AITAH for skipping a working meeting meeting to celebrate only one person on our leadership team?

Posted in AIO, but feel this might be helpful too..I work in an education department where we haven’t had a supervisor for a long time (think central services type team who supports the whole school district)

Years ago, when our previous supervisor left, she trained a small group of us (four people) to take on the essential supervisory duties until the position could be officially filled. We split the workload, problem-solved together, and basically kept the department functioning.

A few years later, a new supervisor was hired. When he came in, our team expanded by one more person, and all of us helped support him, orient him, and fill in institutional knowledge gaps. He leaned on our group heavily and kept us meeting regularly as a council of team leaders.

About 18 months after that, he left too. Since then, the supervisory duties have fallen back onto the group of four of us who have been doing this work from the beginning. District-level people frequently came to us for guidance, support, and decisions—not just one of us, but the whole team.

Enter our new supervisor, she began in early September.

Recently, we found out that our next professional learning meeting is being turned into a celebration for only one person on this leadership team for “everything she has done in the absence of a supervisor over the years.”

To be clear: she absolutely deserves celebration. She is hardworking, kind, and genuinely one of the best coworkers I’ve ever had. My frustration has nothing to do with her.

The issue is that the leadership responsibilities were never carried by just her. All four of us have stepped up for years, taken on extra work, guided colleagues, and supported the department when no official supervisor was in place. Hearing that only one person will be recognized while the rest of us are ignored felt incredibly disrespectful and hurtful.

Because of that, I told our supervisor I won’t be attending the meeting. I requested that any department updates be sent to me separately.

Now a coworker is implying I’m being petty and making drama where there doesn’t need to be any. A couple of others have said they understand why I’m upset, but still think skipping the meeting is “not a good look”

I genuinely don’t want to take anything away from the person being celebrated. I just don’t want to sit in a room and watch credit be given in a way that erases the work the rest of us have done.

So AITAH?