67 cars entered in Civitan Car Show at Watermelon Festival

     The Hope Civitan Club experienced a lively turnout for the annual Civitan Car Show on Saturday of the Watermelon Festival.  Sixty-seven antique, vintage, or classic cars and trucks were displayed on the grounds of Fair Park.  Trophies were presented mid-afternoon, following judging by impartial out-of-county judges, in these top categories:

              Best of Show Car – 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner, owner Jerry Stinnett of Magnolia.

              Best of Show Truck – 1972 Chevrolet Cheyenne, Dale Sutton of Amity.

              Best of Show Engine – 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT, Darrin Laughard of Hope.

              Best of Show Paint – 2003 Mustang Cobra, Ken and Betty Smith of Monticello.

              The People’s Choice Award, voted on by car show visitors as well as car show entrants, went to Wayne Landes of Hope for his 1953 Ford Custom Line auto.

              Awards were also presented to winners in the following categories:

Pre 1950 Car/Truck – first, Terry and Dianna Mauldin, Keithville, LA, for their 1934 Ford Hiboy; and second to Carl Lindsay, Keithville, LA, for his 1923 Ford T-Bucket.

1950-1960 Car – first, Wayne Landes, Hope, 1953 Ford Custom Line; second, Chester Williams, Grapevine, AR, 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air; third, Lisa Cain, Texarkana, AR, 1957 Ford Thunderbird.

1950-1960 Truck – first, Joel Whisenhunt, Nashville, 1956 Ford F-100; second, Jane Banes, Nashville, 1954 Chevrolet pickup; third, Ron Eldridge, Hope, 1955 Chevrolet truck.

1961-1972 Car – first, Jerry Stinnett, Magnolia, 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner; second, Hunter Johnson, Hope, 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle; third, Art Escobar, El Dorado, 1962 Chevrolet Impala.

1961-1972 Truck – first, Dale Sutton, Amity, 1992 Chevrolet Cheyenne; second Nathan Petite, Emmet, 1970 Ford F-100.

1973-1990 Car – first, Brian Shewbirt, Rosston, 1978 Pontiac TransAm.

1973-1990 Truck – first, Jim Ralph, Hot Springs, 1987 Chevrolet Silverado; second, David Satterwhite, Hope, 1979 Dodge Little Red Express; third, Calvin Redford, 1983 Nissan Datsun.

1991-2000 Car – first, David Oller, Hope, 1991 Pontiac Firebird.

1991-2000 Truck – first, Daniel King, Hope, 2000 Chevrolet S-10; second, Donald Hessler, Nashville, 1994 Chevrolet 1500; third, Anthony Pearce, Hope, 1997 Nissan Hardbody.

2001-Present Car – first, Darrin Laughard, Hope, 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT; second, Brad Hall, Bryant, 2019 Chrysler 300; third, Wendy Walters, Hope, 2021 Dodge Challenger Scat Pack.

2001-Present Truck – first, Glenn Hannis, Shreveport, LA, 2020 Ford F-250; second, Colby Cooper, Texarkana, TX, 2021 Dodge Ram 2500; third, Jacob Gold, Hope, 2014 Dodge Ram.

Corvette 1953-1993 – first, Cindy Chance, 1963 Corvette; second, Dean Marsh, Hope, 1976 Corvette Stingray.

Corvette 1984-Present – first, Grant Clark, Hope, 1997 Corvette.

Rat Rod – first, Howard Tippit, Hope, 1948 Willy PV.

Import – first, Dylan Foley, Emmet, 1969 Volkswagen Beetle; second, Michael McBride, Texarkana, AR, 1989 Nissan Pathfinder; third, Mark Mullins, Hope, 1969 Volkswagen Beetle.

Mustang 1964-1993 – first, Michael Dale Lafferty, Columbus, 1965 Ford Mustang; second, Steven Green, Texarkana, AR, 1966 Ford Mustang; third, Tim McMullan,1973 Ford Mustang.

Mustang 1994-Present – first, Ken and Betty Smith, Monticello, 2003 Ford Mustang Cobra; second, Brenden Plumley, Stamps, 2015 Ford Mustang; third, Joseph Brocato, Texarkana, TX, 2017 Ford Mustang.

              The Hope Civitan Club is grateful to these local trophy sponsors – New Millennium Building Systems, Farmers Bank & Trust, Madlock’s Auto Glass & Body, Farm Bureau Insurance, Farm Credit, Funder America, Brazzel Oakcrest Funeral Home, First National Bank of Tom Bean, Randy’s Auto Glass & Collision, Still’s Auto Service, and Hempstead County elected officials.

Thanks also go to local businesses who supported the car show by providing door prizes and other support – Bobcat Freight, Yocom Body Shop, Klipsch, Wylie Glass & Salvage, AutoZone, Cadence Bank, Blackmon Exxon Mobil, Jeff’s on Main, LaGrone Williams Hardware, Walmart, Wadley Regional Medical Center, Hope Furniture Outlet, The Farm Store, Rodney Orr Farmers Insurance, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Atwoods, Hope-Hempstead Chamber of Commerce, Randy Still’s Auto Repair, Hope Tractor, Tab’s, United Ag & Turf John Deere, Western Home & Auto, Hope Floral, Bumper to Bumper Auto Parts/Crow Burlingame, Bypass Diesel and Wrecker, Ivan Smith Furniture, McDonald’s and Bar S Environmental.

              Pictured are top winners in the 2023 Hope Civitan Car Show at the Watermelon Festival – Wayne Landes of Hope, who won the People’s Choice Award, and (from left) Jerry Stinnett of Magnolia, Best of Show Car; Dale Sutton of Amity, Best of Show Truck; Betty and Ken Smith of Monticello, Best of Show Paint; Darrin Laughard of Hope, Best of Show Engine, along with Civitan President Mona Still.