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museum fund-raising committee. The Hall is seeking to raise $2 million
towards a new, permanent Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, to be located
across from South Boston Speedway in Edmunds Park. John E. Burton, Jr., a
Hall of Famer, is the chairman of the fund-raising committee, and NFL and
local Hall of Famer Willie Lanier serves as the honorary chairman. Sandra
Thompson will serve as the campaign secretary and Ricky Hutcherson is the
campaign treasurer. Carlyle Wimbish, Jr., president of the local Hall of
Fame, said yesterday the planned new Sports Hall of Fame building and
Museum will be an asset to the locality. "Halifax County has such a great
sports history, and we need to tell the world about it," said Wimbish.
"This will be an economic boost to the tourism of Halifax County," said
Wimbish. The Hall has raised about $50,000 so far, not including a
$100,000 commitment from the Halifax County Board of Supervisors towards
the project. The Hall hopes to establish a permanent sports museum,
including the no. 22 NASCAR Nextel Cup Caterpillar Dodge car driven by
Ward Burton at Daytona. The car was donated by Bill Davis Racing, which
celebrated a win in the 2002 Daytona 500 with W. Burton. The museum will
also have a no. 31 AT&T Wireless Nextel Cup machine driven by South Boston
native Jeff Burton, currently
making a push for the 2007 series championship. The fund-raising committee
announced campaign naming opportunities, including $250,000 for the Hall
of Fame Museum, $200,000 for the Banquet Hall/Multi-Purpose room, $100,000
for the Information Display area; $75,000 for the pre-function area;
$75,000 for the meeting room; $50,000 for the gift shop; $50,000 for the
Hall of Fame office, $50,000 for the reception office, and $50,000 for the
kitchen. It is hoped either individuals or companies will want to make
donations to put their names on a plaque in the lobby of the new Hall
facilities associated with these areas. The fund-raising committee also
announced donor recognition levels, with
appropriate plaques in the information display area. The levels include:
Friends, $1,000 to $4,999; Patron, $5,000 to $9999; Sponsor, $10,000 to
$14,999; Bronze Club, $15,000 to 19,999; Silver Club, $20,000 to 24,999;
and Golden Club, $25,000 and above. All gifts are tax-deductible. The
members of the museum fund-raising committee include 50 community leaders,
or prominent individuals with ties to the community. The members include:
Barbara Bass, Wilton Burgess, Ward Burton, Bob Cage, Norma Chaney, Bobby
Conner, Mason Day, Lester Dillard, Tommy Elliott, Ryan Garrett, Conway
Goodman, Alan Gravitt, Will Hill, Allen Lawter, Frank Lee, Bill Matze,
Terry Meadows, Bill Morningstar, Chandler Nelson, James Priest, Cathy
Rice, Everette Snead, Coleman Speece, Bobby Wilborn, Wimbish, Addison
Marable, Jimmy Burgess, Jeff Burton, Brad Ballou, John Cannon, Joe
Chandler, Chip Conner, Harvey Dillard, James Edmunds, Donnie Ellington,
Dexter Gilliam, Bill Greer, Bobbie Hill, Ricky Hutcherson, Joan Lawter,
Tommy Leggett, Stuart Maxwell, Ronnie Moore, David Myers, Ed Owens,
Coleman Starnes, Barry Saunders, Sandra Thompson, Buck Williams and Logan
Young. The Hall hopes to have the groundbreaking for the new Museum and
Sports Hall within a year. The local sports Hall was organized 20 years
ago, with the first inductee banquet in 1988. 63 athletes are now members
of the Hall, with 47 scholarships awarded. The Museum will house
memorabilia from all inductees. It will have displays of youth sports, and
Halifax County Sports history. The museum will feature traveling displays
from the Virginia Hall of Fame, Colleges, Pro Teams and NASCAR, a banquet
room that will seat up to 250, generating rental income to support the
museum. The new facility will also include a meeting room (seating
capacity of 20 with tables).