Success - or lack thereof.

So, the new members of the board have been chosen. And I'm not one of them.

The interview went "OK" ... not well, not bad ... just "OK". They only gave each of us about 10 minutes, and that was about 6 questions (I think). One of the questions I was asked was that I have young children at home, how would I handle the time commitment?

After being simply FLOORED that someone would actually inquire as to my familial status in regards to my ability to do a job ... I answered with the simple truth. My job affords us the luxury to have my husband be a stay-at-home dad, and he's extremely supportive. Not to mention that my employer affords me more vacation time than I could use in a year, and looks quite favorably on community service. I was quite uncomfortable with being asked a question that (due to the perception of discrimination) most companies consider to be "off limits". Mind you, inquiry as to someone's familial status is NOT illegal, but most HR professionals will tell you not to even ask the question. As I've said a million times ... perception is reality. And how many board members have children at home?

I let the board member that called to notify me of the decision know that I was quite uncomfortable with being asked about my familial status during the interview, and it was made clear that my opinions and desire for forward movement was unwelcome.

She asked me if I would be interested in being on a committee, and I said that I'd have to think about it. As it stood, my professional credentials and reputation are my utmost priority, and that I wasn't feeling very sure about the direction of the organization. If I wasn't in a position to have a vote for some positive impact, I don't know if I'm interested in being directed to carry out the business of what's gotten us into this mess.

It was not unexpected that I wasn't selected. However, I can't say that I'm not disappointed. I had blind faith - a schoolgirl-type hope, even - that they were interested in positive change and forward movement. I have lots of great ideas to get the word out about what a great organization Miss America is and to sustain long-term growth and financial stability ... however, that's clearly not the direction that current "leadership" seems to want to take. Why? Because my plan would require WORK. Hard work. Not just walking into a business with your hand out, begging for donations.

I need to "noodle" on this for a while to decide whether I'm done for good this time, or whether I'm going to try again. For the first time in nearly 20 years ... I just don't know if it's worth the fight. I know my mom would say that it is, and that anything worth having is worth the fight ... but this time, I think Momma Sue might be wrong.

I still want to get my ideas out, therefore I will keep writing. Who knows ... maybe another (more progressive) state will be interested in hearing what I have to say.

EDITED TO ADD: If you want to see a copy of my professional resume, please comment with your email and I'll gladly share it. Considering it has a lot of personal information on it, I don't wish to post it on here. Thanks.