These conflicts of preserving the historic essence of the C&TS vs. doing what needs to be done to run a tourist RR have been going on for almost 4 decades now. Ever since Bob Keller and Scenic tore down the Chama freight warehouse next to the depot to make a bigger parking lot to his throwing the predecessor of the Friends (NGRA) off the property it has been like this. There will always be some inherent conflict as the operation of a modern day daily tourist RR has a very different agenda from what the Grande ultimately evolved to when the end came in 1968.
I have been watching this drama now for almost 40 years as the players change and the ebb and flow of financing and various crises have consumed many a good man and woman. To me the really one glaring reality over this time is one of too many chiefs and not having one figurative and visionary leader where the buck can stop. This organizational fact is evidenced by the lack of long range planning, and clarity of mission of the various groups working at what appears to be cross purposes. From many of the Commissions who have over the years served ineffectively, to the politics of state financing, to the Friends who have valiantly tried to prop the RR up when the operators fell short, to the various management companies who have had varying degrees of success but ultimately were in it for their own bottom line, to the employees/ locals who see their ownership rights of the RR regardless of what all of the above may be doing it has been in a word, dysfunctional.
I can see the frustration and understand why any criticism is taken as an attack. We were promised when the latest Commission was replaced almost two years ago that there would be changes and to their credit much positive has occurred thanks in part to the CTMC management team and the employees with a helping hand from the Friends. In my view there is one person who could organizationally step up and take a strong leadership roll in overseeing and implementing a more unifying mission for all parties, and that person is the Commission Executive Director. You can slice and dice it anyway you want but at the end of the day this is the position that should have the power, authority and vision to implement a clear mission for all involved.
Rod Jensen
P.S. since transparency and clarity of mission is part of this equation publishing the new operating agreement between the Friends and Commission would be a good place to start IMHO
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/04/2008 02:33PM by rod.
