Business Awards Bungled

Dawn Rizos runs a pretty good business. But the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that even she was surprised when American Solutions, Newt Gingrich's conservative think tank, said they were honoring her with their entrepreneur of the year award.

Why? Rizos runs The Lodge, which she describes as "The number one Gentlemen's Club in America, featuring captivating entertainers, fine food and drink in an elegant, intimate setting you have to see to believe." But Rizos happily accepted the offer to attend an awards banquet where she would get to meet Gingrich himself and even donated $5,000 to Gingrich's Business Defense and Advisory Council.

Then a few weeks after the invite, she got a letter from the organization rescinding the offer. Apparently, they had mistaken her for another business called the Lodge based in Virginia. Rizos is based in Texas.

Rizos wasn’t the only one mistakenly awarded. American Solutions made the same blunder with adult film company Pink Visual.

But if you really think about it, these two companies probably are doing a good job as defined by what the award celebrates: “Success in building your business and recognition of the risks you take to create jobs and stimulate the economy."

Well, at the very least, they've got the stimulating part down.

Photo courtesy caninhas via Flickr.