Greater Mason County Venture Fest Named 2025 Texas Venture Fest of the Year
Following its May 26 recognition at the Texas Venture Gala & Forum, the Hill Country community project is honored for rural economic development, Main Street innovation, and AI-assisted local media
Mason, Texas (Newsworthy.ai) Thursday Jun 11, 2026 @ 9:00 AM CDT
Katie Milton Jordan / simpleedo.ai / townie.ai
“This award belongs to the Hill Country communities who showed up — the students who pitched their ideas, the business owners who sponsored, and the towns that said yes. We're just getting started.” — Katie Milton Jordan, on behalf of the Greater Mason County Venture Fest
Following its May 26 recognition at the Texas Venture Gala & Forum in Austin, the 2025 Greater Mason County Venture Fest has been named Texas Venture Fest of the Year by the Texas Venture Alliance. The honor was announced at the alliance's 3rd Annual Meeting, hosted at the Texas State Capitol and the Headliners Club, which reconvened investors, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and economic development organizers from more than 20 Texas cities.
Katie Milton Jordan / simpleedo.ai / townie.ai
“This award belongs to the Hill Country communities who showed up — the students who pitched their ideas, the business owners who sponsored, and the towns that said yes. We're just getting started.” — Katie Milton Jordan, on behalf of the Greater Mason County Venture Fest
The award recognizes the 2025 Venture Fest, hosted in Mason County, as a model for rural economic development - connecting student entrepreneurs, local business owners, and Main Street investment through a grassroots festival format. Katie Milton Jordan, who has organized the event since it began as a single-campus pitch event in Kerrville in 2023, accepted the recognition on behalf of the Greater Mason County community.
“When this started, it was a handful of folding tables on one campus in Kerrville,” Milton Jordan said. “What's grown out of that - students pitching real ideas, towns saying yes to something new, neighbors backing each other's businesses - that's what this award is really about.”
The festival was honored alongside distinguished recipients at this year's gathering, including the Texas Investor of the Year and Texas Innovator of the Year, in an evening that spotlighted Texas's broader innovation ecosystem.
“Being recognized in that room, alongside people doing serious work across the state, was a reminder that what happens in small towns counts,” Milton Jordan said. “Rural communities can lead, not just keep up.”
Milton Jordan is the publisher of thetownie.ai, a rural media and economic development platform covering local journalism, Main Street business, and civic storytelling across the Texas Hill Country. She is also the founder and CEO of SimpleEDO.ai and a former Deputy Director and Interim Executive Director in regional economic development.
More information on the Greater Mason County Venture Fest, including details on future events, will be shared in the coming weeks through thetownie.ai.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the Texas Venture Fest of the Year award?
- It's an honor presented by the Texas Venture Alliance at its Annual Meeting, recognizing the Texas regional venture festival that best demonstrates community impact and rural economic development. The 2025 Greater Mason County Venture Fest received the award, announced May 26, 2026.
- Is this an award for Katie Milton Jordan personally?
- No. The award recognizes the Greater Mason County Venture Fest as a community project. Katie Milton Jordan, who has organized the festival since 2023, accepted the recognition on behalf of the Hill Country community that built it.
- What is thetownie.ai?
- thetownie.ai is a rural media and economic development platform covering local journalism, Main Street business, and civic storytelling across the Texas Hill Country.
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