“We spent a lot of time just learning the business and meeting people and people teaching us. And we got a lot of help right at the start from Jacob Brown, one of the local auto sales guys. He’s been in it a while, and he shared some important things with me as I started out. So now we are building inventory,” Curry said.

As we spoke at a table in the Outreach Ministry, I could look behind me and see four glimmering American vehicles, all well-chosen specimens of black or silver that bespeak grown-up tastes in car design.  

“The truth about it is I like nice cars. I've always liked nice automobiles. I like the older ones. I'm going to look for those 1955 Chevys, 56, 57.  I love to have those and fix them up,” Curry said.  “I like the Ford Mustangs. I just like nice automobiles. I like the Chrysler 300.  You can tell that because I have two on the lot.”

And when went out on the lot to take photos, the Chrysler 300s were the ones he gravitated toward.  They’re called “luxury sedans,” and are definitely the sort of car you’d see someone in a suit step out of.  

Curry himself cuts a good figure in a suit, as he will do Saturday evening when his Outreach Ministry holds its annual awards banquet.  I have been to a few of these gatherings and always come away inspired by the stories the award winners tell of their volunteer work in and around Prescott and Nevada County.  This Saturday’s banquet will start at 5:30 p.m and will be catered by Sheba's of Hope.  Eight winners will be saluted for their uplifting efforts over the past year.

“Our theme for the banquet is Focus on the Children. We live in a time when our children need as many positive examples as possible, and when we see people doing good things, we feel like we need to recognize them. Our community needs to lift them up,” he said.

Also at the banquet Saturday, entertainment will mingle with fundraising for the Outreach Ministry’s activities, including its toy drive and upcoming giveaway for local kids.  “We're going to have a very positive, upbeat environment. We're going to have an auction. We're going to have some local talent, two really, very good vocalists are going to sing for us, and we're going to make sure that our auction items are all sold, and all of the proceeds go to Outreach Ministry, so we can buy a lot of toys this year.”

Curry has been for 29 years a pastor of Carrie Street Church of God and is the head of his own Curry’s Outreach Ministry, which hosts monthly meals and is busy now with a toy drive for local children from low-income homes.  He is also a member of the Prescott City Council, often speaking out in favor of the beautification of the city and making life in town safer and more engaging for children and young people. 

Curry said he’s a born and raised Prescott resident.  As a young man, he spent time near the West Coast, where his father was from.  “I went there for a year after high school, came back and made Prescott my home, and I worked at Firestone for 44 years, had a good career, and worked in management, and was able to help people get employed, help interview. And then when I retired, I was 62,” Curry said.

By that point he was a longtime bi-vocational pastor, while running businesses of his own, including Curry’s Cleaners and a laundromat.  He sold the laundromat, which is also on Greenlawn Street, and then went into car sales, seeing an opportunity to market cars to working people who are increasingly finding themselves priced out of car dealerships in this area but still want a quality car that’s nice to look at.

“I have a reputation from my time at Firestone as being a quality-minded person. I'm much more interested in the quality of products than I am the quantity of products. And we're going to continue to improve. We're going to get our cars checked out before we ever sell them,” Curry said.  

Buying from Curry’s is also going to be a good experience in a time when some dealerships may want to hurry you through the process.  “I've been been in management long enough to know how to treat people, how to work with people. I work with city government and I pastor church, so I deal with people in every aspect of my life Customer service is easy. You just treat people right and stand behind your product,” Curry explained.

In the weeks to come, he is looking to increase his inventory to meet the greater demand for cars that happens at the beginning of most new years.

“We understand that January through March, we'll be able to sell a lot of cars, so we'll build our inventory, getting them all checked out, getting them all ready, but we are open to sale now. We had a good sale last week. We’re going to put the same kind of attitude into selling cars that we put into everything else we do,” Curry said.

As for financing, Curry’s Auto Sales does not do so in-house but has good relationships with local banks.  

Again, Curry’s Auto Sales is at 606 Greenlawn Street in Prescott. Their phone number is 1-501-818-4658.  They’re open every weekday.

To give toward the Toy Drive, which will end in a Toy Giveaway and Party at the former National Guard Armory, Curry said you can call the phone number above, send a donation by mail to Ivory Curry at 505 Sherwood Drive Prescott, AR 71857 or use Cashapp $ilCurry. The Giveaway will happen Saturday, December 20th at the National Guard Armory starting at 11:00 a.m.