United Way perks for Gloria Pace King included Panthers season tickets, country club

The scandal over compensation of former United Way CEO Gloria Pace King took a new turn Monday when its board released her expense reports. Among the perks: $4,280.62 for Carolina Panthers season tickets and $5,832 for a country club membership last year (The Point Lake and Golf Club). The report shows King's perks and expenses totaled nearly $74,000 for 2008 alone. Between 2007 and 2008, her travel expenses doubled to $24,000. Russ Sizemore, the attorney for the United Way's board, says King's expenses were approved by the board's chairman. At the height of the pay controversy, that position was held by former Bank of America executive Graham Denton who resigned from the board in September. Sizemore says United Way's board has reviewed the expense reports and referred to comments made by current board chair Carlos Evans at a press conference last week. "We concluded that the expenses reinforced the fact that the executive committee should have exercised greater oversight, which is something the executive committee, quite frankly has already acknowledged and conceded," said Evans. Evans went on to say the board has a plan to better scrutinize CEO expenses and compensation. Many of the expense categories such as travel have been trimmed in the current year to make up a fundraising shortfall of $15 million. Sizemore says Interim United Way CEO Mac Everett is receiving a flat compensation of $20,000 a month and no fringe benefits such as the car lease and fuel reimbursements King received at a total cost of $13,000 last year. The reports give only total dollar amounts and do not include specific names of hotels, restaurants or individuals that King entertained on United Way's tab. Sizemore says those details were left out to protect the privacy of United Way donors and the agency, pending litigation. King is suing for the full retirement and salary package the United Way board promised her in 2008. It totaled more than $2 million.