Being Nice Can Be Difficult

We have an interesting little situation involving a man named Joe Rodriguez. Joe is a successful business man. He started out as a kid, working as a shoe shine boy in New Jersey.

Now, he's based in Florida and he created Rodriguez Charities,a legal foundation that donates significant amounts of money to at-risk and needy people. You know, like for the Haiti earthquake, local high school football and band uniforms, the American Cancer Society, the American Red Cross and many, many more worthy causes including a Palm Beach County elementary school. In all, he's donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to all kinds of non-profits. This is the kind of guy after whom they should name streets, boulevards, parks...you get the idea...

This is where the controversy begins. Until now, Rodriguez's gifts have largely remained anonymous because he didn't want what he does for a living to smear his charitable efforts.

Joe owns a strip club.

Actually, he owns Pure Platinum in Fort Lauderdale and the Cheetah gentlemen's clubs in Hallandale Beach, Pompano Beach and Palm Beach County.

Last week, Joe cut a check for $10,000 for the Roosevelt School in Palm Beach County. A lot of poor kids go to this school and it is the second donation from Joe, of this amount, within the past two years.

The people in the school system did not know who Rodriguez is or where the money came from. Jose Lambiet, a Palm Beach Post columnist, spilled the beans and told the world that Rodriguez owns strip clubs and gives money to charity...like the Roosevelt elementary school.

There's a fuzzy procedural line between accepting the money or not. Citing policy, the district said it would ask Roosevelt's principal, Glenda Garrett, to return the money, Lambiet reported. But district spokesman Nat Harrington insisted district officials haven't discussed the matter and the decision to return the check rested with Garrett.

My advice:
Take the money.
Say, "Thank You!"
Optional: Name the cafeteria after they guy!