Charlotte United Way chief asked to resign

August 27, 2008

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The board of United Way of Central Carolinas called on Gloria Pace King, the group's 14-year president and CEO, to resign or be fired after a scandal erupted over her salary and benefits package, The Charlotte Observer reported Aug. 27.

The board authorized firing King by Sept. 30 if she doesn't resign, said Graham Denton, board chair.

Mac Everett, former head of corporate and community affairs at Wachovia Corp., will take over as interim president during United Way's annual campaign drive and will be paid $20,000 a month for up to four months, the Observer said.

An analysis of tax records by the newspaper shows that King's combined salary and benefits are the highest among 31 United Way organizations nationwide. Her retirement benefits were ranked highest even before the board's decision to raise them by more than $822,000 in 2007 in an effort to make up what the board called prior underpayments.  

The United Way will pay King $290,000 annually for the 2½  years remaining on her three-year contract unless she finds another job in that time. King will not receive what's left on her retirement plan: $450,000 to $500,000 a year through 2010.

For months after King's $1.2 million compensation came to light earlier this summer, the board maintained that she had earned it. Last year, the agency's annual campaign raised a record $43.5 million.

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