Each year the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association honors one current broadcaster with its highest honor – the Broadcaster of the Year Award. The Broadcaster of the Year his an industry leader in radio or TV that displays an outstanding commitment to his/her job and community, while showing an unwavering dedication to the evolution of broadcasting.
2023: Pebbles – Hot 96.9
The Massachusetts Broadcasters Association (MBA) honored longtime Boston radio personality Pebbles with its Broadcaster of the Year award at the association’s annual Sound Bites conference held in Framingham, MA on November 16.
After switching her college major from engineering to communications, Pebbles’ first experience in radio was as an intern at WILD 1090 which led to her first paying radio job as part of The Wild Morning Show. Boston’s “original TMZ,” Pebbles quickly became known for her fun contributions to the show, often reporting on celebrity gossip.
Pebbles also found that through WILD’s community outreach, giving back to her community and audience made her happy. She began reading to children at the Roxbury branch of the Boston Public Library, and created the “Reading Rockstars Program,” a program still in existence, where Pebbles visits schools to share the importance of literacy. Throughout her career Pebbles has also worked with the Boys and Girls Club, Girl Scouts of Eastern Mass., Project Bread, and Media Girls.
In 1995, Pebbles made the jump to FM radio and the morning show on the new JAM’N 94.5 (WJMN-FM). There she eventually partnered with Ramiro and Melissa to form the origins of the morning show that now resides on Beasley Media’s HOT 96.9 (WBQT-FM) as The GetUp Crew – a show that has been amongst the highest rated in Boston for more than 23 years.
During her time at Beasley and HOT 96.9, Pebbles has won two Gracie Awards, both recognizing her public affairs program, “Voices.”
A Massachusetts native, Pebbles graduated from Sacred Heart High School in Kingston, MA and from Northeastern University with a degree in Communications.
She is the tenth broadcaster to be presented with the MBA’s highest honor
2022: Mary Menna – Beasley Media Group
Mary Menna, Vice President, and Market Manager for Beasley Media Group – Boston, including 98.5 The Sports Hub, WROR-FM, WKLB-FM, HOT 96.9FM and WBOS-FM, has been named the 2022 Broadcaster of the Year by the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association. The award will be presented at the Association’s Sound Bites event on November 17 in Framingham.
Prior to joining Beasley, she spent two years overseeing the cluster when it was previously owned by Greater Media, Inc.
Prior to joining Greater Media, the respected radio executive served as Market President of iHeart Media’s Boston and Providence based radio clusters, where she spent 25 years working her way up the career ladder in variety of positions under various ownerships, including National Sales Manager for WXKS-FM and WJMN-FM, Regional Director of National Sales overseeing New England and General Sales Manager of Kiss 108, Director of Sales (Boston + Providence). Previous to that, she worked as the National Sales Manager at WBOS-FM.
Consistently recognized among the Most Influential Women in Radio over the past decade by Radio Ink magazine, Mary has also been featured among the Top Managers in Radio by the nationally respected trade publication.
She served as Chair of the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association from 2021-2022 and has been instrumental in leading the organization on several key state and national issues, including the legalization of sports betting advertising.
An avid philanthropist, Mary has served on the boards of several non-profit organizations, including the Van Noy Valor Foundation, the Genesis Foundation for Children, the Marcus Smart YounGame Changer Foundation, and the Danny Amendola Catches for Kids.
A New Jersey native who is fluent in three languages, Mary graduated from Boston College Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. in Speech Communications.
2019: Harvey Leonard – WCVB-TV
Harvey Leonard, WCVB Channel 5’s Chief Meteorologist, has been named the 2019 Broadcaster of the Year by the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association. The award was presented at the Association’s Sound Bites event on November 14 in Framingham.
Leonard has worked as a meteorologist in New England for 45 years, starting as a meteorologist for Universal Weather Services, Inc. before becoming chief meteorologist at Providence’s WPRI-TV. Leonard joined WHDH-TV in 1977 as chief meteorologist where he remained until joining Boston’s WCVB in 2002. He is credited as the first meteorologist to correctly predict the impact and intensity of the Blizzard of ’78.
Leonard has been widely regarded as one of Boston’s top meteorologists receiving numerous awards and honors throughout his career. In 2003, Leonard was recognized by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) Boston/New England Chapter with the Silver Circle Award. He has also earned four New England Emmy Awards for outstanding achievement in weathercasting. In 2016, he was honored with the prestigious NATAS Boston/New England Governors’ Award for Lifetime Achievement. Leonard was also inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2018.
Throughout his career, Leonard has been active in the community, involved in many local organizations including the Huntington’s Disease Society of America, the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, and the Boston Prostate Cancer Walk. Leonard has also been a guest speaker for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, Harvard Business School, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In addition, Leonard has spoken to hundreds of school and adult groups and served as a mentor for numerous aspiring meteorologists. Today, over a dozen protégés are working as on-air meteorologists throughout the country.
