YMCA leaders agree to drop Lay's name from facility

[Judi Lynn]

June 7, 2006, 5:53PM
YMCA leaders agree to drop Lay's name from facility
Request came from the former Enron chief

By BETTY L. MARTIN
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Honoring a request from convicted former Enron chief Ken Lay, the YMCA of Greater Houston's executive board has agreed to remove his name from a Katy facility.

The 14-member board unanimously voted to rename the facility as the Katy Family YMCA after receiving a one-page letter Friday from Lay, who was found guilty May 25 on fraud and conspiracy charges in connection with the failure of the energy firm.

The decision must be ratified by a quorum of the Y's full 64-member board of directors when it meets, probably in July or August, said Trazannna Moreno, spokeswoman for the Greater Houston YMCA.

But the Katy Y already is using the new name in daily operations and is ordering a stone marker with that identification to go outside the $5.7 million facility for which Lay paid an undisclosed amount for naming rights six years ago. The amount paid for naming rights was at least $1 million.
(snip/...)

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3947213.html

[yourout]

1. Just move it to the nearest Correctional Facility.

The Enron Correctional Institute for White Collar Criminals.

[davidinalameda]

2. are they going to give the money back?

they should

they're profitting from his crimes against the employees of Enron and others

If they don't, that would be more than just a bit hypocritical

[Divernan]

3. Should NEVER name anything after someone still living.

There used to be a sensible practise/tradition wherein no schools, bridges, airports, highways, ball fields, government buildings, libraries, parks, etc., were EVER named after someone who was still living. The reasons were that (1)until someone had died, there was no guarantee that they might not do something which would DISHONOR their name and (2)potential honorees typically had enough class to consider it unseemly, self-promoting, and generally truly tacky to have something named for them BEFORE their deaths.

I knew a DINO Dem. state rep. in Pennsylvania, who was notorious for repeatedly selling his vote to the Republican majority, even when begged/threatened by the Dem. leaders not to do so. For each traitorous vote, the Repubs rewarded him with big fat grants to take home to his district. Then he would turn around and have his local district office manager call the school, library, nursing home, parks director, etc., and strongly suggest, prior to actual awarding of the grant, that it would be appropriate for them to show their gratitude by naming the facility after said representative. What a guy! ! !