Washington Life awarded Pilar O`Leary a 2006 `Substance and Style` award Where was the substance
Released on: April 15, 2008, 7:38 pm
Press Release Author: Concerned Reader
Industry:
Press Release Summary: Reader urges Washington Life to rescind its 2006 honor of Pilar O\'Leary, whose impropriety at the Smithsonian\'s expense has been reported by Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, and NYTimes
Press Release Body: April 15, 2008
To: Washington Life Magazine
CC: Capitol File DC Modern Luxury Washington Times Washington Post Amy Argentsinger (personal)
To Whom It May Concern:
In light of the "lavish spending" and abundant impropriety of Pilar O'Leary at the expense - both fiscally and in reputation - of the Smithsonian Institution, I feel urged to express my concern for Washington Life's 2006 bestowal of its "Substance and Style" award to O'Leary.
As a concerned member of the DC non-profit community, I am not only astonished by O'Leary's actions and the negative attention she has drawn to such a prestigious institution, but moreover, the role of DC media in its need to glamorize tangential and even dubious members of our nonprofit community.
In DC, anyone can throw a party so long as a cause is attached. The result is a mockery of fundraising, and even the causes purportedly helped. Further, this culture seems to sensationalize philanthropic 'DC social celebrities,' best idealized by Miss O'Leary and others, such as Andrea Rogers, a Washington Life regular best known as the brainchild behind the Courage Cup (because impoverished, undereducated DC youth need polo lessons.), and the "Blondes vs. Brunettes Powder Puff Football Game" to benefit the Alzheimer's Association.
Indeed, Washington Life saw a stylish young woman, and a trendy cause in Pilar O'Leavy, honoring her with its award and its Holiday 2006 cover. Is it cliché, or too obvious to ask: where was the substance behind the style?
Washington Life must revoke its honor placed upon O'Leary. To let this misjudgment go unnoticed would be disgraceful of Washington Life, and a disrespect to the DC nonprofit community.
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