The ceremony will be held noon to 4 p.m. Oct. 25 at Seaplane Opry House, 2099 U.S. Hwy. 133, in Moultrie.
The Georgia Country Music Hall of Fame was founded by Shirley Maule. Maule attended the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame for five years. She always thought “what a great way to recognize all the wonderful musicians and singers!” Then she realized there were not many South Georgia/North Florida musicians or singers being nominated or inducted each year.
She founded the Georgia Country Music Hall of Fame to cover musicians from that region. She said it took 3 1/2 years of working on the project to get the interest needed, but the Hall held its first induction ceremony in 2019.
Each year since, there have been 30+ inductees, according to LaDonna Ray. Maule brought Ray on board as co-executor in 2023 to help organize and execute the ceremony each year.
“When a band or individual has been nominated,” Ray said, “we ask them to submit a bio, two photos and a couple songs to be reviewed and voted on. We now have singers and musicians from all over Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, and other locations being nominated.”
Maule is also the coordinator of Seaplane Opry House located at Spence Field beside Maule Air. Seaplane Opry (formerly Staggerwing Jamboree) is the home of the Georgia Country Music Hall of Fame. The building has a capacity of 150 and each year, it fills up for GCMHOF ceremonies.
Seaplane Opry House is now under new management and has a new house band “Common Ground.” Five of the six band members in “Common Ground” have been inducted into GCMHOF.
Seaplane Opry House and the GCMHOF Museum are open every Friday night, 6 p.m.-10 p.m. Entry is $5 & bring a dish for a potluck meal. Seaplane Opry is a smoke-, alcohol- and foul language-free venue.