Dwayne Hawkins, founder and CEO of the Crown Automotive Group, passed peacefully on December 24, 2020. He purchased his first automobile dealership in 1969, adding many more through the years under the Crown Automotive name. He will be greatly missed by the Florida Automobile Dealers Association.
In 2015, he was voted Florida Time Dealer of the Year and was inducted into the Pinellas Education Foundation Hall of Honor. In 2019, he received the prestigious William S. “Bill” Belcher Award from Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. He was recently honored by the Tampa Bay Lighting as a Community Hero and inducted into the Tampa Bay Business Hall of Fame.
Dwayne supported and served many charities and boards including Moffit Cancer Foundation, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, Pinellas Education Foundation, Feeding Children Everywhere, Habitat for Humanity, Pediatric Cancer Foundation, Florida Dream Center, Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts, Dali Museum, St. Pete Free Clinic, Mt. Dora Children’s Home and Starting Right Now. More information can be found here.