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40 maconmagazine.com | April/May 2024 Keep an eye out for more legendary ladies of local media in the June/July Music Issue. RIGHT Irving on set in the mid-1970s. Photo courtesy of Irving. BELOW Del Ward. Photo housed in the UGA Hargrett Library, published courtesy of Ward's estate. "Kimchi is like wine or cheese, its flavor grows with age. " of the Eastern Star, Smooth Ashlar. Irving is also on the boards of Upward Bound; the League of Women's Voters; and Booker T. Washington Center, pointing to her contributions to Macon as a community-minded citizen. She sees herself and her career as the sum of all her experiences and the people in her life, including her beloved daughter, Avril, whom Ward describes as an awesome, loving, energetic person that she adores along with all young people she didn't birth that have called her "Mom." Irving and Ward were members of WMAZ during the same period but never worked together. But Irving admires Ward and her work ethic as a fellow female pioneer — a first in her own right — and who she views as a phenomenal woman as well. "When she made her mind up to do something, it was going to happen," Irving said. "As a woman she certainly was a forerunner, too." "If you want a better community, you have to make it so." Angel Irving recalls her father often saying those words. Irving's recognitions as an important broadcasting professional are numerous. She is the recipient of the James Wimberly Institute's Racial Barrier Award; an NAACP 100 Outstanding Women award; and the Douglass Theatre's Fannie Appling Douglass "Cornerstone of Culture" award. In addition, she's been featured in Standing on Their Shoulders: A Celebration of the Wisdom of African American Women, and now, Macon Magazine. At age 75, Irving still heads her own company, Angel-Ink Public Relations & Marketing Firm. She participated in Leadership Macon; the Children's Coalition of Middle Georgia; Epsilon Omega Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc; and Queen Esther Chapter #15 Order