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El Paso Inc. names Woody and Gayle Hunt as 2022 El Pasoans of the year

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- El Paso Inc. has named Woody and Gayle Hunt 2022 El Pasoans of the Year. Few El Pasoans have given more to the enrichment of the Borderland than Woody and Gayle Hunt. In 2010, the Hunt Family Foundation donated $10 million to Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso to establish the Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing.

The philanthropic couple gifted $25 million in 2016 to TTUHSC El Paso to establish the first dental school in our region. In their view, that gift came from a need to keep El Paso-education health professionals in the Borderland.

"The only way we're going to close that gap is like we've done with a medical school, is and the nursing school, is to create our own education vehicle at a very high quality, and that gives an opportunity for local students that are capable but that want to stay here to go to dental school and become dentists," said Woody Hunt.

The Woody L. Hunt School of Dental Medicine is now thriving on the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Campus El Paso, with sights set on expanding. But the enormous giving did not stop there.

Late last year, the Woody and Gayle Hunt Family Foundation announced yet another gift.

"We announced today a transformational gift from the Woody and Gayle Hunt Family Foundation. It's a $25 million gift that will transform our college of business and make it the preeminent business school in the country for U.S. Mexico business," said UTEP President Heather Wilson.

Woody hunt called the $25 million gift a dual-purpose gift to elevate quantity and quality in our region. "You want to elevate the quantity of students because we are, we need to be more competitive in terms of post-secondary completions in our population. But we want to do it with quality. And you can't do the quality if you don't have the additional resources," said Mr. Hunt.

But to understand the Hunt Foundation gifts, you must start from their roots. Woody graduated from Ysleta High School. He and Gayle both attended UTEP, then UT Austin together. He grew his family-owned retail lumber yard into a multinational business that invests and operates in real estate and infrastructure markets. While the Hunt family recognizes Borderland's potential, they also recognize the need.

"To try to move the needle, it takes resources, and our region, has been challenged in resources," said Hunt.

But the Hunt Family Foundation not only focuses on business and health of the El Paso community, but they also contribute to sciences and quality of life. The foundation also donated $5 million to the El Paso Children's Museum and Science Center.

The center is just across the street from where the Chihuahuas and Locomotive FC teams play. The teams are co-owned by the Hunts. Donating to the health and well-being of the Borderland, solidifying the future of our business leaders along the border and helping shape the minds of our youth. Just a sample of why Woody and Gayle Hunt are El Paso Inc's El Pasoans of the year.

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Saul Saenz

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