A Canceled Softball League and the Birth of a Public Servant
Paige bought her husband a softball team for Christmas — wrote a poem and gave him his own roster. For a few years it was wonderful. Then the league was canceled. She researched, went to city council, stood at the podium, and left feeling defeated. But she stayed for the whole meeting. And the next. For eight years, before holding any office, she attended city council and Planning Commission meetings every week — simply because the process fascinated her.
Key Lessons
- • Frustration is a legitimate entry point into public life — curiosity is what sustains you
- • Understanding how something works changes your relationship to it
- • The most valuable preparation for leadership is showing up before you have a title
Community Connections
Stories, people, and ideas that connect across the archive — ranked by shared themes, guests, places, and topics.
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Ten years after the men's softball league was canceled, Paige posted a photo of her oldest son playing on his own softball team in the same league. The park space materialized. The lights went up. Even the mink farm moved. 'Promise kept,' she says. She was careful to note she had almost nothing to do with it — it was departments, staff, years of planning, and many unseen contributors.
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