After a successful term and then some on the bench as a Lycoming County judge, Joy Reynolds McCoy is sliding into home base with Little League International’s upper management team.

The retired judge is now the senior vice president and chief legal officer for the organization.

McCoy felt ready to retire from the bench, but she never thought she would end up at Little League International, she said.

“Sometimes life throws you a curveball, and you land at Little League,” McCoy said.

Hugh E. Tanner, Little League International Board of Directors Chairman, praised McCoy for her wide range of legal experience and her distinguished tenure as a judge.

“Throughout her time at the Lycoming County Court of Common Pleas, she has been an advocate for the protection, safety and well-being of children,” Tanner said. “I know she will bring that same passion and commitment to supporting the millions of boys and girls who wear the Little League patch each year.”

McCoy is still learning the ropes, however.

“My head is spinning-I really have to learn everything about what happens here to give the best input from a legal perspective,” McCoy said. “I’ve not had a single day that has been the same since I started.”

McCoy leaves the position of family court judge, where she spent the past 12 years overseeing all matters related to child custody, divorces, juvenile probation and more.

McCoy earned her bachelor’s degree from Elmira College in 1989 and a J.D. from the Franklin Pierce School of Law in 1993, before launching her career at McNerney, Page, Vanderlin and Hall as an associate, and later a partner, before launching her election campaign to take the bench in 2009.

Prior to her swearing-in, McCoy said the family court was always less-prioritized to other judges.

“Family court judge was the low man on the totem pole-it was whoever got stuck with it,” McCoy said. “I wanted to change that.”

“Anything family-law related filed in the courts ran through me to ensure it was filed appropriately and get it scheduled,” McCoy said. “I did a lot to change the system to be more user-friendly and more effective for litigants.”

McCoy admitted some naivety in entering the courthouse as to how bad society could get. However, that did not deter her from trying to make the process easier.

Family court issues are difficult things for families to go through, McCoy said. She said part of her vocation was reducing the trauma children endure through the process.

“We tried the courthouse dog initiative, created the children’s playroom and tried to minimize the impact of trauma on the kids who are there–most of the time, not because of their own doing,” McCoy said.

Above all, McCoy misses the immediate staff who surrounded her every day on the bench. That included her secretary of 26 years, Jerri Rook, who stuck with McCoy from private practice to the courthouse.

“She and I had created the K-9 in the courthouse initiative. It was emotional when I left — each of us really worried how we could work without one another,” McCoy said.

Additionally, McCoy said she had four law clerks in her 12-year career with the courthouse with whom she grew close with, the last of whom was Jen Linn. Linn and Rook were joined by Lisa Wertman, her court reporter.

“My approach was always that everyone on my staff knew everything that was going on,” McCoy said. “I do miss having that core group, which is pretty unique to the position I was in.”

McCoy gave credence to Juvenile Probation Chief David Goodwin, Children and Youth Director Matt Salvatori, and Amber Morningstar.

“For those offices that worked under me, or that I had oversight over… It really is an incredible group of people in each of those roles,” McCoy said.

McCoy reminisced of her memories of the lunch club she organized with former judges Marc Lovecchio, Dudley Anderson and Richard Gray. The four toured around the county, visiting different, and sometimes unusual, restaurants.

“Those opportunities with two older judges, their wisdom and their insight on things… those were some of my best times, the lunches with the three of them,” McCoy said. “They had a way of calming you and making you realize it really wasn’t that big of a deal.”

McCoy discussed what she learned through her position in the court.

“People lie to judges all the time,” McCoy began. “You see the ugliest of the ugly in people. The people who end up in the court system are not there in a happy situation.”

However, McCoy said sometimes, when you least expect it, someone can do something pretty good. Some people will make decisions based on what is right, and not necessarily on how the court decision might play out in their favor.

“Because of the kids or another reason, they took another route,” McCoy said.

However, something significant McCoy observed was the importance of her position, and the authority it commanded.

“One of the things I never took for granted was the fact I was a judge and made people pick up the phone or show up,” McCoy said.

McCoy used that fact to improve the system, make experiences better for others’ and improve the collaboration she had with various agencies.

McCoy distinguished herself when she won the YWCA’s Unsung Hero and Women of Excellence awards. Additionally, the Lycoming Law Association selected McCoy to receive the Equal Access to Justice award.

And in her off-time from Little League, McCoy will be able to return to writing Protection From Abuse orders pro bono, or “for the public good,” on a volunteer basis.

McCoy will oversee Little League International’s legal functions, insurance operations and risk management departments, and will report to Chief Operating Officer Patrick Wilson.

“We are honored to welcome Joy to Little League International, and we look forward to her leadership as we continue to enhance the Little League experience in thousands of communities around the world,” Tanner said.