Michael G Ethridge 
Every November, we set aside a day to honor the men and women who have worn our nation’s uniform. But for most of us, gratitude should not be something we circle on a calendar. It should be part of how we live. Both of my grandfathers were veterans, and three of my four grandparents worked … Read more
October settles over Kendall County like a quilt. The mornings begin to carry that crisp air we’ve been waiting for, the trees start to hint at turning, and you can smell fires drifting from backyards and campsites. Football fills the evenings, deer blinds are cleaned and stocked, and the calendar fills with fall festivals, church … Read more
Ken Nietenhoefer likes to say he’s lived six different lives. He even wrote them down once, in a manuscript he calls My 6 Lives. But listening to him tell it, those chapters don’t sit neatly side by side. They stack on each other, like wood grain running through a beam, all adding up to the … Read more
Most men I know aren’t looking for applause. They’ve got families to care for, work to do, and burdens they rarely speak aloud. That’s the part we often miss. Not because we’re too proud to ask for help, but because somewhere along the way, we started believing we were supposed to carry it all alone. … Read more
Some lessons aren’t written in books. They aren’t found in classrooms, and they don’t come with degrees or gold stars. They’re passed down in quiet moments—on porches, in pickup trucks, or at the dinner table—when a father or mentor looks a boy in the eye and says, “This is how a man does it.” They’re … Read more
When Andy Ivankovich first drove down Mill Dam Road in Comfort, Texas, he wasn’t looking for a vineyard. Truth is, he’d never even tasted Texas wine. What he sought was just a quiet slice of the Hill Country, somewhere to clear brush on weekends with his kids and let his mind rest from years of … Read more
Cody Davenport isn’t the kind of CEO who spends his days behind a desk, distant from the work that drives the heart of his organization. Instead, the leader of the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo is a hands-on, boots-in-the-dirt Texan who can often be found alongside volunteers, loading livestock, or training with his staff … Read more
July is when the flags come out – on porches, in parades, on the backs of pickup trucks heading to river crossings and backyard cookouts. We celebrate independence, grit, and a country built by men who weren’t afraid to work hard, speak plainly, and live by conviction. So it seems like the right time to … Read more
June in Kendall County means summer is in full swing—sunlit evenings, community celebrations, and the welcome hum of tradition echoing down Main Street. And there’s no better reflection of that spirit than Das Festival of Kendall. As one of its founding board members, I’ve had the privilege of seeing this event grow from an idea … Read more
Born in San Antonio to a family deeply rooted in military tradition, Collins Martin’s life is a testament to service, perseverance, and an unwavering commitment to community. His father and maternal grandfather both served in the U.S. Air Force, and when his grandfather retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in the late 1960s, he established a … Read more