Angel Delgadillo of Seligman, Arizona, last week was inducted into the Arizona Tourism Hall of Fame for his championing of Route 66 for decades.
The honor occurred July 14 during the 2022 Governor’s Tourism Awards Gala in Paradise Valley.
The award is given to a person “who has earned a lifetime distinction through many years of active involvement in tourism and unique contributions to the betterment of the industry and the State of Arizona.”
Debbie Johnson, Arizona Department of Tourism director, wrote this about Delgadillo in an email:
It was absolutely amazing to have Angel, at 95 years young no less, and some members of his family be able to join us in person last week to recognize him with this well-deserved honor. As Angel accepted this recognition and spoke from the stage, it was truly amazing to experience everyone – nearly 500 people – intently listening to his words during that moment. Angel’s no-notes, directly from-the-heart speech seemed to truly touch everyone in the room.
Angel’s contributions to Arizona’s tourism industry, and especially in saving Route 66 and preserving its immersive experience of a classic time in American history, cannot be truly measured. However, we were very proud to recognize Angel and what he means to Arizonans and the thousands of visitors who still get to experience Route 66 to this day because of his efforts.
The Route 66 Association of Arizona posted a photo of Delgadillo shortly after he earned his award:
Arizona Tourism produced this video about Angel and his award:
Delgadillo, 95, recently announced his retirement after 75 years as a barber at his shop in Seligman, which now also serves as a Route 66 gift shop.
Less than a year ago, Arizona Tourism featured Delgadillo in another video. We wrote at the time:
It’s a delicious irony that Arizona Tourism is featuring Delgadillo a few decades after nobody in the state government seemed to want to listen to him espouse Route 66 after his town was bypassed by Interstate 40.
He persevered, founded the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona and became a one-man tourism stop for many travelers on the Mother Road.
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There’s no man in that state more deserving! Congratulations Angel!
A Google search for a list or website for the “Arizona Tourism Hall of Fame” came up empty. Roger Naylor, Steve Brown, Debbie Johnson, Richard Lee Gray, Karen Churchard, Jody Harwood, and others have been inducted per results of the Google search, but a list of inductees is elusive. It seems hard to believe that any of these people had more influence on modern Arizona tourism than Angel Delgadillo.