Last summer the National Corvette Museum acquired the former Fraternal Order of Police Lodge on Corvette Drive. The 8,000 square foot facility, which opened in 2002, sits on 7.5 acres and adjoins existing Museum property. The Museum had originally owned the land.
On Wednesday, June 24 the building was officially dedicated and named the Chuck, Sharon and Kimberlee Fast Collections Campus. Members of the Museum Board of Directors were on hand for a ribbon cutting ceremony and tour of the facility.
Chuck, who is also a member of the Museum and Motorsports Park Boards, was happy to be a part of the project. “Once we accomplished acquiring the building, Sean asked me if we would consider sponsoring the collections building itself. I ran the idea by Sharon, and we decided this would be something our late daughter Kim would like to do or have named after her.”
A Corvette enthusiast herself, Kim started racing in the late 90s with her dad, becoming both competitive and accomplished at the sport. She became involved in coming to the Museum with a caravan, and upon her passing, the Fasts started supporting projects at the NCM Motorsports Park in her name including purchasing a number of acres, and naming both the pavilion and entry road in her honor.
“Kim would be delighted with where the Museum is today, and she would definitely be one of the first to join the new driving club at the track, that I can guarantee,” said Chuck. “We would definitely have a car here and be part of the action over there. With the collections building we’ve already agreed that Kim’s Corvette (a 2004 that she got on her 30th birthday) will be coming here when something happens to either of us.”
“We are fortunate to have so many enthusiasts who donate memorabilia and artifacts to the Museum that our current Library and Archives has been busting at the seams,” shared Dr. Sean Preston, Museum President and CEO. “Thanks to the generosity of the Fast family, we now have a climate controlled, Museum-quality facility to house not only pieces of Corvette history, but also several of our team members who are the caretakers of these historic stories.”
Pictured left to right: Lon Helton, Past Board Chair; Glenn Johnson, Board Chair; Norm Rose, WSCC Board Rep; Dr. Sean Preston, NCM President/CEO; Chuck and Sharon Fast; Carlton Colclough, NCRS Board Rep; Wes Wong, Board Rep; Kai Spande, Board Chair Elect and Corvette Plant Manager; and Andrea Johnson.
