A character trait

As an educator, I would genuinely look forward to attending meetings.  I felt that I would learn something, gain a new understanding about something; I felt it was an opportunity to discuss and share my opinion; also keep up-to-date with activities and future projects.  Throughout my career, many of my colleagues did not enjoy meetings, and resisted them completely.  Often, they simply would not show up; or show up late.
In my department meetings, I tried to arrange meetings with the obvious snacks and tried to keep them brief.  I was always convinced of the importance of gatherings to develop team work and more.
I recall PA - days, where the opportunity to travel off campus;  up north, or to downtown Toronto.  I welcomed these special locations;  it was something different and valued the opportunity to see something different; hear some different sounds; be outdoors, etc.
To add to this, many of my colleagues would actually offer negative comments about meetings:  they are boring; not worth the time; irrelevant, seeing no connection to the work that they specifically did in the classroom.  For those times that colleagues would attend meetings, they certainly avoided doing any work that was expected after the meeting as follow-up.  These meetings challenged us to think differently and complete some written documents, planning, and goal-setting.  Often, I would complete the documents on my own, and submit to the administration, as required and requested.
Maybe it's because I felt a sense of duty and responsibility?
I remember attending strike duty in the late 1990's;  I was the first to showup that first morning.  It was dark and cold.  I have a thing about showing-up early to events and activities, never late, always early.  It's a part of my character, a feature that I take very seriously.
Today, there is some talk about soft skills as being very important as we work to prepare for the future.  Team-work has always been important, but appears to be more important today.  We lost many of our PA-days, especially those off campus.  Many of my colleagues would complain that they would not attend;  in fact, it became a union issue.  You see, we are not expected to be required to drive to alternate locations, just our assigned school.  This is my understanding.
I think gatherings of people who can work together, discuss items, express feelings, is important for many reasons that will certainly contribute to the success of any programming.  Rehearsing is vital to performing!  I guess this comes from my music background, knowing and believing in preparation, practicing, rehearsing.
In the old days, we would all gather for lunch in the staff room - it was a nice break.  As my career moved forward, I noticed that we all just wanted to stay in our own workroom.  In the old days, we would gather on Friday nights after school to socialize.  As the years moved on, I noticed that everyone was too busy with their own personal lives.
I appreciate this character trait I have about effort, valuing meetings, and attending everything on time; actually, well in advance of the start time.
bye for now