Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Rip Griffin's is now officially open

It's official. Rip Griffin's Truck and Travel Center is up and running in Prescott.

The city's newest business enterprise was welcomed to the area with a ribbon cutting ceremony, hosted by the Prescott-Nevada County Chamber of Commerce.

More than 250 people gathered for the event, and to take the tour, along with enjoying a meal provided courtesy of Rip Griffin.

However, getting the travel center operational has been anything but easy. In fact, it's taken five years from the time the Griffin family decided to locate in Prescott until Wednesday, April 17, for the business to open.

As Prescott Mayor Howard Taylor said at the opening, a lot of water went under the bridge from start to finish of this project.

Taylor said the project began with meetings, the work started on the problems to get the facility to Prescott.

"This is a first class, top notch facility," Taylor said. "We're grateful to the Griffin family for this."

The project encountered problems, he said, but nothing that couldn't be overcome.

Taylor lauded the contractors and construction crews for doing a "marvelous job" on getting the three buildings constructed.

"We're glad to be here," Rip Griffin said. "It's taken a long time, and a great effort has been put forth."

Griffin said getting the ground work done was a monumental task because of the soil in Nevada County.

Griffin's son, Mark, said the family picked out this location five years ago.

"We've been a lot of places," he said, "but I don't know if we've been treated with the can-do spirit we got in Prescott.

"Taylor was vital to the process, and we're pleased to be here. We put signs up with Rip Griffin's name, but the people make the difference in this company. We look for the best and expect it out of them.

"This is a group of people with vision and a desire to take care of the customer. It's what we're all about. What separates us is our discipline to do the job right."

Nevada County Judge James Roy Brown also welcomed the Griffin's to town. He said their being here would help the financial situation of the county.

Jon Chadwell, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office, reminded the crowd this project was an investment of $8 million in Prescott and Nevada County, with the Griffin's showing confidence in the community.

"I trust we'll live up to their vote of confidence," he said. "I've talked with some of the employees and they're glad this is here."

Chadwell said several of the employees were driving to Hope and Gurdon to work, but can now work closer to home and make more money without having to travel.

"They can spend more time with their families," he said, "This is what our (the EDO) goal is  to find places for people to work, make a living and raise their families."

Aaron Stewart spoke on behalf of Congressman Mike Ross, who had a prior engagement. "This is a wonderful place," he said. "I had no clue it would provide this many jobs. It's a great day for the county.

Rep. Tommy Roebuck was on hand to welcome the business to Prescott as well. "This is an outstanding facility," he said. "A lot of work went into it. It didn't just happen. This took a lot of commitment on both sides, and this is the result."

Roebuck said the facility will have a positive impact on the tax base of the city and county, as well as the entire region.

Beth Ann Rankin represented Gov. Mike Huckabee's office, saying it was delightful to be in Prescott for such an event.

Economic development, she said, is one of Huckabee's priorities. In 1998, Rankin continued, the governor convened a summit to retain industry already in Arkansas and to attract new industry to the state.

"You will love the quality of life here," Rankin said to the Griffin's. "The workforce is second to none."

Once the ribbon was cut by Rip Griffin, those on hand were invited to tour the facility or have lunch from the buffet.

However, before the celebration ended, Griffin decided to go ahead and "officially" open the business at 2 p.m. The idea had been to have the official opening Thursday, April 18, but the response was so great, plans were changed on the spot.