Hicks’ garage grows through the years

By Staff
Nathan Strickland
Building something out of nothing takes a lot of creativity, time, money and hard work.
This is something Eddie Hicks has taken to heart. This is the 21st year in the auto repair business for Hicks, who has hit the ripe age of 51. He believes the job will take him through the rest of his life.
Hicks’ wife, Tonya, said their family was growing and one of them had to volunteer to stay home.
Hicks said he began to purchase sale cars and started to teach himself about what made them tick. With a little help from others, Hicks said people would show up wanting their cars restored.
Now Hicks has advanced and added on to the business, putting in a bay here and there to hold cars his crew works on.
Hicks said these days it’s hard to tell when the busiest time of year is, but admits when deer season hits, work starts flowing pretty good.
Eddie’s Collision has turned into a family business. Hicks and Tonya have raised three boys: Alan, Chase and Nick. Hicks’ oldest son, Alan, said he has been working around the shop since he was 12 years old.
Alan said he doesn’t like to think about the distant future of the business. Whether or not he will take over down the road is still up in the air, but he said he would be there as long as people keep bringing in their wrecked vehicles to be fixed.
Hicks believes the folks around here are good to work for and is glad he has received a lot of support from the community.
Eddie’s Collision is located on Highway 24, west of Russellville and East of Belgreen.