A very surprising plus: volunteering

[scrabbler1]

Having heard the horror stories here, I have been very selective with what I am willing to do. Board membership sounds like hell to me.

A few times in the 6 years I have been retired, I have thought about being in the co-op board in my co-op complex. We have had several vacancies develop but I have decided against it for a few reasons: (1) I already do some volunteer work for the co-op by overseeing the annual elections for Board members and determining a quorum by using my spreadsheet skills to quickly figure out the quorum and counting the ballots if there is a contested election; (2) I don't want the headache of being on the Board even though the Board members and our managing agent know me and like me from my aforementioned work. My apartment happens to be right above the room the Board meets in so I get to hear some of the heated discussions (raised voices only, not individual words) coming through my floor from time to time and I think to myself, "I am glad I am not part of that!" (3) If I have a suggestion or comment to make about an issue relevant to the Board, they are always receptive to what I say because of the goodwill I have built up over the years.

So, if I am already getting some gravy, why seek to obtain some grief?