Posted June 14, 2017
(Editor’s note: Paul O’Day, president of the American Fiber Manufacturers Association (AFMA), died on June 1. He was 82. His longtime colleague in Washington, D.C., Auggie Tantillo, president & CEO of the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), pays tribute to O’Day here.)
By Auggie Tantillo
The world of Washington politics is often described as a veritable meat grinder. Replete with type-A personalities and exaggerated egos, the Washington policy arena is generally not for the faint of heart. For that reason, it was a privilege to have had the opportunity to work with such a unique individual as Paul O’Day, a true gentleman and a man of impeccable character.
Paul O’Day: An appreciation
Auggie Tantillo
Paul O'Day
I first met Paul in the early 1980s when he was a high-ranking official at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Our working relationship deepened when he accepted the position of president of the American Fiber Manufacturers Association (AFMA) in 1984. For the next 33 years, Paul exhibited an unmatched dedication to AFMA and the industry he loved.
Moreover, Paul was able to successfully represent his constituency with a style and level of decorum missing all too often in the current Washington environment. Famously courteous and humble, Paul won heated policy debates through the power of his extraordinary intellect, his expansive institutional knowledge and his total command of the subject matter at hand.
Completely secure in his role and the critical contribution he made to every project, Paul was always quick to defer credit and to shower praise on his colleagues.
It bears repeating, these character traits are virtually unheard of in the modern, vitriolic Washington policy arena. With the passing of Paul O’Day, fiber manufacturers and the U.S. textile industry as a whole lost a priceless asset. Personally, I lost a role model, confidant and friend who will be greatly and deservedly missed.