6 remarkable things about Charlotte’s Woman of the Year
The Story
Jane McIntyre has served on the CMS school board, saved the YWCA from financial ruin and restored the very damaged reputation of the United Way of Central Carolinas. On Wednesday, she was named Charlotte’s Woman of the Year by a Woman’s Place program, sponsored by the Levine Museum of the New South and the Woman of the Year Committee.
Congratulations, Jane – Charlotte’s 2014 Woman of the Year! An award well-deserved! http://t.co/pkNIdV0tju
— United Way CC (@myUWCC) February 18, 2015
What makes McIntyre special
(1) Hometown girl. McIntyre was born at Presby, raised in Rock Hill and majored in special education at Columbia College. She earned an executive MBA from Queens at age 50.
(2) Change agent. When McIntyre took over the United Way, she walked into a PR nightmare that had led to a $14 million drop in donations. McIntyre insisted she get less than half the salary of the former CEO (earning $142K instead of $300K) and refused raises. She cut staff from 100 to 49, froze pensions and even shut down half the office’s refrigerators to save money. Overall, she cut the United Way’s operating budget in half. She’s retiring in the fall.
(3) Takes criticism well. Not everybody has loved McIntyre’s severity. During her tenure, the petite McIntyre (5 feet, 116 pounds) said she’s been called “The Presumptuous Little Pickpocket, ” “The Mendacious Munchkin” and the “dissembling little doyenne.”
(4) Cancer. In her 20s, McIntyre was diagnosed with a malignant tumor in her throat. Doctors removed her thyroid.
(5) Legendary stubborness. Once, McIntyre refused to leave a restaurant until the owner divided up the tab among a party of eight (they each had expense accounts). The restaurant owner refused and called the police. The officer wound up dividing the check.
(6) She keeps good company. In December, she along with Michael Jordan, the Rev. Billy Graham and Coretta Scott King were awarded North Carolina’s highest honor for extraordinary service to the state, the Order of the Long Leaf Pine.
[Charlotte BizJrnl] Jane McIntyre receives N.C.’s highest service award (PHOTOS) http://t.co/tOmJ1JkRkL
— Samantha Rutledge (@NCSmallBiz) December 12, 2014
Photos: Todd Sumlin, Jeff Willhelm, Diedra Laird / Charlotte Observer
This story was originally published February 19, 2015 at 12:47 AM with the headline "6 remarkable things about Charlotte’s Woman of the Year."