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 award recognizes the festival 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. The festival was honored alongside distinguished recipients, including the Texas Investor of the Year and Texas Innovator of the Year, at a gathering that spotlighted Texas's broader innovation ecosystem.
“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.”
“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 added. “Rural communities can lead, not just keep up.”
The Texas Venture Alliance's annual meeting reconvened investors, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and economic development organizers from more than 20 Texas cities. The recognition of a rural event underscores the importance of inclusive economic growth across the state.
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.
For business and technology leaders, this award signals that innovation and investment opportunities are not limited to urban centers. Rural communities can serve as fertile ground for entrepreneurship, leveraging local assets and community support to drive economic growth. The festival's success offers a replicable model for other regions seeking to stimulate local economies through grassroots initiatives.
More information on the Greater Mason County Venture Fest, including details on future events, will be shared in the coming weeks through thetownie.ai.
