The Bucks County Republican Committee recently elected a new slate of leaders, propelling Pat Poprik officially to the helm.

Poprik, of Buckingham, becomes the first woman elected chair of the county party; she also was the first woman to serve the Pennsylvania State Republican Party as state party treasurer, a position she held for 17 years.

A state committee member since 1984, Poprik has been the vice chair of the Bucks party for the last four years, but has been involved in most of the day to day leadership decisions.

She was elected on Saturday, June 16, 2012, when Harry W. Fawkes officially stepped down from the position he had held for 40 years.

Now 82, the ailing Fawkes was the longest serving county chair in Pennsylvania and a leading figure in the state's politics. A trash hauler who grew up in Bristol, Fawkes took office as Bucks County Republican chairman in 1972.

Under Fawkes' tutelage, Bucks County Republicans sent two men - Mark Schweiker and Jim Cawley - to the Lieutenant Governor's mansion. The GOP also has managed to hold onto control of county government for years, most recently winning the majority again with the election of Rob Loughery and Charley Martin in November 2011.

Besides Poprik, the rest of the officers elected during the meeting at party headquarters in Doylestown includes Vice Chair Joe Cullen, Treasurer Joe DiGirolamo, Secretary Tom Profy, III, and Asst. Secretary/Treasurer Linda O’Neill.