On May 14, 2015, The Herald presented the first annual Melva Awards. Herald members were recognized for their hard work, excellent writing, and other contributions to our publication. In addition, The Herald inducted its first ever member of The Herald Hall of Fame: former staff advisor Melva J. Michaelian.

Below are the winners of the Melvas posing with their awards and our exclusive photo gallery of the event!

1. Winner of the Jon Dougherty Award: Melanie Kos for “Microburst Causes Macro Damage“

2. Winner of the MVP Award: Melanie Kos

3. Winner of Best/Op Ed Article: Matt Antil for “Are Schools Just Numbers On Excel Sheets?”

4. Winner of Best Feature: Summer Kaeppel for “Teacher’s Advice To Themselves”

5. Winner of Best Photo Gallery: Nick Elkins for “Junior/Senior Prom 2014”

6. Winner of Best Entertainment Article: Lara McGeer for “A Disappointing Ending To Teen Wolf”

7. Winner of the Brittany Decker Award: Nora Taupier for “Alice Will Be Missed By Many”

8. Winner of Best Holyoke High Sports Story: Nick Edwards for “HHS Lands A ‘Jewel’ Of A Head Coach”

9. Winner of Best Sports Story: Chris Perez for “A NBA Season In The Making”

10. Winner of Best Knight-Life Article: Ellen Rice for “In Honor Of Fallen Knights”

11. Winner of Best Spotlight: Carissa Costanza for “Spotlight On: Sarah Cavanagh”

12. Winner of Social Media Master: Matt McAndrew for “Matt Fixes The Colleen Contest”

13. Winner of the People’s Choice Award: Matt McAndrew

14. Winner of Rookie of the Year: Sara Morin

15. Winner of Best Staff Profile: Alex Glanville

16. Winner of The Ronny Authier Award: Ronny Authier

Congratulations to all the winners! Check out exclusive photos taken by our future staff member Feroze Sibdhanny below!