An electric cooperative serving 11 Hill Country counties is making a case that its future depends as much on student entrepreneurs as on power lines. Tachi Hinojosa, CEO of Central Texas Electric Cooperative (CTEC), told host Justin McKenzie on The Building Texas Show that the co-op sponsors Hill Country Venture Fest and the Incubator EDU program in Fredericksburg, where high school students build real businesses and pitch them to community adults.
The stakes are tangible. Hinojosa said the first-place team last year in Fredericksburg won $12,000, and another team at a Fredericksburg Chamber of Commerce banquet raised over $100,000 because attendees were so impressed with their presentation. Many students join to sharpen public speaking and prepare as if a venture capitalist were ready to write a check, he said.
CTEC's involvement extends beyond the pitch stage. The co-op opened its summer internship program to high school and college students, growing from one student in the first year to six this past year, and invites high schools to tour its facilities so students can see careers beyond line crews, including member services, engineering, human resources, accounting and IT. Hinojosa cited Brodie Smith, who toured CTEC at 16, shadowed operations, worked a summer internship, was hired full time as a groundman and, at about 19, is now an Apprentice Lineman I, as an example that not every career path requires a college degree.
The cooperative model also builds in community service. CTEC employees serve on volunteer fire departments and coach youth sports, and after the co-op challenged staff to log volunteer time, they reached 1,000 hours last year. Line crews and technicians have helped local nonprofits set up and tear down tables and chairs for fundraisers.
McKenzie raised a challenge familiar to rural Texas: talented graduates leave for college or careers and rarely come back. Hinojosa sees Hill Country Venture Fest and Incubator EDU as part of the answer, giving students who want to stay the tools to build a business in the Hill Country and contribute to the local economy. The full conversation is available on the Inside VentureFest: How CTEC Powers Hill Country Student Pitches episode page.
The implications reach beyond one co-op's service territory. Rural communities across Texas face the same drain of young talent, and CTEC's approach links entrepreneurship education, paid internships and visible career pathways to the places students already call home. For local employers, that means a broader pool of workers who understand the region and may choose to stay. For students, it means earlier exposure to ownership and to technical careers that do not require a four-year degree. For the cooperative itself, the strategy is a long-term investment in the customer-owners and workforce it will depend on. As Hinojosa put it, when you call Central Texas Electric Co-op, you're calling the Hill Country, and being local is the advantage of the cooperative business model.
