Drama seems to be the name of the game here in Hawaii, especially in Hawaii 4-H. Saturday, as I've previously mentioned, was the annual State 4-H Foundation and Alumni Association meeting. It was a really good day on my part because I learned so much, got to meet a lot of people, and eat some amazing catered food! However, it wasn't a blissful day for everyone involved...
At the Foundation meeting (just before the group Alumni Associating meeting/luncheon), there was drama galore. Accusations left and right concerning financial documents, a question of embezzlement, mind games pitting friends against co-workers, racial accusations, and "this is the way it's always been done so why change it?" statements. Did I mention that the majority of these members are in their 50s and 60s, with the youngest in her upper-40s? I mean, it's really a sight to see when a 50ish-year-old woman (with an incredibly piercing voice) stands up and starts screaming at people, making a scene that can be seen and heard across the entire country club.
Like I said... I'm perplexed.
As a result of that "show" more drama has unfolded. The Foundation was told that they would have to go through a mediation meeting before they could meet again, specifically focused on the treasurer's role in the group. Not only did the treasurer and her friend on the Foundation walk out in the middle of Gary's luncheon presentation, she resigned first thing this (Monday) morning. Now we're going through the process of trying to obtain the records from her (not to mention trying to locate the original missing records mentioned during the Foundation meeting), as well as dealing with the gossiped fall-out that might happen because of this.
Again... Drama, drama, drama.
Gary wasn't kidding when he said that they need some mediation and conflict resolution/transformation training. Things are just so backwards here. It's definitely providing me with a lot of stuff to write about for my practicum, but is leaving me a little perplexed about what I'm doing here and how I'm supposed to help! We're still going to hold the mediation meeting despite the treasurer's resignation. Hopefully this will be a step in the right direction. :)
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