Dr. Russell Daniel Holt (1910-1959) worked as a camp surgeon for the CCC at Camp Beauregard, Louisiana, then moved to Meridian in 1938 after learning the area needed a doctor. In 1940, he established the city's first hospital and clinic. In 1949, he urged the Texas Medical Board to create the Licensed Vocational Nurse Program, which Gov. Shivers signed into law in 1951. He later founded a nursing school and served as president of the Texas Board of Nurse Examiners. Civic-minded as well as medical leader, he was Meridian's mayor for eight years, active in his church, and served on the school board, city council, and many medical associations.