The Hempstead County Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting for Southwest Arkansas Taekwondo this afternoon in downtown Hope. Trainers, students and local citizens gathered around in anticipation of the grand opening.

Mayor Don Still was in attendance, he extended a warm welcome to all who gathered in the building and spoke about his excitement for new businesses in Hope. "I am always excited about new businesses and especially excited when that business is downtown. It is nice to come downtown and see lights on with people out and about. This is a great location and I hope that all goes well for you," Still said.

Trainer, Katie Gentry spoke with enthusiasm about child development through martial arts and having a much larger location to train in, "We are super excited to be downtown in our amazing new location, going from a space that was about a third of this space to here, we feel very fortunate to help even more people learn the art of Taekwondo. We are a martial arts school but we base everything we do on skill and development. We use martial arts as a vehicle, we teach from age three all the way up to adults; we even have a lady who is in her eighties that trains with us so there are no limitations," Gentry said.

Finally, the ribbon was cut for the official business while students and attendees smiled for a photo.

Southwest Arkansas Taekwondo is located at 205 S Main in Hope. You can reach them by calling 870-703-0016. To find out more information about the service they offer or to enroll, visit them HERE.