Message from the President

A Message from Our President Jeremy D. Puglia, Esq: 

What an honor it is to serve as the 85th President of the Bucks County Bar Association. When I’m upstairs at the Bar Association building, I see the plaques on the wall with the names of all our past Presidents.  I’m humbled to know that my name will soon be listed amongst such distinguished men and women. 

Who am I?  I’m glad you asked.  My dad was a Philadelphia kid who went to Lincoln High School and then served in the Navy.  My mom was born in Italy.  Her family emigrated to Canada when she was young.  She then moved to the United States after marrying my dad in 1980.  I was born at Frankford Hospital in Philadelphia in 1983.  I have an older sister (1982) and a younger brother (1985).  So, yes, I’m the middle
child.  Perhaps that explains a lot about my personality for many of you reading this.  For a time, our family lived in an old farm house in Bristol, PA.  When I was 10, our family moved “up” in the world to Warminster, and I graduated from William Tennent High School in 2001.

 

When it comes to my family, I am truly blessed.  I tell my wife, Katharina, that I could not have created a more perfect woman if I tried.  She was and still is the ‘girl of my dreams’.  Those of you who have had
the opportunity to meet her understand what I’m saying here.  Her smile and personality light up a room when she enters.  We have three inimitable children:  Wesley (10), Larissa (8), and Ella (6).  I really do
love being a dad to these kids.  They challenge me daily.  I’ve said it so many times:  I’ve never had higher highs, or lower lows, than with my kids.  However, as they continue to get older, I’m starting to forget all the lows and just remember the highs.  With that background out of the way, let’s get back to the Bucks County Bar Association and some of my thoughts for 2025.


As a member of the Board of Directors since 2018, I’ve had a front row seat to the last 7 Presidents of the BCBA:  Jess Pritchard, Bob Repko, Dan Keane, Sean Gresh, Julie Goldstein, Larry Scheetz, and Tyler Tomlinson.  Each of these women and men has had her/his own style of leadership.  However, something common in each of them is that they were themselves during their tenure.  Perhaps it is merely a byproduct of being Type-A personalities.  Or maybe we lawyers are just wired this way.  But all of the above Presidents led with their chin, by being who they really are. I’d like to do the same.  


Additionally, in general leaders have two options with how they want to lead.  They can either try to do everything themselves, or they can use a team and lead together.  When I first got out of law school, I was the former.  I had to have an answer to every question.  I had to solve every problem.  I had to do things my way.  And everything was a hill to die on.  This type of “leadership”, if you want to call it that, creates more problems than it solves.  It alienates.  It makes people feel unheard.  It is exhausting.  I want to lead our
Association together.  To that end, I will rely heavily on the collective wisdom of my executive board (Melanie Wender, Stephanie Shortall, and Elaine Yandrisevits), and the rest of the 2025 Directors of the Board.  We are going to accomplish great things this year, because we are going to do it together. 


Now, let’s get to work!