EL PASO, Texas (KVIA)\u2014Each year, El Paso Inc. recognizes an individual who has helped advance El Paso over the last 12 months and sometimes even a lifetime.<\/p>\n
For 2025, the publication announced local philanthropist and art advocate Judy Robison as the El Pasoan of the Year.<\/p>\n
“I am incredibly honored,\u201d said Robison when ABC-7 asked about receiving the honor. ABC-7 met one-on-one with Robison to talk about her achievement.<\/p>\n
Robison still marvels at the Star Ceiling art installation in Downtown El Paso, calling it \u201cthe love of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
She is credited with helping bring the installation to life. <\/p>\n
It was created by El Paso artist Leo Villareal. It consists of a 120-foot suspended LED array featuring 13,500 energy-efficient LEDs that create non-repeating patterns. The work also includes zero-gravity benches and planters that feature species native to the Chihuahuan Desert.<\/p>\n
The public installation is next to the El Paso Museum of Art and has become a defining piece in Downtown El Paso.<\/p>\n
Robison was the driving force behind bringing the installation to life. She is credited with helping raise nearly $6 million in private funding to construct, install and maintain the project. <\/p>\n
The project took nearly five years to complete. She said seeing the installation for the first time was overwhelming.<\/p>\n
“It’s breathtaking and very, very gratifying,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Robison and her husband moved to El Paso in the early 1970s. Back then, the art scene looked very different than now.<\/p>\n
“In the 70s and 80s, in El Paso was not thriving,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Robison would quickly become involved in the community. She has served on more than 30 boards, helping improve the quality of life in El Paso.<\/p>\n
“I think it’s, the quality of life is so important in any community. But art has a lot of space for economic development. And, it’s just I’ve had a passion for it all my life, and it’s been important to me to share that passion with our community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robison would also become a champion for the arts in El Paso.<\/p>\n
“I have given a lot of my life to the arts and to really into health and welfare,” she said.<\/p>\n
The outdoor terrace next to the museum was renamed after Robison. She said being named El Pasoan of the Year is the privilege of a lifetime.<\/p>\n
“I am incredibly honored. I’m humbled by the people that have been in this position before me. And, it’s it’s just really an honor to be named El Pasoan of the Year.”<\/p>\n
El Paso Inc. will celebrate Judy Robison and other awardees during this year\u2019s luncheon. It\u2019s happening on Tuesday, March 3rd at Hotel Paso Del Norte.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EL PASO, Texas (KVIA)\u2014Each year, El Paso Inc. recognizes an individual who has helped advance El Paso over…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":188981,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[138,140,139],"class_list":["post-188980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188980"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188980\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/188981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}