The Hooters restaurant chain is known for its chicken wings and the tight clothes worn by its waitresses, but now it is also known for sponsoring a Cub Scout camp in Colorado, and some parents are apparently not very appreciative.
According to the Independent, some parents were outraged when they discovered that a local Hooters outlet in Denver not only sponsored a Frontier District Day Camp but had waitresses on hand to welcome the Cubbies to their first day.
One Denver mom was shocked when she brought her 7-year-old son to the day camp only to find women running around in Hooters garb.
Outraged mom Michelle Kettleborough told Denver’s ABC 7 what she thought when she arrived at the camp: “…And I step back for a second and I take a look and I’m like, ‘are they wearing Hooters visors? Wait a minute.”
Parents noted that during the event, Hooters waitresses were wearing their traditional Hooters shirts and tight shorts, but many photos also show the women wearing orange jackets as they welcomed the young boys to the day’s events.
Some parents felt the sponsorship sent the wrong message.
“It’s just the philosophies of the two organizations are polar opposites and I just don’t think they should be together,” concerned mother Marsha Corn told the media.
Corn went on to say the Scouts just made “a very poor choice” in accepting the Hooters sponsorship.
The mother was also dissatisfied with the reply to an email she sent to the Scouts local council expressing her concern over the sponsorship. Corn said the district executive wrote back, saying, “The restaurant assisted with the costs of putting on the camp, and through their community volunteering several of their waitresses donated their time to help staff the camp. Glad to hear your son had such a good time.”
The Boy Scouts of America also released a statement apologizing for the attire of the waitresses but not for allowing the restaurant to sponsor the event:
A restaurant extended support to help make a local Cub Scout Day Camp possible and provided volunteers for the camp. The group of trained volunteers mistakenly wore the wrong attire and it was addressed by our Council leadership. The Boy Scouts of America relies on millions of dedicated volunteers and we are very appreciative of their commitment. We extend our apologies for this mistake and look forward to continuing our mission of serving youth in the Denver area.
Kettleborough wasn’t satisfied by the response either, telling Fox and Friends that Hooters is for adults, not children.
“Hooters is an adult-themed restaurant. The girls are geared toward adult men, not seven-year-olds,” she said on Tuesday.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston, or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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