Hurley is the 67th Annual Outstanding Citizen of the Year.
After years of service and contributions to the community, Plant City has named Steve Hurley its 67th Annual Outstanding Citizen of the Year.
Hurley is an active member of the Plant City community. He is the immediate past chair of Unity in the Community and currently serves as chair of the Plant City Economic Development Corporation and will remain on its board this year.
“He has a big heart. A heart as big and as open as you can get,” said Sharon Moody, President of the Kiwanis Club.
His leadership and dedication have earned him multiple honors over the years. Hurley received the Dean Snyder Soaring Eagle Award in 2016 and was named the YMCA Strong Leader Award recipient last year.
Since 2008, Hurley has contributed more than $750,000 to local Plant City charities, supporting a wide range of community initiatives.
He is also well known as the owner of Stingray Chevrolet, though he recently retired. Under his leadership, the dealership sold three times the number of vehicles expected for the company, making it one of the most successful in the region.
“He serves with Unity in the Community in a great way. He started with the private raffle, which has been a success for the past 17 years. He’s raised over millions of dollars to put back in the community,” Moody said. “It’s a blessing for Steve to receive this award.”
Hurley’s most well-known contribution to Plant City is the dealership’s annual vehicle raffle during the Florida Strawberry Festival.
Stingray is in the top 50 of 3,100 Chevy dealerships in the country. It ranks third in Camaro sales and sixth in Corvette sales nationwide.
“He is a dear friend of mine. My favorite memory is when he used to call me. We would talk about different things. He would ask my opinion and value it. We just connect. We have a great relationship where he can trust me, and I trust him a lot,” Moody said.
Before the awards started, Hurley was socializing with everyone who approached him in the banquet hall. He was always smiling.
Last year’s winner, Karen Crumley, presented the award. She shared how Hurley helped provide fuel to transport women and children to the hospital. During Christmas time, he supported schools by filling over 1,200 backpacks with school supplies.
“This very smart business person always has brought fundraising to the ultimate level,” Crumley said.
Crumley had nothing but kind words and a list of contributions Hurley has made to Plant City.
“It is really my great pleasure to present Outstanding Citizen of the Year for 2026, to Steve Hurley,” she said.
When she announced his name, every person in the banquet hall gave a standing ovation. When he walked on stage, he became emotional.
“Sorry, it’s making me a little emotional. I would like to thank Susan for all the support…” Hurley said, starting to cry again.
When he paused to hold back tears so he could continue talking, some audience members shouted out, “We love you!”
While on stage, he was joined by his wife, Susan, who shared about their journey from Texas to Plant City. Both said how they never expected a dealership to bring this much fulfillment in their life and impact to a town.
“Nothing is more important than giving back to the community as we have. I’m very proud of that, and for the rest of my life I will be most proud of giving back to Plant City,” Hurley said at the podium.
This year’s Citizen of the Year Award recognizes Hurley’s lasting impact on Plant City through leadership, generosity, and community involvement.
