They brought home Olympic glory. They engineered climate solutions. They expanded liquor licenses into communities that desperately need the economic bump. These 10 Bostonians rose to the moment in 2024 — and they lifted us up with them.

Stephanie Farinelli and her husband never thought they would buy their first home in a subdivision. Then they found Whisper Valley, an enclave nearly 20 miles outside downtown Austin, Texas.

Representatives from Boston-based climate solutions nonprofit HEET, and Framingham’s Networked Geothermal Pilot Project met with Newton’s Public Facilities Committee Wednesday to discuss geothermal energy options for the city.

On a warm morning last August, a small crew of construction workers drove a 30-foot-tall drill through the surface of a parking lot in Framingham. As the drill bit, which was cooled by a steady stream of water, broke through the asphalt and ground through the rocky subsurface, it sent a stream of mud spewing from the hole.

With the help of a $50,000 grant, the town will explore the feasibility of a geothermal heating and cooling system for the proposed town campus project.

The Town of Arlington has won a $50,000 grant to evaluate potential sites for a networked geothermal project, according to a news release from the town's Department of Planning and Community Development.