NewmarketToday is marking the giving season by celebrating our Community Angels — the people whose kindness, compassion and community spirit help make our town one of the best to live in the country.
Newmarket businessman Michael Croxon said he had a good example to follow for his longtime philanthropy.
The CEO of NewRoads Automotive Group recounted how his father, Noxel Croxon, owned a General Motors dealership in Toronto. The elder Croxon championed Big Brothers and Big Sisters.
When the Croxon family established NewRoads Automotive Group in Newmarket, Michael Croxon said giving back to the community was part of their core pillars.
“Basically acknowledging that the community does a lot for us in enabling us to operate our businesses successfully,” he said, “we kind of feel a duty to give back.”
Croxon is renowned in Newmarket, Aurora and surrounding communities for his philanthropy. NewRoads Automotive Group is a major sponsor of several causes in the local community, headlined by its commitment to Southlake Regional Health Centre, with Croxon donating $500,000 to it last year. The group has also sponsored LakeRide in support of the hospital for years, plus Girls Night Out in support of the Women’s Centre of York Region and the Classic Car Show in support of Big Brothers and Big Sisters.
Croxon said giving back to the community is something “we wanted to make a fabric of our core principles."
The work is something Croxon credits to the 430 or so staff affiliated with the group or dealerships. He noted that they are a big part of events like LakeRide, volunteering and helping out.
Giving back “is not just the fact that we’re writing cheques,” he said.
“It’s the way that our associates get behind the initiatives, as well … It’s about the sacrifices our associates are making to support that pillar, which is critical to the way we operate.”
The efforts of Croxon have made him a recipient of numerous awards, including most recently a King Charles III Coronation Medal for community work, gifted to 20 outstanding individuals in Newmarket-Aurora this year.
“It’s humbling at a lot of levels,” he said. “It’s nice to think that you’re making an impact on people’s lives, and an impact in the community that we’ve grown to adore.”
Those philanthropy and community efforts are not likely to stop, Croxon said, with the group committed to the surrounding community.
“As long as our businesses remain successful and healthy, we will continue to give back to the community that supports us so well,” he said. “It’s just become so much about who we are and what we do that I cannot foresee a time when we would stop.”