Leonard is an avid tennis player and enjoys hiking. He lives in Natick with his wife Lorraine. Together they are the proud parents of two daughters and grandparents to five grandchildren.
Leonard is the eighth broadcaster to be presented with the MBA’s highest honor.
2018: Matt Siegel – Kiss 108
Matt Siegel, longtime host of iHeart Media’s Kiss 108 “Matty in the Morning” show was named 2018 Broadcaster of the Year by the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association (MBA). The award, the Association’s highest honor, was presented at Sound Bites, the MBA’s awards night on Wednesday, November 14 at Sheraton Framingham Hotel and Conference Center.
Siegel didn’t always want to be on the radio, he wanted to be an educator. While student teaching at Stony Brook University, a professor, amused by his style in class, encouraged him to get into show biz – because he was funny but a lousy teacher.
Matt’s first job came in Oneonta, New York before flying across the country to work at Tucson Arizona’s “radical underground progressive rock” KWFM. He came to Boston by chance, stumbling on an opening at legendary rock station WBCN while on vacation. He filled in for another broadcast legend, Charles Laquidara, who was on leave of absence. He was soon hired as the permanent midday host.
In the summer of 1980, Siegel was hired at Kiss 108. He moved into the morning slot in January of 1981 and the “Matty in the Morning” show was born. Siegel’s unique style of incorporating guest interviews, music, talk and a lot of laughs based on “real life stuff” with cohosts Billy Costa and Lisa Donovan has been the formula to longstanding success with fans, and in the ratings.
Siegel has several high honors to his name having been awarded two National Association of Broadcasting Marconi Awards for Major Market Personality of the Year in 2001 and 2009, respectively. Siegel was also inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2012.
Siegel resides in Newton with his wife MaryAnn and has four daughters – Chloe, Lilly, Olivia, and Alexandra. He also spends time with his main man Romo – his beloved dog. In his spare time, Siegel enjoys golfing, playing with his dog, and enjoying a beer in the afternoon. He also collects watches and radios.
2017: Bill Pepin – WWLP-TV
Bill Pepin, Vice President and General Manager of Nexstar Media’s WWLP-TV in Chicopee, MA was named 2017 Broadcaster of the Year by the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association (MBA). The award, the Association’s highest honor, was presented at Sound Bites, the MBA’s awards night on Thursday, November 2, 2017 at Sheraton Framingham Hotel and Conference Center.
Pepin began his broadcasting career while still in high school, working for a WREB-AM radio in Holyoke. He began his career with WWLP in 1969 working in production, on-air as a weathercaster, and in management. In 1978, Pepin moved to Salt Lake City, Utah to serve as Vice President and General Manager of WWLP’s sister station KSTU, becoming the youngest television GM in the country. Pepin returned to Massachusetts and WWLP in 1981, assuming the position of General Manager. Under his leadership over the past 35+ years, WWLP has been an innovator in the market and the station has maintained dominance.
Being actively involved in his local and broadcast communities has been a staple of Pepin’s career. He has been or is currently a board member of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce, the Western Mass. Economic Development Council, the MA Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and more, including serving as Chairman of the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association from 2007 to 2009.
Bill is an active traveler along with this wife Marlene. They have journeyed through Europe, Asia, South Africa and parts of the Middle East. He is also an avid boater, traveling up and down the U.S. east coast and the Caribbean.
2016: Bill Fine – WCVB-TV
Bill Fine, President and General Manager of Hearst Television’s WCVB-TV was named 2016 Broadcaster of the Year.
Fine graduated summa cum laude from Boston University with a degree in broadcasting and film from the university’s School of Communication. His first job in television was as Sports Director for WPTZ-TV in Burlington, VT. After a two-year stint at TeleRep, Fine joined WCVB-TV as a sales account executive, rising through the ranks and becoming Vice President and General Sales Manager in 1996.
In 1998, he joined Hearst’s WBAL-TV in Baltimore as its General Manager. During his tenure, he was named “Best CEO” by Baltimore Magazine. He returned to Boston’s WCVB-TV, this time as President and General Manager in 2005.
True to WCVB’s commitment to being Boston’s community leader, Fine is an active public servant, serving on several boards, including the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. He is also past Chairman of the Television Bureau of Advertising and the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association.
Under his leadership, WCVB has consistently remained Boston’s news leader and is regularly honored with local, regional, and national awards. WCVB twice won the Edward R. Murrow Award for “Overall Excellence,” first in 2012 and again in 2014.
In 2013, Fine was awarded “General Manager of the Year” by Broadcasting and Cable Magazine and was named to the inaugural “Power 50” list of the most influential Bostonians by Boston Business Journal. Fine has been married to his wife Gail for thirty years and the couple have three children: Ben, Ali, and Jeff.
