TAMPA, Fla. — Days before a dangerous Category 4 storm barreled toward Florida’s Gulf Coast, the chief executive of a Clearwater, Florida-based marketing agency sent texts downplaying the storm’s impact and encouraging staff to bring their pets and kids in the office so they wouldn’t miss work.
Only after outrage spread on social media on Tuesday did Joy Gendusa, the head of PostcardMania, announce it would close its headquarters for Wednesday and Thursday to turn it into a hurricane shelter for employees instead. The company is known for using a business management system tied to the Church of Scientology, also based in Clearwater.
Gendusa sent a staff memo Wednesday apologizing to employees who “felt that it came across as insensitive,” according to the email provided by Jessica Lalau, PostcardMania director of marketing and communications.
