Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors

Mark R Hawkinson of Beach First National Bank

Mark R Hawkinson was born in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in the suburbs outside of Chicago and became a big fan of the Chicago Cubs at a very early age. He and his friends took the train into town to watch the Cubs at Wrigley field, not to mention they snuck out from school just a little early for this special occasion. His father made a career in sales, selling steel for the steel mills. This affiliate had his sights on a career in sales as well.

Mark graduated from Bowling Green University in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration, majoring in Marketing. He was involved on campus in his Fraternity Kappa Sigma, the Student Court and Inter-Fraternity Council. He worked on campus for two years as the supervisor for the student activity center .

Mark began his career as an executive early on with RH Macy’s. He met his wife while he was the group manager for Macy’s in downtown Columbia, SC. They wed and moved to Little Rock, Arkansas where he started his career in sales traveling throughout the US. This career also took them to BIG Dallas, Texas (Valley Ranch to be exact) and literally just steps away from the ever popular Dallas Cowboys practice field. They lived on Touchdown Drive. He’s been a Dallas Cowboys fan ever since. They had a little girl and then three years later gave her the best Cowgirl birthday party ever before packing up their house the following week and heading back to the Carolinas.In the summer of 1999 Mark and his family traded in their tailored suits, hats and cowboy and cowgirl boots for flip flops and moved to Murrells Inlet and then Pawleys Island two years later. He traveled for a while in sales and then decided to retire his business travel bags to make his mark in the business community allowing him to spend more time with his family and helping out in the community.He started with First Choice Mortgage Company and in a couple of years moved to Beach First as their first mortgage banker handling residential loans. He has been in the mortgage business since 2002. He is very involved in the community and volunteers as Usher Captain at his church, All Saints. He is President of the Grand Strand Mortgage Lenders Association, a member of Coastal Carolinas Association of REALTORS®, and a member of the Rotary Club of Murrells Inlet. He has also served as an ambassador in the Chamber of Commerce and a member in the Home Builders Association as well as other organizations. You can also find Mark promoting Plus-One Boating and joining efforts with others in Spring Tide, a day for cleaning up the Inlet in Murrells Inlet each spring. He has put playgrounds together, gathered Teddy Bears for Children at Christmas for Citizens Against Spousal Abuse, and has volunteered in numerous other fundraisers and good causes. There are many functions with the Coastal Carolinas Association of REALTORS® you see his face, for example, swinging a hammer at one of the Habitat homes built by the Association this month in Georgetown. Locally, he has raised over $15,000 to support this Association’s Habitant build in Georgetown. He is a mainstay on the REALTOR golf outing on Wednesday afternoon and is known for the longest drive, and then we look for it!

He enjoys golf, boating, reading, and is a spectator of many other sports. Did we mention he really loves the Dallas Cowboys? He also enjoys going to the beach with his family and friends and cheering his daughter on in competition with her baton twirling. She is now eleven and she will perform at the CCU game November 10th. There’s not much in twisting his arm though since it does involve football. Mark is a great guy and well loved by his family, friends, business associates and extended Coastal Carolinas community!

Mark R Hawkinson, of Beach First National Bank was chosen AFFILIATE OF THE YEAR for his outstanding dedication and service.