How NOT to preserve your legacy: Embezzlement & Wax Museums
Fundraising for non-profit organizations is tough enough these days. Imagine the horror of the national Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority when they learned that their president, Barbara McKinzie, blew $900,000 in organizational funds to commission a "living legacy wax figure" of herself.
According to the Washington Business Journal, the sorority filed suit against McKinzie earlier this summer “to restore their beloved sorority to its former high standards of
governance, corporate transparency and active member communication."
The wax statue is supposed to be displayed at a wax museum in Baltimore, but it might serve the college gals better if it was placed by the punch bowl at the next fraternity mixer.
We don't know where McKinzie buys her wax figures, but she's getting cheated. Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in London, considered the filet mignon of wax sculptors, will immortalize you for only 150,000 British Pounds ($248,500).
Alpha Kappa Alpha has 950 sorority chapters and has a successful track record inspiring African-American women to pursue their career dreams. AKA members and alum include writer Toni Morrison, singer Alicia Keys, astronaut Mae C. Jemison, actress Phylicia Rashad, ballet dancer Carmen de Lavellade Holder, poet Maya Angelou, singer Gladys Knight, opera star Marian Anderson, Miss America Suzette Charles, civil rights activist Coretta Scott King and actress Jada Pinkett-Smith.
Just a guess, but we think that Alpha Kappa Alpha would have gotten a better value by commissioning an Organizational Profile documentary -- than a giant wax figure.