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Bristol Motor Speedway announces community partnerships





Representatives from Bristol Motor Speedway and six Nashville organizations pose for photos after the corporation made a community partnership commitment Wednesday.Vivian Jones / Main Street Nashville

Representatives from Bristol Motor Speedway and six Nashville organizations pose for photos after the corporation made a community partnership commitment Wednesday.Vivian Jones / Main Street Nashville

Bristol Motor Speedway has committed to partner with six community organizations in Nashville for volunteer and fundraising efforts related to a proposal to renovate the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.

On Wednesday, the corporation announced a partnership commitment with six organizations, including Glencliff High School and Fall-Hamilton Elementary, Conexión Américas and the North Nashville Community Economic Development Consortium.

The commitment comes as the corporation pursues a long-term contract proposal with Metro to restore and renovate the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. The contract still requires approval from the Metro Board of Fair Commissioners and the Metro Council.

“We feel that we really align with these organizations, and we want to go deep and make an impact in the community and really come behind them,” said Bristol Motor Speedway General Manager Jerry Caldwell. “These organizations are already doing tremendous work.”

After a series of 25 outreach meetings in the last year, the corporation announced partnerships with the following nonprofits and groups:

 

 

• The corporation will partner with Metro Nashville Public Schools to offer career development and mentorship to students at Glencliff High School and support reading, STEM and leadership initiatives at Fall-Hamilton Elementary. Students will also have access to field trips at the future Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway facility.

“We are elated to be business partners with Bristol Motor Speedway,” Thommye’ Kelley, academy coach at Glencliff High School, told Main Street Nashville. “It will mean so much to students because it will give them an opportunity to see the things that they’re learning in their classroom in real life.”

In the academy model, students are able to take career and technical education classes in 10th through 12th grade. Business partners with MNPS provide guest speakers, field trips, job shadows and mentorship to students.

“Having the Motor Speedway as a part of that will give our students tremendous opportunities to meet industry professionals,” Kelley said.

• Bristol Motor Speedway will also partner with the North Nashville Community Economic Development Consortium, a group of five nonprofits, to assist with workforce development and recruitment, as well as track renovation, construction and ongoing maintenance.

“We’re just really excited that we can announce to the community that there is a very diverse representation with this company that’s coming to the city,” said Carlina Bell Rollins, representing the consortium.

• The corporation will partner with Operation Stand Down Tennessee to support military veterans and their families, hosting veterans’ events and collaborating on programs to engage, equip and empower veterans in Nashville.

• BMS plans to work with Conexión Américas and its Casa Azafran facility to support the communities around the speedway, including engagement on microenterprise, culinary incubation, education and community development initiatives.

• BMS plans to partner with Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee Inc. to provide educational access and activities for youth across Middle Tennessee Clubhouses.

• The corporation also plans to launch a Nashville chapter of the Speedway Children’s Charities nonprofit, which raises and distributes money for children’s organizations around each of the corporation’s eight racetracks across the country.

“The vision is really that every child has the same opportunities, no matter what obstacles they may face. And our teams are passionate about making sure that we leverage the assets we have, contributing our own money,” Caldwell said.

Since 1982, the charity has distributed more than $59 million to those eight local communities.

“We look forward to building off of that foundation,” Caldwell said of the partnerships. “This is just the beginning.”

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