The Hill Country Venture Fest has announced Frontera Healthcare Network as its fourth Gold-tier sponsor, completing its full slate of top-tier backers for the October 1, 2026 student pitch night at the Odeon Theater in Mason. Frontera joins Hill Country Telephone Cooperative (HCTC), Central Texas Electric Cooperative (CTEC), and Texas Regional Bank, each contributing $1,000 at the Gold-tier level. This milestone arrives as the festival prepares to host its annual event, which was named the 2025 Texas Venture Fest of the Year by the Texas Venture Alliance.
The festival is a free, one-evening event where rural Hill Country students pitch real ideas to real judges. Gold-tier sponsors are among the businesses whose backing keeps the event free for students and families to attend and enter. The newly completed sponsor roster reflects the essential infrastructure that shapes rural life: healthcare, telecommunications, electric service, and banking. Frontera Healthcare Network brings a regional healthcare presence to the sponsor wall, while HCTC, CTEC, and Texas Regional Bank represent services that already support homes, schools, farms, ranches, and small businesses across the Hill Country.
For the festival, this mix is significant. Hill Country Venture Fest is not merely a one-night contest; it is designed as a public signal that student ideas belong in the same room as local employers, lenders, co-ops, service providers, families, and community leaders. Sponsor backing helps maintain the event's accessibility, provides students with a real stage, and demonstrates that the region's established institutions are paying attention to the next generation of entrepreneurs. Katie Milton Jordan, the festival's organizer, emphasized the importance of this collective support: "When a bank, a co-op, a telephone company, and now a healthcare group all say yes to the same room of kids, that tells you something about what this community values."
The announcement comes as the festival continues to welcome additional sponsors at various levels, from Community Partner ($250) to Presenting ($2,000). Those interested in supporting the event can find more details at hillcountryventurefest.com. The October 1 event promises to be a showcase of rural innovation, with students pitching ideas that could shape the future of the Hill Country.
