Committee to spin off into a separate nonprofit agency: City officials, who oversaw the development of the city’s tribute to the late NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt, are spinning off their steering committee into a separate nonprofit agency. The group oversaw the development of the city’s tribute to racer, who was killed in the final lap of last year’s Daytona 500. A 9-foot-tall bronze statue of Earnhardt was unveiled last month in Dale Earnhardt Plaza in downtown Kannapolis. The plaza is a block away from the Dale Earnhardt Tribute Center by Sam Bass in Cannon Village’s Visitor Center. Operating a nonprofit group will allow the committee to continue fund raising for the sites by soliciting tax-deductible contributions, said city spokeswoman Jennifer Woodford, who has worked closely with the group. The money could be used for maintenance and upkeep of the sites and for other uses, Woodford said, perhaps including a scholarship fund. The committee still is working out what its mission, budget and structure would be as a nonprofit agency. Until now, it has been focused on launching the plaza and tribute center.(Charlotte Observer/ThatsRacin.com)(11-25-2002)
