What the Frack...

I worked for a nonprofit on a large wooded property. One day, a group of our volunteers learned that a gas company was planning to begin fracking near the property. The volunteers had concerns about its impact on our environment, including the risks of air and water pollution. They asked our CEO to write a letter and send it to local government officials. My CEO delegated this letter to me.

I met with our volunteers and articulated their concerns in a letter. I sent it to my CEO for his signature. That’s when I learned that I had misunderstood the assignment.

One of our (very wealthy) Board Members was involved in the fracking industry. I was supposed to write a letter, like our volunteers wanted, but I was not supposed to imply that fracking was in any way concerning.

The CEO arranged for the Board Member to meet with me and dictate a letter that said, basically, we are aware of the fracking and we understand that there is no reason to be concerned about it, thank you.

My CEO signed and sent the letter, and told both the volunteers and Board that he had done as they asked.

As for me, I got to pretend that I hadn’t spent several days of work pleasing everyone by saying nothing!

- Anonymous