About Inductee

When she was just a little girl, Editha came to Huntsvilles old Ice Palace to watch a skating show. Little did she know that one day people around the world would come to watch her skate. She was just seven years old when she starting skating and instantly fell in love with the sport. I was very quickly serious, she says. It didnt take me long to know that this is what I wanted to do. Editha was born in Huntsville and attended school at Johnson High School, graduating in 1977. As a competitive skater, Editha participated and was recipient of 10 National or International medals. At the 1981 World Championships, after 15 years of amateur skating, she turned professional and in 1983, she won the Ladies World Professional Championship in Jaca, Spain. Editha toured worldwide with Olympic Champions: John Curry, Robin Cousins and Dorothy Hamill. She performed professionally in 1984 at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, The Wang Center in Boston, The Kennedy Center in Washington and McCormick Place in Chicago. In 1985, she returned to Huntsville to finish her education and develop a competitive skating school. Editha performed with Dorothy Hamill in Nutcracker on Ice, an HBO special that won an Emmy in 1990. After Nutcracker on Ice, Editha retired from professional skating and after receiving her BA degree with honors from the University of Alabama in Huntsville devoted all of her time to teaching skating. When the Ice Complex was opened in 1991, she was named as the Head Pro and in 1994 became the Director of Skating, a position that she still holds today. Edithas students have won 23 National and International medals and numerous medals at the Regional and Sectional level. Editha said, My mother, Marianne Dotson, has had the greatest impact on my athletic accomplishments. She was tough, strict, relentless and most importantly, she believed in me. She dedicated many years to my needs as a skater. My mother helped me draw out the deepest emotions I had for my skating, making my artistry and style unique in the skating world. She believed in hard work, strong character and above all, determination to accomplish my goals. Through all our adventures she taught me about life and how to love it graciously.