Upon graduating from the Stenotype Institute of South Dakota in 1982, Melody secured a position as an official-freelance reporter in Missoula. She established Jeffries Court Reporting in 1985.  Melody has obtained both the Registered Professional Reporter and Registered Merit Reporter certifications. In 1992-1993 she served as President of the Montana Court Reporters Association and remains active in that association. In 1993 Jeffries Court Reporting was awarded the contract as the Official Court Reporters for the Twenty-First Judicial District and continued in that capacity until July of 2002. In November 1995 Melody passed the Registered Diplomate Reporter, a designation which only 236 reporters in the United States shared. In May of 1996 she became the first court reporter in Montana to achieve the Certified Realtime Reporter certification. MCRA chose her as the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award in 2000. In 2004 she was awarded the Citizen of the Year Award by the Montana Trial Lawyers Association. She served on the National Ethics First Task Force from 2010 to 2012. In 2016, Melody passed the Certified Realtime Captioner certification. One of the highlights of her career has also been participating in a mock deposition at the Alexander Blewett III School of Law for over 30 years (pictured on the right). Her free time is spent with her husband Todd and children Kyle and Kaylee. Her hobbies include lake activities, walking, biking and gardening.