds the title of a 33rd degree mason, one of the highest Freemason honors that can be attained, and he currently serves as the Circus Chairman with the Shriners Organization, a position that he has held for more than 20 years.

Additionally, Zippin serves as the director of public relations and special events for the Eastfield Mall, another community effort where he is distinguished by his talent in communications and his humor. He is a former member and secretary of the board of directors of the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, a former member of the doard of directors of the Youth Development Program under the auspices of the Juvenile Court system, and served on the Education Committee at Temple Beth El.

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Roulier, a local builder, has been a quiet force in helping those less fortunate in our community. His involvement touches more than 20 local organizations. Since 2003, Roulier has brought summer camp to children at the Dunbar Community Center and Chestnut Street School in Springfield by donating the use of his property, Worthington Farms, in Somers, Conn. This provides the children a chance to experience nature, animal life and the benefits of being in a country environment that would not otherwise be afforded to them.

At the Massachusetts Career Development Institute (MCDI), Roulier helped to create an urban garden out of a 2.5-acre abandoned, illegal dumping ground. He single handedly recruited volunteers — friends, business associates, anyone who could handle a shovel — to get the project going and completed. His selfless work transformed the space into a haven for honeybees, hummingbirds and other wildlife.

Roulier’s good works include building a much needed storage facility for the YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter, raising cattle on his own farm for the sole purpose of giving the beef to soup kitchens, and funding programs for Jewish groups to come to the Holocaust museum. He is an inspiring presence at MCDI, working with children to plant gardens. And when the opportunity came to acquire bikes for the summer camp, Roulier enlisted a tractor-trailer from the New England Tractor Training School to the transport the bikes and the services of prisoners from the Ludlow jail to clean them up.