Ammunition distributer American Marksman recently announced that they will be opening a branch in Searcy.

With a mission to become the leading recycler of ammunitions and technologies in target markets, American Marksman has a goal to become the highest quality ammunition for civilian firearm enthusiasts, U.S. military, law enforcement and civilian security.

American Marksman is currently is currently building its new facility and hiring Searcy residents for its new location at 1701 S. Benton St.

According to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, the company will be creating 100 new jobs for Searcy residents. This is a big deal.

In a 2016 study, White County’s unemployment rate was 6.4 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is significantly higher than the current national unemployment rate of 4.9 percent.

For Searcy native and Harding graduate student Caleb Spears, new work opportunities are thusly significant.

“Things like this are what builds a community,” Spears said. “It makes it better whenever you bring in stores or huge businesses, it attracts people to your town a lot more.”

Recently, several businesses have established their homes in Searcy. Another lifetime resident of Searcy and Harding junior Rachel Moore said that for people who are not associated with Harding, new work opportunities are very important.

“Over the last few years, I’ve seen a lot of businesses die out,” Moore said. “It’s good that we’ve been getting new businesses.”

Layne said that American Marksman should be up and running in about 45 days, once they establish licensing.

“It’s a long-term effort, it takes a lot of people, it takes a lot of money. But look what happened,” Layne said. “Had we not had a building or had we not had a site, they wouldn’t be looking at our community.”

For more information about American Marksman, contact representative Ladell Pruett at: info@theamericanmarkeman.com.