While former Tennessee Valley Authority Board Chairman Glenn
McCullough remains mum about abusive, extravagant TVA spending, the Daily
Journal reported that, in FY 2003 alone, $6.5 million was spent on
“hospitality.” And, an examination of a tape that’s surfaced (see attached)
of WSMV’s I-Team report titled “High Steaks at TVA” reveals the extent to
which TVA customer money was being abused on McCullough’s watch.
Revelation of these two news reports comes two days into McCullough’s effort
to stonewall conservative Republican Greg Davis call for the former TVA
Board Member/Chair to release, and certifiably document, an accounting for
every penny of TVA customer money spent by McCullough, TVA Board members and
TVA employees on entertainment and ‘wining and dining’ during the 6 ½ years
he served on the TVA Board.
“Glenn McCullough claims to be a conservative, but his record of liberally,
and arrogantly, spending TVA customers’ money doesn’t match his rhetoric,”
Davis said. “The record proves Mr. McCullough to be a liberal with other
peoples’ money, so the least he can do is be an honest spendthrift and
release a to-the-penny accounting of the arrogant ways in which he, the TVA
Board and TVA employees abused TVA customers’ money during his entire 6 ½
year reign.”
In an Oct. 15, 2004 Daily Journal article titled “Audit: TVA spent $6.5M on
hospitality”, the Journal reported that TVA’s Inspector General said that
due to “some earlier publicity”, such as WSMV I-Team’s 12-part expose, an
examination of TVA’s FY 2003 spending had been conducted and the following
expenditures of TVA customers’ money had been un-covered:
TVA “Hospitality” Spending, FY 2003
$3.1 million on “special events”
$101,513 on “sporting and entertainment tickets”
$1.4 million on “sporting events”
$75,557 on “”retail and discount stores”
$1 million+ on “employee recognition”
$42,825 on “flower shops”
$782,000 on “business meetings”
$62,360 on “gifts”
$476,513 on “”restaurants and catering”
$39,331 on “golf and club charges”
(Source: Daily Journal, 10/15/04)
In the attached, recently surfaced tape of WSMV I-Team’s report, dated July
19, 2004 and titled “High Steaks at TVA”, investigative reporter Nancy Amons
offers specifics as to the abusive, extravagant way in which TVA customer
money was spent on McCullough’s watch. For example:
“In just two days, TVA spent more than $22,000. Here’s the receipt for one
dinner for 16 people at the Capital Grille: oysters, shrimp, entres and
dessert of course; 26 cocktails and 14 bottles of wine. One of the bottles
of wine cost $199. TVA topped it all off with cigars at $45 each. Total
bill: $4,173. That’s $258 per person.”
The obvious question Amons asked a TVA executive: “Can you really have an
intelligent business dinner when 16 people drink 14 bottles of wine and 26
cocktails?”
With regard to Davis’ so-far un-answered call on McCullough release, and
certifiably document, an accounting for every penny of TVA customer money
spent on entertainment and ‘wining and dining’ during his entire 6 ½ years
at TVA: Davis has also pointed out that McCullough’s accounting for this
type of spending must include those made by TVA employees because, according
WSMV-TV investigative reporter Nancy Amos, the receipts for hundreds of
thousands of dollars are found in expense reports of TVA employees in an
apparent attempt to protect executives like McCullough from being held
accountable.
For example, the $366,000 of TVA customers’ money spent at “Bristol Motor
Speedway for liquor, food and hotels” doesn’t show up on McCullough’s
expense report, or those of senior staff in TVA’s Customer Service and
Marketing division, rather it’s buried in the “in the expense accounts of a
woman much lower in the hierarchy.”
Due to WSMV-TV’s 12-part investigative expose on extravagant and wasteful
spending of TVA customers’ money, under McCullough’s leadership,
Mississippians have already learned that – in just 18 months – McCullough
spent $291,000 flying TVA’s private plane to and from his home on a weekly
basis and that he spent a total of $931,000 flying around on the TVA plane,
rather than flying commercial.
WMSV TV-4 (NBC, Nashvile)
High Steaks at TVA
Reported by Nancy Amons
E-mail: namons@wsmv.com
July 19, 2004
At the Wilson County livestock auction, the steaks of tomorrow sell for
about a $1.14 a pound.
We thought some cattle farmers would like to see what TVA spent on one
steakhouse dinner. It was enough to buy ten head of cattle.
(Sanford Campbell, cattle seller) “Wow.”
The veal chops were $75 each.
(Sanford Campbell, Cattle Seller) “Seventy-five dollars for one piece of
meat. They had a ball, didn’t they?”
It was a holiday celebration in 2001 for TVA’s customer service and
marketing office, located in Nashville.
(Leonard Posey, cattle farmer, reading receipt) “Lobster tail. Coors draft.