2015: Candy O’Terry – Boston Women in Media and Entertainment
Candy O’Terry, respected Boston radio personality and advocate for women in media, was named the 2015 Broadcaster of the Year by the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association (MBA). The award was presented at Sound Bites, the Association’s awards night on Thursday, November 12, 2015 at Sheraton Framingham Hotel and Conference Center.
O’Terry began her career in music by fronting a local band. When she became a single mother, she realized she needed to find a full-time job. The Boston College graduate enrolled in the Connecticut School of Broadcasting and after graduating landed her first radio job at Magic 106.7 in Boston.
Throughout her 25 years at Greater Media, she held many positions; Programming Assistant, Program Coordinator, Afternoon drive traffic anchor, weekends, interim Music Director, Assistant Program Director and finally as co-host of Morning Magic.
Her ability to connect with her listeners by sharing the stories of her life make her one of the most real and relatable personalities in Boston radio.
In 2012, she co-founded Boston Women in Media and Entertainment an organization dedicated to connect, educate and inspire women in our industry. In the community, she has been a tireless advocate in the fight against breast cancer, serving as the spokeswoman for the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk and other organizations.
O’Terry is the fourth broadcaster to be presented with the Broadcaster of the Year award.
2014: Edward F. Perry, Jr. – WATD-FM
Edward F. Perry, Jr., radio personality and owner of WATD-FM “The South Shore’s Radio Station” in Marshfield, Massachusetts was named the 2014 Broadcaster of the Year by the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association (MBA). The award was presented at Sound Bites, the Association’s awards night on Wednesday, October 29, 2014 at The Verve Crowne Plaza in Natick.
Perry’s long broadcasting career began while attending Amherst College as he became a fixture on the radio. Post college, he worked as a writer and editor while also working as a disc jockey in Rhode Island. He found that steady announcer jobs were hard to come by and decided owning his own station was the best way to do it, so in 1973 he applied for a Federal Communications Commission radio license.
Years of hard work and perseverance paid off in 1977 when Perry’s station went on the air. The station’s tower sits on a six acre parcel of land next to the town dump, hence the call letters or WATD “We’re At The Dump”.
Perry has dedicated his career to making sure his station stays live and local. Not only does his station provide a unique mix of music, news, talk and information but through the Talking Information Center, a statewide non-profit, he provides a reading service to more than 20,000 visually impaired persons in Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire, and thousands more nationwide.
Working with wife Carol, daughter Katherine and son Will, Perry creates an atmosphere of family for all that work at the station.
2013: John Garabedian – CodComm, Inc.
John Garabedian, radio personality, disc jockey and host of Open House Party heard on over 150 stations nation-wide, was named the 2013 Broadcaster of the Year by the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association (MBA). The award was presented at Sound Bites, the Association’s awards night on Thursday, November 14, 2013 at The Verve Crowne Plaza in Natick.
Garabedian’s illustrious career began as a weekend announcer on WMRC in Milford, and included positions in the 1960’s at Worcester’s WORC, WAFM in Miami, WHYN AM-FM in Springfield, WMEX in Boston, and WFEA in Manchester, NH. From the late 1960’s into the early 1970’s he was the Chief Engineer at WWCO in Connecticut and was an announcer and consultant at WBCN. In 1972 Garabedian founded his first radio station, WGTR, licensed to Natick. Following that he founded WGTF in 1979 as well as WVJV-TV Boston “V-66” in 1984.
In 1987, Garabedian created Open House Party – an interactive weekend party show, with a live audience, all-request music, 800 call-in lines, superstar guests and the hottest music in the country. The program launched on Kiss 108 (WXKS), and over the next twenty years, the program grew into a nationally syndicated show, broadcast on over 150 stations in the United States. In addition to the Open House Party, he is the founder and CEO of CodComm, Inc. which runs four FM stations out of Hyannis.
Outside of broadcasting, Garabedian is an accomplished pilot and the President of the Cape Area Pilots Association, and also serves on the board of the Massachusetts Air and Space Museum.
2012: Jack Williams – WBZ-TV
Jack Williams WBZ-TV News anchor was named the 2012 Broadcaster of the Year by the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association (MBA). The award was presented at Sound Bites, the Association’s awards night on Thursday, November 1, 2012 at The Verve Crowne Plaza in Natick.
Earlier in 2012, Jack was given the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA). He was also inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame, and he was one of only five New England journalists to receive the prestigious 2012 Yankee Quill Award which is considered to be the highest individual honor awarded by fellow journalists in the region and is presented annually by the Academy of New England Journalists.
During his career Williams has received four Emmy Awards; two for individual reporting for the series “Crisis at Birth” and one for the “Wednesday’s Child” series. In 2001, he was honored with the Governor’s Award from the New England Emmy organization, recognizing his career accomplishments.
