If the COs show any favoritism to these special pioneers or any ex-bethelites serving on the body of elders the local elders will become extremely jealous... (when at) a Circuit Assembly or Special Assembly Day or District Convention where these brothers begin getting all the good parts and become the department heads of all the powerful departments.
Here in California a CO was assigned to a local congo after he had to "leave the road" because of his wife's chronic illness. He showed up about a week before the assigned CO visited the congo. The first clue the local elders got about this ex-CO's status was when they met with the Circuit Overseer for the Friday night elders' meeting and asked if they should recommend an appointment for the ex-CO and were told, "You don't need to recommend him, he was sent here by the WTS and was already an elder here when he walked in the door."
Of course, within months he had - as the poster quoted above suggested - a highly visible role as chairman of all the assembly and conventions as well as a designated speaker for one of the parts. He is way too busy to serve on judicial comm's or give many talks in the local congo - he will always plead "busy with circuit assignments." Seems he is always driving up the freeway for talk rehearsals or to meet with WT officials about upcoming conventions and assemblies.
He was clearly "not one of us" but I don't think there was much jealousy - in fact, most of the elders in that congo now work in "Administration" at the conventions and sit upstairs in the most holy section, enjoying the status and perks. As for making a living, one of the "prominent elders" in the circuit owned a very successful construction business and brought this ex-CO into the business as a supervisor of some sort... he drives around in a truck with a cell phone to his ear all day. It was never clear exactly what he does, but he goes from project to project and talks with people, checking job progress and filing reports. He had absolutely no construction work experience at all (nor any other skills) but he makes good money and bought a beautiful home. His wife recovered from her illness and went back on the pioneer list.
