{image1}It's an understatement to say that Melanie Beres has a lot on her plate. In fact, her proverbial plate is more like a large platter that's heaping with commitments, responsibilities, plans and ideas.
When it comes to making things happen, Beres is the real enchilada.
At the age of 20, the Nicolet High School graduate started The Tribe Theatre, now the Midwest Rock Opera Company (MiROC), one of the few rock opera groups left in the world today.
"I receive two or three well-produced scripts every week from all over the world," says Beres over a cup of coffee at the Fuel Café. "In fact, I just got one from India. There just isn't a home for most of these."
Although she has big plans for MiROC this year -- including bringing the first Rock Opera Convention to Milwaukee's Midwest Express Center in 2006 -- Beres is currently focusing on her new role as the president of Business & Professional Women/USA, the leading organization for millions of working women that's dedicated to work-life balance and workplace equity issues.
"The only way women are going to get ahead is by sharing their resources and experiences," says Beres, who refers to her husband as her soul mate and is the mother of three daughters. (She is currently also working on a program called "Fit, Fit & Fabulous" at the Children's Outing Association that will help young women build esteem through music.)
In an effort to help women "get ahead," Beres organized "A Coming Out Party" for the new Milwaukee chapter of BPW/USA at the Milwaukee Athletic Club, 758 N. Broadway Ave. The event will offer an evening of networking, eating and drinking. Guest speakers include The Shepherd Express' Dave Luhrssen, Pam Koch of Le Club, Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton and State Senator Tom Reynolds.
Beres urges all local women to consider attending the event, whether they are working a high-pressure professional gig or laboring as a stay-at-home-mom.
"This organization attracts all different women, including Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Green partiers -- you name it," says Beres.
BPW/USA, founded in 1919, was one of the first groups to endorse the ERA in 1937. With 1,500 local organizations, the group provides members with professional development programs, networking, grassroots activism and opportunities to support scholarships for disadvantaged women.
The cost of "A Coming Out Party" is $15. E-mail Beres at rcktheatr@aol.com for more information.
Women who attend the event are not expected to join the organization, but Beres plans to recruit a couple hundred members this year.
"Women still make 79 cents to every dollar earned by a man, but it's not men's fault; it's our fault. We need to face and embrace one another," she says.
The Business & Professional Women/USA Web site is bpwusa.org.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
