Born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut, Pat always knew she wanted to be in the business of serving local communities. After graduating from nursing school, Melluzzo moved to the Berkshires in 1976 and worked as a nurse at Fairview hospital. “I enjoyed nursing for ten years,” Pat says. “But situations change.” What changed was that Pat and her husband, Richard, had children. The responsibilities of caring for a family motivated Pat to search for a profession that would give her more flexibility. She still yearned for the satisfaction of human service but she also wanted to be an available mother for her two sons. Her sister suggested the perfect solution; real estate.

“Let’s give full credit to my sister, Mary-Ellyn,” says Melluzzo. “She’s a senior VP of a national real estate company in Connecticut and she encouraged me to take this path.”  Pat may have had help finding the real estate business, but she did the rest herself. First, she became a licensed agent in New York and Massachusetts and started her own South County Realty. Then she moved to Wheeler and Taylor and became an active member of the Berkshire County Board of Realtors. She has been on the board for more than 15 years, and served as president in 2006.

Pat’s professionalism is characterized by her devotion to understanding the Berkshire and Columbia County landscapes. “New Marlborough and Sandisfield are vast geographical areas,” Mezzullo explains. “It doesn’t matter if you have old school maps or new GPS, to learn how special this region is, you have to get out there and walk on the land. Experience it.”

While years of practice have given Pat immense professional knowledge, she always remembers what first attracted her to the real estate business. “It remains a service industry,” she says. “In a hospital, people are stressed out because they are injured. In real estate, people are stressed out because they are making important life decisions. In both cases, it’s my responsibility to help them and I’ve always enjoyed that.” 

Pat’s combination of professional devotion and personal sincerity make her an ideal candidate for working real estate in the Berkshires. “People here are buying dreams,” explains Melluzzo. “Many of our clients are second home owners who take longer to make decisions. They want to make sure they are getting their dream.” More time with clients means more time for Pat to do what she enjoys most – learn about the land and connect with people. “I’ve made lifelong friends because of this business,” she says. “And working real estate has only made me love the Berkshires more.”

Pat is humble, but her influence at Wheeler and Taylor is undeniable. The firm, which was started in 1871 as an insurance company, has grown impressively over the years, with more than fifteen agents working at offices in Stockbridge and Great Barrington. The qualities that make Pat unique are the same qualities that make Wheeler and Taylor one of the most recognized real estate agencies in the area. “We are a company that prides itself on quality service,” says Mezzullo. “We are truly concerned about how well our buyers and sellers are treated.”

Throughout her career, Pat has demonstrated a strong work ethic and natural people skills. The ability to strike a balance between practical and personal is something that guides Pat in her own life. She gave up nursing so she could spend more time with her children. She ascended to professional leadership positions, but remained involved in the local community, serving on the board of the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce. This fusion of professionalism and humanity allow Pat to appreciate the distinctiveness of every client and property she encounters.
 
“Every transaction is its own story,” she says. “Every property is unique and every buyer and seller is unique. It’s my job to understand that and help the story have a happy ending.