1-4-15. Designation of ‘‘Bill Elliott Day.’’

The General Assembly finds that a Georgia family’s proud tradition of racing began in Dawsonville, Georgia, under the tutelage and guiding hand of George Elliott. George’s young son Bill began to demonstrate at an early age a natural skill and competitive racing instinct at Dixie Speedway in Woodstock, and in 1976, at the tender age of 20, Bill Elliott entered his first Winston Cup race and launched a career that would span decades. Awesome Bill from Dawsonville, a modest, unassuming, and unpretentious man, has become a household name in NASCAR racing and has been selected Most Popular Driver an unprecedented 16 times, Georgia Professional Athlete of the Year twice, National Motorsports Driver of the Year 14 times, and in 1998, was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. It is virtually impossible to list all of the honors and awards Million Dollar Bill has garnered over his incandescent career, but perhaps his most acclaimed accomplishment is his support, love, and respect from racing fans. He has given unstintingly of his time, talents, energy, and financial resources to numerous charities including the Special Olympics, the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation and it is abundantly fitting and proper that this extraordinary Georgian be recognized in a special and lasting manner.#

The members of the General Assembly commend Bill Elliott for his over 30 years of outstanding contributions to the sport of racing and designate October 8 of each year as ‘‘Bill Elliott Day’’ in Georgia.#