McCray Adair walked into 216 Coworking in downtown Cartersville admitting she was nervous, self-described as someone who'd rather run the back office than sit in front of a microphone. By the end of the conversation, host Logan Lewis had drawn out one of the richest family histories Your Morning Drive has told yet. McCray leads Savoy Automobile Museum, the newest addition to Cartersville's celebrated 'Museum City,' and behind her calm, self-deprecating presence sits sixteen years at the Booth Western Art Museum, a Kennesaw State art degree, and a lifelong connection to the man who built it all: her great uncle, John Osher, known to generations of museum staff simply as 'Mr. Anonymous.'
A Cartersville Kid Through and Through
McCray was born at Kennestone Hospital, moved briefly to Athens while her dad finished his degree at UGA, then came back to Marietta, where she went all the way through school with the same group of friends before graduating from Sprayberry High School and earning her Bachelor of Arts in Art from Kennesaw State. Her real roots, though, run through Cartersville. Her mother's family is from town, her father's side from Marietta and Adairsville, and she spent most of her childhood summers here with grandparents she describes in striking terms: "I knew six of my great grandparents, and I knew them well." That history is part of why she loves what Cartersville has managed to hold onto even as it's grown. "Cartersville still feels like my parents grew up," she told Logan, pointing to Friday night football, a thriving downtown, and a community where you still run into people you know.
From Cable TV to Cars as Art
McCray's path to Savoy wound through Prestige Cable, a TV studio stint in Maryland, and a marriage that didn't last before she came home to Georgia. She landed at Georgia Museums Inc. right as the Booth Western Art Museum was being built, and stayed sixteen years, working her way into director of operations and guest services. When leadership asked her to head up Savoy, she says the vehicles themselves weren't the adjustment. "The cars are no different. I mean, they're really no different — they are artwork," she said, describing the shift from paintings and portraits to classic automobiles as more about managing a brand-new team than learning a new medium. Savoy itself started as sketches on a napkin around 2016 or 2017, and this December marks its fifth anniversary — an occasion McCray promised will come with a party.
40 to 50 Cars, Rotated Every Month
What sets Savoy apart, McCray explained, is a refusal to sit still. Most automobile museums display one long-term exhibit for six months to a year, with cars parked so close together visitors can't really walk the vehicle or see its lines. Savoy deliberately keeps the floor lighter — usually 40 to 50 cars at a time — so guests can circle every piece, and the lineup changes constantly. "At any given time, on any month, there's something new," she said, describing a team that rolls cars out Sunday nights on a machine called a Stringo and brings in the next exhibit by Monday morning. Some cars come with extraordinary strings attached — two Corvettes on loan from the GM Heritage Center that staff aren't even allowed to touch. Others arrive through hard-won relationships: a missing Earnhardt car secured through a local contact's tie to Richard Childress Racing, and a growing friendship with collector Wayne Carini. Upcoming exhibits include NASCAR generational cars, NHRA dragsters, and Jeeps, alongside the museum's annual car show — over 4,000 attendees last year, with this year's set for September 11 — and a new fall auction with Richmond Auctions on October 16 and 17.
Remembering John Osher, 'Mr. Anonymous'
The emotional center of the episode is John Osher, McCray's great uncle, who built Prestige Cable from a single system in Chatsworth into operations across Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Puerto Rico before selling it and pouring the proceeds into the community. He built the Booth Western Art Museum with designer Frank Bergman, then TELUS, then Savoy — all while insisting on staying anonymous. "He loved being anonymous," McCray said. "Somebody would ask him a question and he would get tickled... they may even ask him, 'Do you know who the guy is?' 'No, I have no idea.'" His leadership style left a mark on her directly: rather than summoning staff to his office, he sat in theirs. "Go sit in their office and talk to them. Don't make them come to you," he told her when she took over Savoy — advice she still follows. When Prestige sold, he made sure every employee who wanted to stay had a job at the museums, even though "none of us knew anything about running museums." John passed away recently, and McCray, who has known him since she was eight or nine, described him stopping by her office at 4:30 every afternoon: "I miss that. I really do."
Carrying the Torch Forward
With John gone, Logan asked the harder question: what happens next? McCray was clear there's no fifth museum coming, but there is a shared mission among the leaders of Savoy, Booth, TELUS, and the Bartow History Center to sustain what he started. "It's up to us," she said. "We're going to continue the legacy, but it's going to take all of us... to get the support and people to help us continue." That support, she added, comes through donations, fundraising campaigns, and simply showing up. The two also swapped lighter, human-scale answers: McCray's favorite movie is Young Frankenstein, her dream music festival lineup is the Eagles, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Cash, and her perfect off day involves cutting the grass with headphones in and spending time with her two dogs, Jingles and May.
Listen to the Full Conversation
Hear the entire episode with McCray Adair on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Savoy Automobile Museum sits at the corner of Highway 20 and 411 in Cartersville, and McCray and her team are always looking for volunteers, docents, and new car show entries — so if you've got a story on four wheels, Savoy wants to hear it.
Listen to Episode #496
Catch the full conversation with Macra Adair on Your Morning Drive, wherever you listen.
