SSA Board Chairwoman Kathryn Wilson Resigns
Steamship Authority board chairwoman and Falmouth representative Kathryn Wilson announced Tuesday, November 16, that she will resign after nearly three years on the board.
“Due to circumstances outside of my control, and I won’t go into details right now, I need to resign,” Ms. Wilson said during the Tuesday morning Zoom meeting.
Her colleagues seemed surprised as a visibly emotional Ms. Wilson expressed her gratitude to board members and the Steamship Authority. She said that she has informed the Falmouth Select Board that she will continue on the board until they are able to find a replacement for her.
“It’s a private matter, but she did resign with regrets,” said select board chairman Douglas C. Brown.
Ms. Wilson joined the Steamship board in February 2019 after Elizabeth H. Gladfelter, her predecessor, stepped down from her position as Falmouth representative. Ms. Wilson was reappointed to a three-year term on the board in February 2020.
The choice to leave the board was a difficult and emotional one, but Ms. Wilson said that she is proud of what the board had accomplished during her time there and is looking forward to seeing future ideas come to fruition.
“I am delighted to see a few of the things that have developed,” Ms. Wilson said during a phone interview with the Enterprise on Wednesday. “One thing is more discussion about where Steamship Authority is positioned in terms of regional transportation issues. Also, the developing dialogue between Falmouth and the Vineyard about what demand means for not only Steamship Authority but for the Vineyard and for Falmouth. Steamship primarily focuses on meeting demand and that means different things to different people.”
Ms. Wilson also applauded the board’s efforts to fully engage with New Bedford on steamship matters. She explained that fully incorporating New Bedford has been a challenge for the steamship board, but it is something they are actively working on.
“I think enough time has gone by that it’s worth reevaluating all the variables [and] what makes sense now,” Ms. Wilson said. “Just because it didn’t make sense 20 years ago doesn’t mean it wouldn’t make sense now and in the future. The Steamship board really seems to have moved in that direction. One of my requests a couple of years ago was to create the task force and the working group, and I think that they have done a terrific job. I think the candor and the sincere effort on the part of both of those groups have just been wonderful.”
Ms. Wilson said that while she plans to remain civic-minded in her personal life, she is not sure if she will be returning to her role any time soon.
“It seems like it’s a time of transitions and I’m optimistic that Steamship is well poised and the port communities are well poised to move us into the next phase of things,” she said. “I thank the Falmouth Select Board for their trust and confidence in me. I thank my neighbors and other residents of Falmouth who have shown me support and encouragement. I also thank my board members for their collegiality; we didn’t always agree on things, but I think we had a really good dialogue. I learned from them, and I think they learned from me as well. And also the employees at Steamship, from captain to dock worker to reservations, were wonderful and were also very supportive.”