Curated News
By: NewsRamp Editorial Staff
October 31, 2026
HCTC Gives $10K to 26 Schools, Backs Texas Youth at VentureFest
TLDR
- Hill Country Telephone Cooperative grants $10,000 to each of 26 schools, gaining community goodwill and visibility over rivals.
- HCTC funds 26 schools with $10,000 each and provides fiber, fixed wireless, and landline service across its rural Texas footprint.
- HCTC's $10,000 grants to 26 schools and local event support strengthen rural Texas communities and create better opportunities for students.
- HCTC gives $10,000 to 26 schools and supports student entrepreneurs at Hill Country Venture Fest in Mason, Texas.
Impact - Why it Matters
Rural communities often lose their young talent to bigger cities, but this episode shows a different playbook. By putting $10,000 directly into each of 26 local schools and showing up at football games and entrepreneurship events, Hill Country Telephone Cooperative is investing in the next generation where they already live. The story matters beyond one co-op: it illustrates how locally rooted businesses can turn customer dollars into scholarships, programs and confidence-building opportunities for students. It also spotlights the practical value of cooperative infrastructure, from fiber and fixed wireless on remote ranches to landlines that still work when cell service fails and a 911 call is critical. For parents, educators and community leaders, the takeaway is that small, consistent commitments, whether a tent at a Friday night game or a check to a school, can shape how young people see their own futures and whether they choose to build lives back home.
Summary
In the latest episode of The Building Texas Show, host Justin McKenzie travels to Ingram to sit down with Madysen McDonald of Hill Country Telephone Cooperative (HCTC) for a conversation titled How Texas Youth Are Changing The Game at VentureFest. The episode, also available on YouTube, explores how a rural telephone cooperative shows up for the students in its footprint, from the football stands to the pitch stage. McDonald explains that HCTC decided the time was right to give $10,000 to each of the 26 schools across the regions it serves, noting that many communities need the support right now and that the co-op is eager to see how schools use the funds to help their students.
The discussion highlights HCTC's visible community presence. On Friday nights, the co-op sets up a tent near the ticket gate at games such as Comfort vs. Ingram and Mason vs. Junction, handing out trinkets and prizes to fans on both sides. McDonald says kids frequently approach the team to share that their parents are HCTC members. Those same students are the ones McKenzie expected to see on stage at Hill Country Venture Fest in Mason, where he served as emcee and where pitching a business in front of hundreds of people builds resilience. McDonald shares his excitement about seeing how the students' minds work. The episode also covers HCTC's service area, which runs from Ingram to Fredericksburg and out to Big Lake, including Mason, Sonora, Junction and El Dorado, and traces its evolution from landline service into fiber and fixed wireless that reaches ranch properties where running fiber from the gate is impractical. McKenzie notes that a landline can still matter when cell service goes down and someone needs to call 911. New residents can learn more at HCTC.net, call 830-367-5333, or visit local offices in Sonora, Mason and Junction.
For McDonald, the cooperative difference is personal: HCTC employees live in the communities they serve, so members see them at the grocery store and at T-ball games. She says the best way to give back is to show up at HCTC events and stay connected through its Facebook, Instagram and TikTok pages. McKenzie closes on the cooperative spirit, emphasizing that when the business is local, the money goes back into the community's kids, teams and events like Hill Country Venture Fest. The full conversation is available on The Building Texas Show episode page, with new episodes published weekly on YouTube and all major podcast platforms.
Source Statement
This curated news summary relied on content distributed by Newsworthy.ai. Read the original source here, HCTC Gives $10K to 26 Schools, Backs Texas Youth at VentureFest
