That Woman

submitted by Savannah


I do volunteer work for various organizations. No matter the cause or the committee, one thing remains consistent: somewhere along the line, I will have to work with That Woman.

Through the years, different people have played the role of That Woman. But since I was a teenager, there is nearly always someone who fits the description. That Woman looooooves to be in charge. She loves the power of telling people what to do. She sends out highly detailed e-mails listing who does what, when and how. And really, this is a good thing. That Woman is efficient and good at her job. She's just really mean about it.

That Woman spends a lot of time moaning about all she has to do and how no one helps her. She talks about how certain people don't pull their weight. Usually why they aren't in the room. My current That Woman also enjoys telling the juicy details of slackers lives. She acts like she does this so that we'll be more understanding as to why these people can't "pull their weight" but really - she's mean.

That Woman completely misses the point of volunteerism. People give what they can. Some volunteers have the time and resources to give a lot, others can only give a little. The point is that they ARE giving. That Woman acting like the volunteer police doesn't inspire them to give more - it just makes them avoid it in the future because she has made the whole experience so unpleasant.