Get to know Melissa Weik-Hanna, Esquire, CPIA in 12 Questions

January 2021 - Melissa has been with the Emmanuel team for 7 years, and what an amazing 7 years it's been!  Learn a few fun and interesting facts about Melissa, who is our Featured Employee this month.

1. Where is your favorite place to visit on vacation, or your favorite thing to do when you have time off?
   Carolla, SC with family.
    
2. What is the weirdest, most unorthodox, or most interesting job you've ever had?
   Part-time toll booth operator on the turnpike at the Delaware River Bridge - I met a few semi-famous people taking tolls on their way to Atlantic City (76ers players, newscasters).
    
3. If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would you want to meet... and what would you want to discuss?
   Famous person - Ruth Bader Ginsberg and how she was able to work for women's rights in a world that probably wasn't ready but did so with dignity, grace and a calmness that rarely exists in such a powerful person.
   Personal - My Great Grandmother on my mom's side, or Nanny as she was called.  My mom was essentially raised by this women and she was a big influence in my mom's life but she passed away 3 days after I was born. This hurt my mom deeply and I only learned of the impact it had from family members years later.  I'd love to have known her and what kind of woman she was as she had probably the biggest influence on my mom's life.
    
4. What is something interesting that you've learned within the past week?
   My husband is an amazing carpenter! We are doing some work in our home and he was able to tear down walls and put up new ones - literally, and I was worried we'd need to call in reinforcements. He did a great job and it looks like a professional did it. He doesn't have any background in carpentry so I've learned he's got talents beyond what I knew, and we've been together for 25 years!
    
5. When you were 10, what did you see yourself being when you grew up?
   An attorney.
    
6. If Hollywood made a movie about your life, what would it be called, and who would play you?
   "This kids going to change the world" - about my daughter. Sandra Bullock might be the person who plays me.
    
7. What is the last book you read?
   Becoming by Michelle Obama.
    
8. What is one surprising or interesting fact about you that people may not know about?
   When I was a junior in high school, I wanted to try out to be the Hawk mascot for St. Joe's because I did research and found out a full scholarship was awarded to the student who got the position.  I had scholarships to go to St. Joe's, but not a full scholarship, so I applied to try out, but was rejected because only males were eligible for a full scholarship.  It was the first time I was 'good and fired up' about something that didn't seem right or fair. I wrote letters to the board and faculty about it and eventually, a few years later, they did allow females to receive a scholarship. 
    
9. If you could choose anyone to be a mentor, who would it be, and what would you like to learn from them?
   Ruth Bader Ginsberg - Her calmness and demeanor in such a forceful and powerful world is something I'd love to learn and possibly bring to others in a country that desperately needs calmness.
    
10. What is your most memorable or proudest moment working for Emmanuel?
    I'm proud of the charitable works we do as an organization and as individuals.  We each choose a charity to support and it goes beyond that as many of us work with charities outside of the Emmanuel Giving Tree list of charities.  The generosity exhibited by all is amazing and I wish more companies did this as it would certainly make the world a better place.
     
11. What is the most rewarding part of your job overall at Emmanuel?
    Over the last year with COVID and all that has changed in the world, working with clients to try and help them any way we can to save their businesses and help keep them open and operating has been rewarding. Clients are like family and I don't think, typically, a business owner thinks of their insurance agents like that... but we're not your average agents - our genuine care and concern is evident with every interaction we have with clients.  When we lose a client, we don't write it off. Instead, we dig and look deep to find out what we can do better so we are always trying to improve and do better and that helps us be successful.
     
12. What is the most important career lesson you've learned that you'd like to pass on to new hires who join the Emmanuel team?
    Feel free to give your feedback as they are always looking to improve.  I've worked many jobs where they'd ask for your input but not actually utilize or do anything with it.  At Emmanuel, management listens so speak up when you see something that could be improved on.