Jack Daniels. Wild Turkey…”
The bill at Flemings Prime Steakhouse: $3,593. That’s $123 per person.
(Leonard Posey) “Sure glad I don’t have to pay that bill!”
Flemings – it’s a wonderful restaurant; impeccable service; an extensive
wine list. What’s a $75 dollar veal chop look like? We just had to see – so
we ordered what TVA ordered. Our bill for three? $200. I cringed, turning in
the receipt to my boss; but TVA executives didn’t. They liked Flemings so
much they had another dinner there in May 2003 for 50 people: $6,912,
including some wines at $90 per bottle.
(Leonard Posey, cattle farmer) “Holy Smoke!”
You see it time after time in thousands of TVA receipts our I-Team obtained
under the Freedom of Information Act; gourmet meals, top-shelf liquors, and
expensive wines. The cost, of course, is passed on the local power
companies, like Nashville Electric Service. And who ultimately foots the
bill?
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 7, 2008
CONTACT: Ted Prill (662) 996-1113
MCCULLOUGH MUM ON ABUSIVE, EXTRAVAGANT TVA SPENDING
Daily Journal Reports $6.5 Million Spent on “Hospitality” in FY 2003 Alone
Nashville’s WSMV I-Team Reports “High Steaks at TVA”
SOUTHAVEN, MS – While former Tennessee Valley Authority Board Chairman Glenn
McCullough remains mum about abusive, extravagant TVA spending, the Daily
Journal reported that, in FY 2003 alone, $6.5 million was spent on
“hospitality.” And, an examination of a tape that’s surfaced (see attached)
of WSMV’s I-Team report titled “High Steaks at TVA” reveals the extent to
which TVA customer money was being abused on McCullough’s watch.
Revelation of these two news reports comes two days into McCullough’s effort
to stonewall conservative Republican Greg Davis call for the former TVA
Board Member/Chair to release, and certifiably document, an accounting for
every penny of TVA customer money spent by McCullough, TVA Board members and
TVA employees on entertainment and ‘wining and dining’ during the 6 ½ years
he served on the TVA Board.
“Glenn McCullough claims to be a conservative, but his record of liberally,
and arrogantly, spending TVA customers’ money doesn’t match his rhetoric,”
Davis said. “The record proves Mr. McCullough to be a liberal with other
peoples’ money, so the least he can do is be an honest spendthrift and
release a to-the-penny accounting of the arrogant ways in which he, the TVA
Board and TVA employees abused TVA customers’ money during his entire 6 ½
year reign.”
In an Oct. 15, 2004 Daily Journal article titled “Audit: TVA spent $6.5M on
hospitality”, the Journal reported that TVA’s Inspector General said that
due to “some earlier publicity”, such as WSMV I-Team’s 12-part expose, an
examination of TVA’s FY 2003 spending had been conducted and the following
expenditures of TVA customers’ money had been un-covered:
TVA “Hospitality” Spending, FY 2003
$3.1 million on “special events”
$101,513 on “sporting and entertainment tickets”
$1.4 million on “sporting events”
$75,557 on “”retail and discount stores”
$1 million+ on “employee recognition”
$42,825 on “flower shops”
$782,000 on “business meetings”
$62,360 on “gifts”
$476,513 on “”restaurants and catering”
$39,331 on “golf and club charges”
(Source: Daily Journal, 10/15/04)
In the attached, recently surfaced tape of WSMV I-Team’s report, dated July
19, 2004 and titled “High Steaks at TVA”, investigative reporter Nancy Amons
offers specifics as to the abusive, extravagant way in which TVA customer
money was spent on McCullough’s watch. For example:
“In just two days, TVA spent more than $22,000. Here’s the receipt for one
dinner for 16 people at the Capital Grille: oysters, shrimp, entres and
dessert of course; 26 cocktails and 14 bottles of wine. One of the bottles
of wine cost $199. TVA topped it all off with cigars at $45 each. Total
bill: $4,173. That’s $258 per person.”
The obvious question Amons asked a TVA executive: “Can you really have an
intelligent business dinner when 16 people drink 14 bottles of wine and 26
cocktails?”
With regard to Davis’ so-far un-answered call on McCullough release, and
certifiably document, an accounting for every penny of TVA customer money
spent on entertainment and ‘wining and dining’ during his entire 6 ½ years
at TVA: Davis has also pointed out that McCullough’s accounting for this
type of spending must include those made by TVA employees because, according
WSMV-TV investigative reporter Nancy Amos, the receipts for hundreds of
thousands of dollars are found in expense reports of TVA employees in an
apparent attempt to protect executives like McCullough from being held
accountable.
For example, the $366,000 of TVA customers’ money spent at “Bristol Motor
Speedway for liquor, food and hotels” doesn’t show up on McCullough’s
expense report, or those of senior staff in TVA’s Customer Service and
Marketing division, rather it’s buried in the “in the expense accounts of a
woman much lower in the hierarchy.”
