Public Service Award
The Preservation Texas Public Service Award recognizes elected, appointed, or career government officials in Texas who have made a lasting contribution to historic preservation. In 2025, we recognized following two County Commissioners from El Paso. Both are dedicated public servants whose leadership has significantly impacted preservation efforts across El Paso County.
DAVID C. STOUT
El Paso, Texas
2025
Commissioner David Stout of El Paso County Precinct 2 was first elected in 2014 and now serves as the most senior member of the El Paso County Commissioners Court. Throughout his years in office, he has championed El Paso’s history, culture, and distinctive sense of place.
Under his leadership, the County established a Heritage Tourism Coordinator within its Economic Development Department and advanced the creation of the Segundo Barrio Historic District. Additional work is now underway on both a Downtown Historic District and a Countywide Historic Assets Master Plan. Commissioner Stout also led the adoption of policies dedicating hotel occupancy tax revenues to historic preservation.
In addition, his leadership was pivotal in saving the historic El Paso County Coliseum from demolition. Thanks to his persistence and community advocacy, this beloved landmark continues to serve as a cultural touchstone for the region.
Most recently, the Commissioner helped secure funding from El Paso County to establish Preservation Texas’s West Texas Regional Office in downtown El Paso, which opened in May of this year.
ILIANA HOLGUIN
El Paso, Texas
2025
Commissioner Iliana Holguin of El Paso County Precinct 3 is an attorney and immigration advocate. Commissioner Holguin represents a district that includes the historic Mission Trail and East El Paso. She is a founding member of the Mission Trail Alliance, whose purpose is to promote businesses and tourism along the Mission Trail corridor—including the municipalities of San Elizario, Socorro, Ysleta, El Paso.
She recently spearheaded the first-ever Mission Trail marketing film, The Majestic Mission Trail, and helped launch a $500,000 regional campaign to elevate the Trail as a heritage tourism destination across the Southwest.
Alongside Commissioner Stout’s office, Holguin has supported efforts to preserve Duranguito, an endangered historic neighborhood included on Preservation Texas’s Most Endangered Places List. She also played a key role in securing funding for our new West Texas Regional Office through local hotel occupancy tax revenue.
Commissioner Holguin has been a steadfast supporter of Preservation Texas’s West Texas programs. Most recently, she attended and delivered remarks at the opening of our traveling exhibit, Adobe at the Pass, at the Los Portales Museum in San Elizario.
Across her precinct, she has consistently advocated for the protection of historic sites—from the restoration of Fabens High School, a landmark designed by El Paso architect Henry C. Trost, to the continued promotion of the Mission Trail, one of Texas’s most significant cultural corridors.
The awards were presented at Preservation Texas’s 2025 Honor Award Ceremony in San Antonio on October 30, 2025.
