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Tania Barber to Receive 2023 Pynchon Medal

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Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — The Advertising Club of Western Massachusetts’ trustees of the Order of William Pynchon announced Tania Barber, president and CEO of Caring Health Center, as this year’s Pynchon Medal recipient. She will receive the award at an event at Springfield Technical Community College on Monday, Nov. 13.

Brenda McGiverin, chairperson of the Pynchon trustees, noted that “this year’s recipient embodies what this award is about: a commitment to public service and improving the lives of everyone in our region.”

Caring Health Center (CHC) is a Springfield-based care provider of affordable and equitable healthcare services. Barber began her career with CHC as a part-time switchboard operator in 1996. Through regular promotions during her 24-year tenure, she rose to become the organization’s leader in 2013.

Even in a position of executive leadership, Barber retained her connection to the organization’s frontline staff and a commitment to CHC’s on-the-ground mission. “I realized I could have a greater impact in an executive management role,” she said. “It was a chance to make positive changes to the issues I saw firsthand.”

As a servant leader, Barber guided CHC to dramatically increase the number of patients served, tripled its staff level, and introduced many new services, including substance-use treatment and behavioral health. In addition to enhancing the organization’s service offerings, she expanded CHC’s reach with an expansion to three facilities, as well as the addition of mobile services and pharmacy delivery for those who are homebound or experiencing mobility issues.

Following devastating damage to the organization’s flagship facility due to the 2011 tornado, she oversaw an $18 million construction project to restore and expand CHC’s reach in the community. She also enhanced the delivery of services for the area’s refugee population; as a result, CHC is now the Commonwealth’s number-one provider of refugee and immigrant patients outside of Boston.

Barber says her lived experience is responsible for her becoming the empathic and informed healthcare provider she is today. As the daughter of a young single mother, she sees herself in many of the women CHC serves.

Her belief in empowering women through education led her to establish the Tania M. Barber Learning Institute in 2023. Students of the institute will earn a salary as they receive training for careers in the healthcare field. In addition to providing a talent pipeline for an industry in dire need of trained workers, it will provide students with a pathway to well-paying jobs that also benefit the community.

In addition to leading CHC, Barber is the founder and pastor of Living Water Global Ministries, a non-denominational Christian church; EST.HER, a leadership consulting firm; and Daughters of Shared Vision, a faith-based counseling service for women. She has also served on a variety of local and regional boards, including the Springfield Technical Community College science degree program advisory board, Health New England, Florence Bank, and the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers.

Carol Cutting, Sherry Elander Named 2022 Pynchon Medalists

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — The Advertising Club of Western Massachusetts’ trustees of the Order of William Pynchon announced their selection of two local residents, Carol Cutting and Sherry Elander, as recipients of this year’s Pynchon Medal.

“These are the times that we most need heroes, and we surely have them in this year’s recipients,” said Brenda McGiverin, chairperson of the Pynchon trustees.

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 Massachusetts. In so doing, she fulfilled a 15-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 Assoc. of Black-Owned Broadcasters.

For nearly 24 years, Elander has served as a special-education teacher in Westfield Public Schools, with a special focus in helping students transition to life after their formal education. Throughout her career, she has built a program designed to bring college, career, and other life goals within reach for countless students with intellectual, developmental, and/or physical disabilities. The program she developed, and the network of advocacy she 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 policymakers in Western Mass. and beyond, all with a view to maximizing opportunity for her students.

This year’s recipients were chosen from a pool of nominations 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, Oct. 13 at the Delaney House in Holyoke. Event details and ticket information can be found at 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.

Advertising Club of Western Massachusetts Announces 2021 Pynchon Medalists

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — The Advertising Club of Western Massachusetts’ trustees of the Order of William Pynchon announced their selection of two local residents, Helen Caulton-Harris and Victor Rojas, as recipients of this year’s Pynchon medal.

Caulton-Harris has served for decades as a tireless advocate for low-income residents, underserved neighborhoods, and communities of color. As director of the city of Springfield’s Health and Human Services division, she led the charge in making COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites widely available to all city residents.

Rojas serves as director of technology for the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Holyoke and a role model for the city’s most vulnerable young people, connecting them with life-changing academic opportunities. During the pandemic, he worked to connect underserved students to internet access and led the effort to deliver thousands of meals and snacks to students who would otherwise receive them at school.

“These are the times that we most need heroes, and we surely have them in this year’s recipients,” said Brenda McGiverin, chairperson of the Pynchon trustees.

Due to a postponed event in 2020, the Advertising Club announced its upcoming event will be a combined celebration for Pynchon recipients from 2020 and 2021. Last year’s recipients, Janine Fondon and Elizabeth Wills-O’Gilvie, will also receive their medals at the upcoming ceremony.

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 2021 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, Oct. 7 at the Log Cabin in Holyoke. Event details and ticket information can be found at 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.

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