Mayor Don Still cuts the ribbon as Shawn McClish, General Manager of Hope Auto, along with many community members holds it in front of Hope Auto's Ford dealership on North Hervey this afternoon.

At 4:00 p.m. Hope Auto, which has been a presence in the town for 100 years, celebrated that fact with a ribbon cutting and fish fry.

Dozens of community members came out to celebrate the milestone, look over the growing inventory of vehicles and eat Lions Club fish, fries, hushpuppies and coleslaw.

As meals were being served, Hope Auto's General Manager Shawn McClish said, "Man this is really great. It was more impressive as a community to see them come out to support the 100 years that McLarty has been here. We'll continue 100 years more."

The inventory of new vehicles on display continues to grow. McClish provided the exact numbers and explained what that means for vehicle-buyers. "We've got the deal with Ford. At first we had 17 new vehicles on the ground, now we have over 47 new with 63 more coming. At the GM lot we've got 72 new cars and another 141 coming, so we're going to be able to supply Hope And Hempstead County for years to come. You don't have to go to the big city anymore to get a good selection. You can come right here to Hope Arkansas and get the selection and also get the prices people think they're going to get in the big cities."