A commercial real estate exec sent apology letters to Minikahda Club members for an offensive crack he made about President Obama that could merit Secret Service attention.
"Quite honestly, I don't recall," said Whitney Peyton, senior managing director at CB Richard Ellis and a member of the exclusive club, when asked exactly what he said at a semi-annual gathering known as the Good Fellowship Luncheon.
Suffice it to say that Peyton's remark was incendiary. Since I didn't hear it, I'm not repeating it, as only one person present at the luncheon was courageous enough to contact me. "It went over like a dead balloon, as many members in attendance were very upset," claims my tipster.
"I offended somebody and I made a written apology related to that," Peyton told me. "One written apology to everybody in the room," said Peyton, who estimated the crowd at, "I would guess, 100 or so."
"The bottom line is that there's a deal we do called the 'Good Fellowship,' and it is an introduction of the new members to the club and club membership. Their sponsors give me something that's funny about them and I try to have fun with it. In this particular case, I crossed the line."
This was an impressive display of owning up to a gaffe until Peyton told me: "I will tell you that several people came to me and said, You didn't say anything wrong."
Then why pen an apology, on Minikahda stationery no less? I asked Peyton.
"The people who came to me and said it was OK came to me after they got the letter," he said. "The sequence of events was, I offended the people, I wrote an apology letter because I found out I had offended them, and I stand by the apology letter, and I'm trying to be fair and reasonable and honorable. The people who I offended requested that I apologize to everybody for those who might have been offended."
