Tuesday, April 5, 2022 – Day Wasted Chasing OTL Reimbursement, Riders Meeting

Hey Sweetie,
A frustrating and depressing day today. Ever since the OTL, I’ve been trying to get reimbursed for some of the fuel expense, to my mind, a perfectly natural request. Most non-profit organizations I work for practically force money on me for fuel and meals with the volunteers, etc., but this one? NETA? They never offered anything. Finally I sent them in invoice covering about half of my fuel costs, and for a “dinner meeting” that no one but Anita and I showed up for. The way I see it, if they call a meeting in a restaurant, it’s not unfair for me to believe that the organization was going to pay for it. Not to mention I drove nearly 50 miles round trip to get there. They don’t see it that way. So all I’ve been getting back from them are excuses and excuses and more excuses. I’ve wasted so much time with this it’s ridiculous. Today I actually went back through all of my diary and estimated how many hours I spent working on the OTL (conservatively), no less than 240. I also estimated how many miles I drove while working on the OTL (conservatively), no less than 631.5. It took me over four hours just to figure all that out. With all the work I did, I can’t believe they’re giving me a hard time over a couple of tanks of fuel. If they went to the store and bought cases of water for the riders, they got reimbursed. They had to buy parts to make one of the shuttles serviceable, they got reimbursed. Why is all the fuel I used to get to all the trailheads, not to mention the three days of running around as the ER vehicle, why is that not considered in the same way? I was so disgusted with this organization by the end of the day, I could hardly stomach it. That’s it, I’m done, I’m never working with this group again. After all my hard work, they’re trying to make me feel like I’m a bad person because I believe they should reimburse me for some fuel. Anyway, I fortunately had the distraction of going to a Florida Horsemen’s club meeting along with James, where I saw a stellar example of how a meeting SHOULD be run, unlike anything I’ve ever seen NETA run. Jamie ran a tight ship, starting quickly and ending after just an hour, perfectly run with Roberts Rules of Orders, the reading of the previous minutes, the treasurer’s report, the President’s report, all ticked through quickly and efficiently. It was an astonishingly stark contrast to the last OTL meeting, where it was never called to order, there was no treasurer’s report, no order, not votes, no agenda, period. It was pitiful and when I questioned it, all I got was shrugged shoulders. I don’t know how they keep their Non-profit status, seriously. Anyway, the club’s meeting was efficient, so we were out of there shortly after 8:00. James asked me to deliver some salt and chlorine out here for the water system to save him a trip in the morning, which I was glad to do. Got back about 9:00, had a little ice cream, now I’m ready for shower and bed. It’s really hot tonight, it’s still 80 degrees in the trailer, even after 11:00. Not sure how well I’ll be sleeping, but I’m off to try. Love you, darlin’! Good night!