Re: [RC] Trail trash tirade, with apologies - Barbara McCrary
This is something I have said for many years. I
was on the AERC board for 20+ years, and as such heard the usual amount of
complaining about "AERC" mistreating one group or another. My response
was, and is, WE are AERC, all of us. AERC is not just some isolated group
somewhere that is running our lives. WE have the opportunity to affect
change. And to them I say, if you don't like the way the
board manages things, YOU run for the board of directors and help make
changes. It's a tough job. We spent our own money to fly to
somewhere in the USA for a mid-year meeting, paid our own hotel bills, and sat
in on meetings from 7 AM to 1 AM the next day. It's tiring,
frustrating and demanding, and a few members complain without understanding what
it takes to be on the policy-making end of the organization. We didn't
just make policies to upset riders, we truly did what we thought was best for
the membership at the time. Sometimes decisions backfired, and
when policies didn't work out we tried to correct them.
I loved being on the board, but after 20+ years, I
burned out and it showed. I'm not going to run again, ever. AERC
needs younger people with brighter ideas. There are several current board
members that I think are just great. Talk to them...don't just
complain.
So, if you don't like the way things are working,
either get involved or SUAR.
