THE ART OF GIVING BACK

Giving back to the community has been a driving force behind leading Florida Jaguar retailer, Dwayne Hawkins, chairman, CEO and dealer principal of Crown Jaguar in St. Petersburg. Dwayne’s efforts, alongside his outstanding business accomplishments, have now been recognized with a nomination for the coveted 2015 TIME Dealer of the Year award.


 

Here he tells us about his passion for supporting children’s pediatric cancer research, building homes with Habitat for Humanity, supporting local arts and his 33 years as a Jaguar retailer.
 

You’re in a select group of 55 dealer nominees from across the U.S. - from more than 17,000 nationwide - nominated for the 2015 TIME Dealer of the Year award. How does it feel?

I am honored and humbled by the nomination. It is by far the most rewarding achievement in all of my 52 years in the auto business. For me, this is as high as it gets. I’m grateful and proud to have been chosen by the Florida Automobile Dealers Association to represent the state.
 

You’ve come a long way since your first job as a sales associate for a Birmingham, Alabama Pontiac dealer in 1962. Can you tell us more about your business accomplishments?

That’s for sure. I had the good fortune to buy my first dealership, a Pontiac store in downtown St. Petersburg on April 1 - April Fool’s Day - back in 1968. Now our Crown Automotive Group includes 19 dealerships with 30 vehicle franchises in Florida, Ohio and Tennessee. We’re just doing the paperwork to open a new store in Columbus, Ohio which will make our 20th.

When did your commitment to “giving back” begin?

One of my mentors in the early days told me straight: “You have to learn to give back to the community. It’s the right thing to do.” Certainly, the business has been good to me and because of that I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to support many great causes in our communities. We’ve done some good things with the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa over the years, and right now we’re putting our efforts behind the remarkable All Children’s Hospital in downtown St. Petersburg, which is part of Johns Hopkins Medicine. It’s one of the pre-eminent children’s hospitals in the country and we have big plans to turn it into a major pediatric cancer research center.
 

You are also a big supporter of Habitat for Humanity. Can you tell us more about your involvement with them?

It’s a great cause. Last year we built two homes in St. Petesburg, and another in Tallahassee. When I say “we,” I mean the remarkable, enthusiastic staff at our dealerships. Personally, I’m not too handy with a hammer anymore, but I’m good at handling the billfold. We also like working with the Feeding Children Everywhere organization. Not so long ago, we had over 500 of our employees and customers put together over 100,000 meals for needy families in the Tampa Bay area.
 

Tell us more about your well-known support for local arts.

We’re passionate about art - we have a house full of it. If you don’t have a vibrant arts scene in your community then there is something missing. In recent years, St. Petersburg has become a major center for art with the new Dali Museum, the Mahaffey Theater, the Chihuly Collection and our Museum of Fine Arts. I love to support our local art centers.
 

At age 78, you’re still CEO of the Crown Automotive Group and dealer principal, chairman and CEO of Crown Jaguar. How involved are you in the day-to-day organization?
 

I now take Fridays off and don’t come in on weekends. Other than that I’m here all the time, mostly at our Jaguar store. I have great people working with me, many of who have been with me for decades. Trouble is I still have way too much fun in this business to step away.

How do you see the Jaguar business developing?

It’s been fascinating to watch the turnaround that has come with Tata’s involvement. We’re already seeing some truly world-class new products come out of the factory, and we know there’s much more in the pipeline. We can’t wait to get hold of the new Jaguar XE in a year or so, then I think we’ll see our volumes really start to take off.

*NOTE: Dwayne Hawkins will be honored at the 98th annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) convention in St. Francisco on January 23 next year, where the TIME Dealer of the Year award recipient will also be announced.