A sign on the front of Hedlund Chevrolet which changed ownership on Friday, May 1. Tony Booth now owns OK Chevrolet in Tonasket. Photos by Emily Hanson

TONASKET – The sale of Hedlund Chevrolet to Tony Booth became official on Friday, May 1. The business is now OK Chevrolet.

“I decided to buy Hedlund Chevrolet because I drive by it all the time and I want to give people the great service in North Central Washington they deserve to have,” Booth said. Booth also owns Sunrise Chevrolet in Omak and Booth & Laduke Motors in Colville.

“I called Leonard up at home on March 6 and asked if he wanted to sell, he said yes, we met and that’s the way it went,” Booth said.

“Tony offered to buy Hedlund Chevrolet and I’m going to be 73 in June, so the world is passing me by,” Leonard Hedlund said. “It was time to retire.”

Booth said everyone who was working at Hedlund will retain their jobs at OK and new employees are being added.

“Randy McBride will be the general manager,” Booth said. “He’ll be supporting all the local activities and getting involved in the community on a daily basis.”

McBride has been involved in the car business for 15 years and came to OK Chevrolet after being the general manager of Booth & Laduke Motors.

“I think Tonasket is great so far,” McBride said. “Everybody’s friendly and it’s been a good transition.”

Booth said he has been involved in the car business officially for 20 years, but unofficially for 38 because his father was a car dealer as well. He said that his buying Hedlund Chevrolet will bring in a volume of inventory and an improved service and parts center.

“We’re going to be here for a long time,” McBride said. “It’s a nice honor to take over from Leonard Hedlund, who was here for 36 years. We’ve got big shoes to fill.”

“We’re going to start a rental car agency probably sometime in June and our tiny overhead will allow us to be very competitive in the market area,” he said. “I want people to buy local. We’re the new people on the block and we deserve the opportunity to earn their respect.”

McBride said OK Chevrolet will be very involved in the community.

“We’ll be donating back to the community, to the schools and to the rodeo,” he said. “We’ll be very active in the community and not just Tonasket, but Oroville and the surrounding area, too. We’ve already added three new jobs to the community.”