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Dec. 9, 2024: Credit where it is due

A joyful noise and a measurement of what peaks our interest as a society.

Amherst Media is bestowing its 15th Jean Haggerty award, so we sit with the board president, Vira Douangmany, to learn about the award’s namesake, the previous winners of the award and the many ways Amherst Media continues a community-forward legacy. We also hear from the award recipient, Jacqui Wallace, director of the Amherst Gospel Choir, about her leadership journey with the choir and how you can join their celebration this weekend.

And, it’s the time where everyone tallies up how the year went, including our friendly local dictionary in Springfield. Our resident wordster and senior editor at Merriam-Webster, Emily Brewster, and her colleagues have made the list, checked it twice, and declared their word of the year for 2024. We discuss the winner and those bridesmaid words that got really close to getting the gold.

Jean Haggerty Award
Word of the year with the Word Nerd

Kaliis Smith is a radio host and producer for NEPM's The Fabulous 413. She was most recently host and producer at The River 93.9/WRSI where she appeared on Mornings with Monte for the Nerdwatch segment and hosted weekday evenings.
Christopher “Monte'' Belmonte is host and executive producer of NEPM's The Fabulous 413. He was born and raised in Massachusetts and has been a radio host in western Massachusetts for the last 20 years — the last 17 of them as host of Mornings with Monte on The River 93.9/WRSI.