A Message from Our President Melanie J. Wender, Esq:
It is incredibly humbling and a great honor to serve as the 86th President of the Bucks County Bar Association (“BCBA”), which, in my opinion, is the best bar association in the whole Commonwealth. While I may be biased, I believe it to be true. If you meet our members, come to our events, engage with our staff, you will see exactly what I am talking about. The BCBA shows what is great about the Bucks County legal community and I am so proud to be a member and even more so to be the President of this organization.
I am not a native of Bucks County. I actually grew up in the great state of Iowa, Sioux City to be exact. I am the third daughter of Dr. Donald and Janice Wender, two wonderful parents who both worked incredibly hard to provide for their six daughters. Yes, you read that right. I am one of six girls and it is awesome. My sisters are Emily, Naomi, Rachel, Hayley and Natalie and they are all incredibly smart, beautiful, and simply put my best friends.
I have been married to my husband Alex Schmucki for ten years. He is my support system and is an amazing dog dad to our two Shih Tzus, Pancakes and Donuts. Yes, I have a thing for breakfast food and carbs.
Now, let’s get back to the legal profession and the Bucks County Bar Association. I am a family law attorney who decided to make Bucks County my professional home and, more recently, my actual home. Arguably, doing so is one of the best decisions I’ve made as it’s led me to this position. I am incredibly excited about my presidency, but I understand that I alone do not create success for the bar association. The success of this organization is built on the backs of its members, the staff, the board of directors, and the amazing executive board. The members volunteer to present CLEs, get involved in sections, attend events, and constantly generate creative ideas to engage more with both the legal community and the community at large. The BCBA staff is a pot full of creativity, constantly brimming over with new ideas. Frankly, they make my job pretty easy. Then there’s our executive director, Heather Cevasco, who is always open to new ideas and new initiatives, within reason. She knows when an idea gets too big. But, perhaps more importantly, Heather truly care about the organization and that is who you want as your leader. With regard to the board of directors and executive board, I cannot say enough nice things about them. They are all wonderful people who stepped up when called upon. I look forward to working with everyone and to another successful year. It will be great!