Last year saw some transitions with my work with Raleigh’s Citizens Advisory Councils. After seeing how energized neighbors in the East CAC had become over a noise issue with Enloe High School’s air conditioning unit, I decided it might be a good time to turn over the reins to new leadership. When you identify leaders, the next step is to put them to work, right?
My decision did not come lightly. For over three years, I’ve been planning meetings, coordinating speakers, conducting meetings, and streaming live video from the meetings, to keep my neighbors informed and engaged. In between, I met with neighbors who needed help navigating the city departments to get something done. I also administered neighborhood email lists so that people could stay connected.
It’s been a lot of work, I’ll admit, but many evenings I would return from a CAC meeting with a big grin on my face, my mind bursting with exciting new ideas. It’s been so exhilarating to me to see engaged citizens, and I do believe you’ll never find citizens in the city more engaged than the ones right here in East Raleigh. So has it been work? Yes, absolutely, but it’s also been a blast.
While I made my decision to step down in 2011, my last meeting as chair is tomorrow. I may get choked up.
I couldn’t walk completely away, though. Part of a CAC chair’s responsibility is to attend the umbrella CAC organization, the Raleigh CAC. When a leadership position opened up for this organization, I decided to put my hat in the ring. My fellow chairs liked the idea, too, and elected me RCAC chair. While being tapped to lead a group is always a humbling experience, it’s especially humbling when a group of fellow leaders chooses you to lead.
As far as I know, it’s the first time a (soon to be) former CAC chair will lead the group. I’d considered running before but the workload of running both the East CAC and the Raleigh CAC (and the Parks board, for that matter) was a little too daunting to me. Transitioning away from the East CAC gives me more time to focus on the RCAC, and with the help of our very capable vice-chairs I think we’ll do well.
The city worked up a press release about my election, which was unexpected and quite flattering to me. It was pretty cool seeing this announcement be the top news story on the city’s website over the holiday break.
I don’t know what the future holds in store for me, but I do know that few things could be as rewarding to me as my time with the CACs.