For the first time, the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame is standing firmly on it's own two feet.
That's because on Monday night, the Dawsonville, Georgia City Council voted unanimously to give control of the Hall over to the people who have run it for many years, the volunteers.

Under the new plan, the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame will be run by a seven-person board, and is now very close to being a complete 501(c)(3) non-profit organization known as Dawsonville History Museum, Inc.

"For the first time, we have the restrictor plate off and we can finally see what we've got under the hood," said Hall of Fame board CEO Gordon Pirkle.
Established in 2002 in the city of Dawsonville, the Hall of Fame has operated under the stewardship of the city of Dawsonville for the last several years, with volunteers giving their time to operate the facility, which has been free of cost for the public to attend. The Hall of Fame operated on donations, which were used only for the Hall of Fame.
Now the Hall has the opportunity to work towards adding corporate sponsors, and can build on an already strong foundation to grow the Hall of Fame in the coming years.
"We have the chance now to make the Hall of Fame bigger and better than we've ever dreamed," Pirkle said. "We want to thank the city council and city workers of Dawsonville for all of their help in preserving the history of Georgia's rich racing heritage."
The first item of business for the Hall of Fame is to prepare for this year's induction ceremony on October 22.
On that day, the five latest members of the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame will be enshrined. They include motorcycle racing legend Ted Edwards of Atlanta, NASCAR Sprint Cup championship winning crew chief and engine builder Ernie Elliott of Dawsonville, open wheel and stock car racer Jack Etheridge, NASCAR sportsman championship winning car owner Laverne Kendrick and pioneer stock car racer and race official Jerry Wimbish.
The event will be held at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame the night prior to the 43rd annual Mountain Moonshine Festival. Go to www.georgiaracinghof.com for more information.