Stepping Aside from a Labor of Love

Posted by sasha on 6 October 2023

For my rail advoacy friends who are heading down to Meridian, MS for the Rail Passengers Association RailNation:Meridian event, I wish you all safe travels and an enjoyable trip. That said, I won't be joining you all for the even for two reasons: first, I've had disagreements with internal RPA politics that have left me disillusioned. Second, work committments made my attendance impossible. But let's stick with the former.

Back at the end of March, I was elected by the Council of Representatives to a seat as a Director on the organization's Board of Directors. It didn't take long before I regretted my decision. I won't go into much detail, but I quickly found myself unsupportive of many of the changes being proposed organization's governance procedures, along with a significant issue with planning for the Meridian event. As many of you know, I am not a fan of hype. It's why I had no interest in this summer's movie season, why I'm not a fan of Taylor Swift, not a fan of the musical Hamilton and why it took me forever to purchase an iPhone.

Combined with work-related stressors at my previous job, I abruptly (virtually) walked out of the June board meeting and submitted my resignation the following day. I love the work that Rail Passengers does and the advancement of intercity passenger rail (despite working for a major US regional airline), but the internal politicsof the organization is too much for me to bear. I've told some people that I regret having joined the Board, and if I had to do it over again I wouldn't have done so. Wiser voices told me not to run for the Board, and I wish I had listened. I'm too bias, too opinionated and my active particiation in a leadership capacity would never work.

It makes me very emotional. I love that the meeting Meredian has received a lot of publicity (and I have a feeling that Mississippi will get a few more trains there as a result), and I'll keep paying my dues to the organization, but I'm going to continue to stay on the sidelines. Emotional burnout is very common for a lot of people - for instance, I've heard that musicians frequently stop practicing/performing because they've burned out. I went almost four years without being an active flight simmer (flight simulator pilot and enthusiast) for a similar reason - the poltiics became too much to bear.

Barring anything unforseen, I'm almost certain that I won't be in DC next spring for the Day on the Hill, which except for COVID, would be the first time I've not participated since 2014. And that's okay. Sometimes you simply need a break.

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