Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance

Businessman and car collector Bill Warner, a photographer and writer for Road & Track magazine since 1971, founded the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance in 1996 at the urging of other northeast Florida auto enthusiasts who wanted a classic car show in Florida like the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California. Warner selected Community Hospice of Northeast Florida, which had provided service to his parents as well as his wife, as the beneficiary of the event.^[3] The first event was held April 6, 1996 at Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island. Warner assembled a group of 163 cars and attendance was around 2,200.

By 1999 attendance had increased to 8,500; 205 cars were exhibited; and $268,000 was raised for Community Hospice.