The Greater Mason County Venture Fest has been named the 2025 Texas Venture Fest of the Year by the Texas Venture Alliance, an honor announced at the alliance's 3rd Annual Meeting in Austin. The event, held at the Texas State Capitol and the Headliners Club, brought together investors, entrepreneurs, and economic development leaders from over 20 Texas cities.
The award recognizes the Venture Fest 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 its inception 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.
The award underscores the significance of grassroots initiatives in fostering economic vitality in rural areas, demonstrating that innovation is not limited to urban centers. The Greater Mason County Venture Fest's success offers a replicable model for other communities seeking to stimulate local entrepreneurship and investment. More information on future events will be shared through thetownie.ai.