Due to WSMV-TV’s 12-part investigative expose on extravagant and wasteful
spending of TVA customers’ money, under McCullough’s leadership,
Mississippians have already learned that – in just 18 months – McCullough
spent $291,000 flying TVA’s private plane to and from his home on a weekly
basis and that he spent a total of $931,000 flying around on the TVA plane,
rather than flying commercial.
WMSV TV-4 (NBC, Nashvile)
High Steaks at TVA
Reported by Nancy Amons
E-mail: namons@wsmv.com
July 19, 2004
At the Wilson County livestock auction, the steaks of tomorrow sell for
about a $1.14 a pound.
We thought some cattle farmers would like to see what TVA spent on one
steakhouse dinner. It was enough to buy ten head of cattle.
(Sanford Campbell, cattle seller) “Wow.”
The veal chops were $75 each.
(Sanford Campbell, Cattle Seller) “Seventy-five dollars for one piece of
meat. They had a ball, didn’t they?”
It was a holiday celebration in 2001 for TVA’s customer service and
marketing office, located in Nashville.
(Leonard Posey, cattle farmer, reading receipt) “Lobster tail. Coors draft.
Jack Daniels. Wild Turkey…”
The bill at Flemings Prime Steakhouse: $3,593. That’s $123 per person.
(Leonard Posey) “Sure glad I don’t have to pay that bill!”
Flemings – it’s a wonderful restaurant; impeccable service; an extensive
wine list. What’s a $75 dollar veal chop look like? We just had to see – so
we ordered what TVA ordered. Our bill for three? $200. I cringed, turning in
the receipt to my boss; but TVA executives didn’t. They liked Flemings so
much they had another dinner there in May 2003 for 50 people: $6,912,
including some wines at $90 per bottle.
(Leonard Posey, cattle farmer) “Holy Smoke!”
You see it time after time in thousands of TVA receipts our I-Team obtained
under the Freedom of Information Act; gourmet meals, top-shelf liquors, and
expensive wines. The cost, of course, is passed on the local power
companies, like Nashville Electric Service. And who ultimately foots the
bill?
(Sanford Campbell, cattle farmer) “The customers are paying for it, yeah.”
Who’s wining at dining in such high style at TVA? Mark Medford is the head
of the customer service and marking department. We’ll hear more from him in
a minute, but first, here’s a sampling of the prestigious restaurants where
his staff has eaten: May 2003. It was a very good month for restaurants in
Washington DC. The Occidental. The Capital Grille. The Old Ebbitt Grill, and
others.
In just two days, TVA spent more than $22,000.
Here’s the receipt for one dinner for 16 people at the Capital Grille:
oysters, shrimp, entrees and dessert of course; 26 cocktails and 14 bottles
of wine. One of the bottles of wine cost $199. TVA topped it all off with
cigars at $45 each. Total bill: $4,173. That’s $258 per person.
(Mark Medford) “Nancy, I don’t do interviews in my front yard. Call and
make an appointment.”
I called Medford’s office to make an appointment, but he never called back.
TVA instead set up an interview with a public relations spokesman, Frank
Rapley.
That Flemings dinner – the one with the $75 veal chops?
(Frank Rapley, TVA) “I think you’re referring to a party, that was, a
Christmas event, perhaps. We have to, at TVA, retain top talent to do the
work that we have to do here. One small way that we can say thank you.”
A thank-you for the staff. And what about those Washington dinners and the
$200 bottle of wine?
(Frank Rapley) “We do have some meetings with our customers.”
TVA was entertaining its distributors, he says. They are clients TVA
doesn’t want to lose, and could lose, because of deregulation. When their
current five or ten year contracts with TVA expire, the electric companies,
like NES, have the option to buy electricity from another provider. But
aren’t 200 dollar bottles of wine excessive?
(Frank Rapley) “Well, I think singling out some of these particulars sort of
misses the point a little bit about what we try to do in a larger sense
here. We have numerous meetings with our customers, many long, long working
sessions with them.”
(Amons) “Can you really have an intelligent business dinner when 16 people
drink 14 bottles of wine and 26 cocktails?”
(Rapley) “I’m not going to speculate on the details, all I can tell you is,
those give us an important chance to work with those customers. These are
events that every large business to business corporation in some measure as
part of their customer service and marketing, conducts.”
But TVA isn’t a large corporation. It was created by the government in 1933
to help a struggling rural nation. A nation of farmers like these in Wilson
County, buying and selling cattle. Those farmers’ electric bills went up
seven percent last fall, because TVA raised its rates. TVA may also lay off
thousands of its own workers, saying it has to tighten its belt.
The belt-tightening TVA has not done, is putting its executives on a diet.
Greg Davis Campaign Release
3/8/8
Magnolia Tribune
