Rick Couch / News Editor

Wednesday morning’s grand opening of the Demopolis Wal-Mart Supercenter had cheerleaders, mascots, music and everything else a person could expect from an event of this magnitude.

It also had the attention of the community. The grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony followed an early schedule, beginning at 7:30 a.m., but many community leaders and citizens arrived well before the events began.

Anticipation has been high for the new store. Supercenter store manager John Whitehead said they have waited patiently, and now everything was in place.

“It has been a long time coming,” Whitehead said. “We are really excited to be here and ready to serve our customers.”

The grand opening should provide a quick spike in the economy of Demopolis, as well as the rest of West Alabama. State Sen. Bobby Singleton said people all over the Black Belt would benefit from the new store.

“This is a great day for West Alabama,” Singleton said. “This is so important to West Alabama, not only to Demopolis, but to the entire region.”

The senator also expressed his gratitude to Wal-Mart for seeing the potential of the area and bringing 240 new jobs.

“We are very excited that Wal-Mart has decided to come into our area and put up a Supercenter,” Singleton said. “This is something that most cities want, but they can’t get so we want to thank Wal-Mart for showing their dedication and their commitment to employment in West Alabama.”

The overwhelming number of people proved just how big the new Supercenter was for Demopolis, Mayor Cecil P. Williamson said. The grand opening, she said, was a new beginning of sorts for the city.

“This is a momentous day for the city of Demopolis as evidenced by the crowd that gathered here today,” Williamson said. “We are delighted beyond words to have a Supercenter in Demopolis and in West Alabama. This is going to be the site of a new day for Demopolis.”

Williamson also expressed her thanks to the local management team and associates who logged long hours to make the store available to the public two days earlier than expected.

“I am sure that we are going to see the benefits of what has happened for years to come,” Williamson said. “We would like to thank them for all their hard work, particularly for getting the store open two days early. We know it wasn’t easy.”

With Wednesday’s grand opening the Supercenter is officially open to the public 24 hours a day.