Local blog
Hilltown Families
www.hilltownfamilies.org
Founded in 2005 by Chesterfield’s Sienna Wildfield, Hilltownfamilies.org is a blog with a mission: to help build a strong sense of place within the Hilltown communities. Helping Hilltown residents feel more connected to their neighborhoods, says Wildfield, means they’re more likely to lead sustainable lives and operate in ways that make the community stronger, more resilient. By keeping families in the know about everything from happenings at the local schools to places to get great hot chocolate, the award-winning nonprofit has a reputation that extends beyond the Hilltowns.
2nd: Dave Hayes the Weather Nut
westernmassweather.com
3rd: Larry Kelley’s Only in the Republic of Amherst
onlyintherepublicofamherst.blogspot.com
Local radio personality
Monte Belmonte
WRSI, www.wrsi.com
From politics to poop jokes, Monte Belmonte is the voice of the Valley. In true brutally honest fashion, Belmonte plays a wide berth of music integrated with segments that are at once genuine, comedic, and important. “It becomes a community gathering place around issues that people care about — racial justice, hunger issues, politics — it’s not all poop, sex, and fart jokes,” says Belmonte. “But there’s some of that, too. It’s like the Daily Show if the Daily Show sucked really badly.”
2nd: Bax & O’Brien
WAQY, www.rock102.com
3rd: Joan Holiday
WRSI, www.wrsi.com
Local TV personality
Dave Madsen
WGGB, www.wggb.com
A celebrated Valley newscaster for more than 35 years, WGGB anchor and managing editor Dave Madsen continues to captivate Valley eyes and ears. Madsen says the new station owner has been investing in equipment and better story-telling technology for the newsteam, which has allowed reporters to bring more in-depth news to people in the Valley faster. “A reporter can be out in the field by himself and start broadcasting live — it’s incredible,” Madsen says. “The television industry today is driven by technology,” Madsen adds. “We’re still telling stories the way we always have, they’re just being delivered on many more platforms.”
2nd: Barry Krieger
WWLP, www.wwlp.com
3rd: Brittany Decker
WGGB, www.wggb.com
Local meteorologist
Dave Hayes the Weather Nut
westernmassweather.com
Dave Hayes is beloved in Western Mass for providing hyperlocal weather reporting on his Facebook page. This “nerdy science info,” translated into more digestible language, is aggregated from various apps and meteorologists and distributed in a distinctive “papa bird” tone that people in the community love to pick up on. “I feel a duty to keep people as aware as possible about impactful weather,” Hayes says.
2nd: Brian Lapis
WWLP, www.wwlp.com
3rd: Nick Bannin
WWLP, www.wwlp.com
