Hudson among Freddy Fender/Humanitarian Award winners

SAN BENITO — The first recipients of the Freddy Fender Humanitarian Award were announced in a ceremony Saturday.

The 2007 winners are William P.C. Hudson, Yolanda and Ramon De Leon, and Glenna and David Heavin.

The award is presented by the South Texas Adult Resource and Training Center.

“These wonderful recipients exemplify exactly what we had in mind when we first began to plan this event, which was to preserve Freddy’s generosity and legacy,” Rhoda Reyes, START Center director, said.

“It is really great to recognize others that have made a difference in our community. I know Mr. Fender would be really happy with the selections of these outstanding people.”

Hudson is one of the original board members of the Freddy Fender Scholarship Fund and the South Texans for Good Government, the founding chairman of the South Texas Talent Commission and serves on the Olympic Boxing Board and the First Tee Board.

“Most people know Bill as the man that turned the economy of Brownsville around by beginning the 1,000 acre Paseo de la Resaca development,” presenter Robert Diggers of Hot Springs, Ark., said.

“Bill actually donated seven miles of resaca property and 14 miles of hike and bike trails to the city for public use rather than private use.”

He donated the land for Hudson Elementary School, Brownsville Events Center and Brownsville Tennis Center.

Ramon and Yolando De Leon “rose from humble beginning to practice long and successful careers in dentistry and law, respectively,” a statement by presenters said.

Ramon De Leon is a co-founder of the Narciso Martinez Cultural Arts Center in San Benito, a founding member of Cinesol Latino Film Festival and a longtime supporter of public broadcasting, KMBH/KHID.

He has supported numerous students in their efforts to attend sports or arts camps and spends numerous hours speaking to elementary school children about education, work and success.

Yolanda De Leon is a co-founder of Monica’s House, which provides investigation and physical and psychological services to abused and neglected children.

She identified and met those needs during her eight-year term as Cameron County District Attorney.

She has been recognized for her work in addressing drug trafficking, among other issues, and for “bringing order and integrity to political systems in South Texas,” presenters said.

“Ms. De Leon has charted new territory for women in the region and has been a role model and leader for women and men alike,” presenters said.

David Heavin, CEO and founder of Ideas In Action, was stricken with polio as a young boy and doctors told his parents that he would never walk again, presenter Bill Elliott said.

“As a young man, David turned his earlier polio into a ‘portfolio,’ as he worked his way up from salesman to manager for a U.S. fitness company. In the process, he became a national motivational speaker,” Elliott said.

“In 1972, David launched Ideas In Action, Sales and Marketing Consultation Company. He quickly became a leading national marketing consultant” for large corporations.

He and his wife, Glenna, took a “home-based business on a card table in their bedroom” and built a “world-class marketing and promotional products company in the heart of the Rio Grande Valley,” Elliott said.

“He has shared his knowledge and enthusiasm with everyone he meets. Through the schools, he has motivated young people to reach higher and not fear failure,” he said. “He has mentored dozens of entrepreneurs as they have started new businesses, helping them develop business plans and providing support.”

He is active in chambers of commerce in Harlingen, San Benito and across the Valley and was the founding chairman of Business Watch — a program to curb vandalism in San Benito — and is active in United Way and other charitable organizations and was instrumental in establishing the Doris Joy Heavin Medical Office Building at Valley Baptist Medical Center.

Glenna Heavin joined the company in 1990 after a career in education and banking and leads the company’s award-winning design department, leading the company into the e-business world.