Business Man of the Year
Douglas Hawkins of Ideal Funeral Parlor
Douglas Hawkins was born in Florence County, South Carolina, a son of Rufus and Ruth Johnson Hawkins. He is married to Mary Linda Ford Hawkins. They are the parents of Douglas Jamal Hawkins and Clayton Joshua Hawkins. Douglas is the older brother of Anniedale, Ruthene, and Cecelia.
He is a product of the public schools of Florence County, graduating from Southside High School. He also graduated from South Carolina State University and Gupton Jones College of Mortuary Science. Douglas is currently employed as General Manager of Ideal Funeral Parlor, Inc. He and his family are members of Florence Christian Center Church.
Douglas is a graduate of Leadership Florence. He is a past chair of the Florence County Library Board of Trustees, and member of the Florence County Transportation Committee. Douglas is also a member of Florence Alumni Chapter Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
Douglas has adopted Rudyard Kipling’s poem, “If” as a life philosophy. He believed that “a man should not be measured by his achievements, but by the lasting memories he creates in the minds of those he meets.”