The president of Elder Automotive Group, Robert Elder, who owns two vehicle dealerships in the Tampa Bay area, says Hispanic Heritage month has a very special meaning to him this year.

"My mother passed away last year in September," said Elder, who owns Elder Ford of Tampa and Jaguar of Tampa. "So, it means even more because Hispanic Heritage was everything to her."

Elder said his mom, Irma Elder, who passed away at 84, was an immigrant from Mexico who became the first woman to own a car dealership in Detroit.

"My mother came over from Mexico and she was a housewife and she thrived," he said. "My dad died in 1983 and left us a family business, a Ford dealership, that was struggling."

Elder said his mom built Elder Automotive Group into a thriving business that owns nine dealerships in Michigan and Florida.

"She learned from her parents how you have to fight for everything, and she became one of the top Hispanic companies in the country for woman-owned," he said. "She came to this country and ended up becoming a citizen, which was probably the greatest day of her life." 

Elder said he never forgets his heritage and donates to Hispanic charities.

"There’s LA SED, which is a Latin based charity," he said. "We do a lot with the Minority Dealers Association."

Elder Automotive Group donates to more than 50 charities each year, Elder said.

"We do a lot with the Special Forces," he said. "We do something called Replay Tampa Bay, which is taking gently used and new sporting goods and getting it into under-privileged kids' hands to fight childhood obesity. We’ve given over 6,000 items for that."

Elder said Hispanic Heritage month, which runs through Oct. 15, is the perfect time to show people what the Hispanic community has accomplished.

"I think we all need to just take a step back and see what the Hispanic people have done for America in general," he said. "I’m so proud to be Hispanic. It just means so much to me and it means so much to my family."

Hispanic Heritage month began in 1968 under President Lyndon Johnson and was enacted into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1988.