By JACQI LEYVA-HILL
Special to the NEWS
Velma De Los Santos has been named the 2026 San Benito News Citizen of the Year for decades of volunteerism, civic leadership, and community service across San Benito and the Rio Grande Valley.
A lifelong San Benito resident, De Los Santos graduated from San Benito High School in 1981, where she was deeply involved in academics, music, and student organizations.
She played flute and piccolo in the high school band for all four years, ranked 15th in her graduating class, and was involved in the National Honor Society, Keywanettes, and Thespians clubs.
She also served on the Vanity Fair Court, participated in the Pan American Student Forum (PASF), and was named Miss San Benito for 1980-1981.
“I have always been proud of my hometown,” De Los Santos said. “I believe I am a product of my community.”
De Los Santos said her foundation for volunteerism began in childhood through Girl Scouts, alongside her mother, who served as the troop leader for both her and her older sister.
“I was raised by a mother with a servant’s heart,” she said. “I wanted to be just like her and, like many other leaders in our community whom I admired as I was growing up.”
Over the years, De Los Santos has served in numerous organizations and leadership roles across the Valley.
She said her volunteer work with the American Heart Association became especially meaningful after losing two immediate family members to heart disease in the same year. As a cancer survivor, she has also participated in fundraising efforts supporting cancer research, treatments, and patient assistance programs.
De Los Santos also devoted years to advocating for and supporting the Valley AIDS Council in the 1980s and 1990s. She sang at World AIDS Day events at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle and participated in Christmas events for children living with HIV/AIDS.
“I sang at funerals all over the Valley for those who lost the battle to AIDS,” she said, referring to individuals who had been “shunned by their families and by society.”
Her love for the arts also led her to participate in more than 100 theatrical productions, beginning in the mid-1980s with the Dawson Theatre Guild and later with theater organizations in Harlingen and Brownsville. She eventually served on theater boards, both locally and statewide, through the Theatre Network of Texas.
Today, De Los Santos, the owner/broker at V.I.P. Reality in San Benito, continues to serve the community in several leadership roles.
She serves as chairman of the San Benito Planning and Zoning Commission, vice chairman of the Board of Adjustments, president of the Salvation Army of Cameron County, president-elect of the Women’s Council Cameron County Network, and chairman of the San Benito Chamber of Commerce board.
“I feel that volunteering and giving of yourself to your community develop leadership skills and have helped me prosper in my business and personal life,” she said. “I feel it has blessed me, and I hope, in some small way, I have given back to my community as it has given so much to me.”