Ninety-six-year-old Angel Delgadillo traveled to Washington, D.C., to receive the President’s Award for National Leadership in Historic Preservation on Nov. 8 from the National Trust of Historic Preservation.
According to a news release from the National Trust, Delgadillo’s honor “recognizes an individual or organization that has demonstrated exceptional contributions to the field of preservation.” It’s been bestowed only previous three times.
This is what the Trust stated about Delgadillo:
Angel Delgadillo grew up on Route 66, where he opened a barbershop and souvenir shop. When the Interstate was opened in 1985, Delgadillo experienced firsthand the devastating impact of the decommissioning of Route 66 as a U.S. highway. After several years of laying the groundwork, Delgadillo’s tenacious advocacy and community engagement played a pivotal role in the preservation and celebration of historic Route 66.
Here’s the introduction video for the awards ceremony:
Krystal Burge. president of the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona, arranged to have a private jet fly Delgadillo, his wife Vilma and their children to Washington for the ceremony.
The Facebook account for the Delgadillo’s gift shop in Seligman posted a bunch of photos from the Washington trip, including an unforgettable image of Angel and Vilma in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
Big awards have come for Delgadillo lately, including an Arizona Historymaker honor this year and his induction into the Arizona Tourism Hall of Fame last year.
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I’m so happy for Angel. A big THANK YOU! to Krystal Burge for getting him and his family to Washington so he could receive the award in person. That was total class act.