Hannah Montana - No Tickets For False Essay - Ethics Speaker Chuck Gallagher Comments

The Problem:

As reported, a six year old girl in Garland, TX had, what was thought to be a winning entry in a Hannah Montana essay contest. The essay started with the words, “My daddy died this year in Iraq.”

Problem was…that statement was false. The essay was a lie and created to win the contest.

According to the Dallas Morning News the child’s mother stated, ” “We wrote whatever we could to win,” she said. “It said to write an essay. It never said it had to be true. I never said it was true. … It was just an essay. We wrote whatever we could to win.”

Now isn’t that a skewed perspective. Lie in an essay to win and then think that such an action is alright!

The Outcome:

The prize was withdrawn according to Club Libby Lu’s chief executive officer, Mary Drolet. For more information about the withdrawn prize the following was contained in the Dallas Morning News article written by Tawnell D. Hobbs:

Asked why the prize was withdrawn, spokeswoman Robyn Caulfield referred to a prepared statement from Ms. Drolet. The statement said the company had wanted to take ample time to gather facts and make an “appropriate decision” on whether to award the concert tickets and other prizes to the family. It said the company had learned the essay was false after awarding the grand prize.

“We value honesty and integrity, and in order to uphold those values, we have made the decision we have made,” Ms. Caulfield said, referencing Ms. Drolet’s statement.

The company will award the concert trip to another girl, according to Ms. Drolet’s statement. The name of the new winner is being withheld to maintain the family’s privacy, the statement said.

The Lesson(s):

Every choice has a consequence. This is a statement that is made in most every presentation I give. http://www.chuckgallagher.com

Whether it is to a business organization, an association, or a group of teens or college students, ethical behavior has one common thread - you cannot escape the consequences of the choices you make.

Certainly in this case the consequences fell into several areas:

1. One the little girl was taught a lesson from her mom - Winning at all costs will not yield a positive result if the win comes from a dishonest foundation.
2. Mom has shown her ethical foundation based on the comments she made and considering the publicity she has received, she is the recipient of consequences as well.
3. The example shown by Club Libby Lu as set a standard and example for young girls “tweens” as they are called. I respect Ms. Drolet for taking the stand for ethical behavior and allowing the consequence for unethical behavior to take place.

Perhaps this simple chapter might make a life long impression on the life of a little six year old and be a message for others to take head from.

Every choice has a consequence and doing “whatever we could to win” will not always yield positive results.

Your comments are welcome. Do you agree with the position taken by Club Libby Lu?