Hill Country Telephone Cooperative (HCTC) is directing $260,000 to the 26 schools across its service area, giving $10,000 to each campus. The announcement, discussed by Madysen McDonald of HCTC on How Texas Youth Are Changing The Game at VentureFest, underscores how a rural telephone cooperative is investing directly in the communities it serves. McDonald said the timing reflects pressing needs. “There’s a lot of communities right now that need it,” she said, adding that HCTC is “really excited to see how they can use that money to help them and help their students.” The donation is notable because it comes from a member-owned cooperative, not a large corporate foundation. That structure means the money is recycled locally, a point host Justin McKenzie emphasized when he said that when the business is local, the money goes back into the community’s kids, teams and events.
HCTC’s support extends beyond checks. 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 for fans on both sides and giving away HCTC prizes. McDonald said the kids are especially excited to visit. “They come up to us all the time and they say, ‘Hey, my parents have HCTC. We love you,’” she said. The approach connects young fans with the cooperative on their level and reinforces that HCTC is part of the community fabric. Those same students are the ones McKenzie expected to see on stage at Hill Country Venture Fest in Mason, where he served as emcee. He said pitching a business in front of hundreds of people builds resilience. McDonald shared the excitement: “I can’t wait to see how these kids’ brains are working.” The festival gives students a platform to present business ideas, and HCTC’s backing helps make that possible.
The cooperative’s service area runs from Ingram to Fredericksburg and out to Big Lake, including Mason, Sonora, Junction and El Dorado. HCTC started with landline service and expanded into fiber and fixed wireless, which reaches ranch properties where running fiber from the gate is not practical. McKenzie noted that a landline can still matter when cell service goes down and someone needs to call 911. For McDonald, the co-op difference is personal. HCTC employees live in the communities they serve, so members see them at the grocery store and at T-ball games. That local presence, combined with the school donations and event sponsorships, illustrates why the announcement matters: it shows a rural cooperative putting resources back into the next generation. More information about the cooperative is available at Hill Country Telephone Cooperative. The full conversation is available on https://www.buildingtexasshow.com.
