About BCMAC | Capabilities | Barbara N. Lyons | Community | Contact

Community

One of the principle’s upon which BCMAC is founded is providing specialized services, time and talents to the community. Its founder, Barbara N. Lyons, is a strong proponent of giving back. Here are just some ways Barbara and BCMAC serve the Bucks County Community:

• After graduating law school, Barbara moved to Doylestown, PA, and began her work in public service beginning with the Big Brothers B/D and helped it merge with Big Sisters.
  
  
• Barbara works with juvenile offenders to keep them out of the justice system and help them to become responsible and caring young adults; she has taught at the Juvenile Justice Center and serves as a director at CB Cares, an organization made up of the Central Bucks School District, Doylestown Hospital, the BC Drug and Alcohol Council and other non-profits organizations committed to raising a healthier youth.
  
  
• While on the Board of A Woman's Place, an organization which provides shelter for women and children leaving an abusive situation who have to start again with limited financial resources, Barbara helped to create and fund the Full Circle Thrift Shop located in New Britain, PA. Profits from the shop are used for the women served by the organization.
  
  
• Barbara helped to create and fund the Teen Center located in Doylestown, PA.
  
  
• Having served on the Doylestown Borough Revitalization Board which Barbara chaired for three years, she worked with the Main Street program. Doylestown Borough was used as a state-wide model for the program which later contributed to the designation of Doylestown as one of the towns in the country noted for its thriving business district and historic preservation.
  
  
• Barbara counsels families in crisis and organizes emergency relief for families dealing with children at risk, abuse or economic hardship.
  
  
• Understanding the issues facing homeowners in tough economic times, Barbara helped organize the creation of the Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program for the County of Bucks providing homeowners the opportunity to meet with lenders to prevent home foreclosure and serves 8 hours per week as a judge pro tem for this program.
  
  
• In her capacity as mediator for the Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program (MFDP) in Bucks County, Barbara is training other lawyers to serve as mediators through a CLE. The MFDP CLE is hands on training. The mediator lawyer in training attends a conciliation conference for two hours and earns 2 substantive CLE credits. There is a nominal fee for the CLE and the trained lawyers may then volunteer as mediators for the program. The trainings open to all members of the Bucks County Bar Association. All trainings occur on Mondays at the Bar Association building.
  
  
• Barbara served as a volunteer in Doylestown Township for 15 years before she became a Supervisor: she created the award winning Doylestown Township Public Information Annual Report while serving on the Township Information Board which was the precursor to the present Township information system which has been named the best in Pennsylvania; she served as an organizer and volunteer at Oktoberfest, which she chaired for two years, including making her award winning chili for the other Oktoberfest volunteers; she served on the Park and Recreation Board for six years, which she chaired for three; she helped to create the Environmental Education Area in Central Park which serves as an outdoor classroom for elementary school children; and she has raised more than $100,000 for local Parks and Recreation programs.
  
  
• Barbara served on the Bucks County Open Space Task Force that resulted in a County wide referendum in 2007 proving $87 million in funds for the preservation of Open Space.
  
  
• While serving as a Supervisor for eight years, Barbara continued to volunteer at Oktoberfest, chairs the annual Golf Outing that benefits the Township parks; she served on the Doylestown Township and Borough Open Space and Parks and Recreation Comprehensive Planning Committee resulting in a regional planning approach for both municipalities; she has established working relationships with the governments of the Borough of Doylestown, Warwick, Plumstead and Warrington Townships, the County of Bucks and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. She takes her role on the Board of Supervisors seriously and has an exemplary meeting attendance record.