How a Simple T-Shirt Turned Into a Movement in Round Rock Every town has its storytellers. Round Rock has its own rhythm and its own voice. If you have been paying attention, it also has real momentum. It is not just growing, it is booming. In six years, Williamson County’s total appraised value jumped from $89.1 billion to $184.4 billion. During that same period, 12,558 new small businesses opened. And those numbers do not yet reflect the full impact of…
What separates the businesses that last from the ones that flame out? It’s not branding. It’s not hustle. It’s not even timing. It’s conviction. That’s what I walked away with after sitting down with John Garrett, founder of Community Impact, on my Rock Solid podcast. His story isn’t just impressive. It’s instructive. Because in an era where founders obsess over funding rounds and social reach, John quietly built a print-first local newspaper company. In 2025, Community Impact is celebrating 20…
When former county judge William Gravell says his family landed in Williamson County because a milkman struck a bargain with a local banker, you lean in. You lean in because every great community is built on small, generous moments that compound over decades. You lean in again when you hear the punch line. The same county that once stretched pasture all the way down Main Street now carries an appraised value of 184 billion dollars, a jump from 89 billion…
Not every conversation leaves an imprint. But some, like the one I recently had with Kevin Koym, stay with you. We recorded it just before Startup Day in Round Rock, where Kevin was preparing to host one of his signature Campfire Networking events. For those unfamiliar, it’s not your average mixer. There’s no pitch deck, no elevator speech. Just entrepreneurs coming together around a metaphorical fire, sharing insights instead of intentions. Kevin’s been doing this a long time. Long enough…
Some men build resumes. Others build roots. Will Peckham didn’t just run for office or shake hands at ribbon cuttings. He showed up, day after day, one bite at a time, to feed a vision of Round Rock that would outlive him. Not for legacy’s sake. But for his kids, his grandkids, and for neighbors he hadn’t yet met. When we sat down for the Rock Solid podcast, I wasn’t just hearing another civic success story. I was witnessing someone…
I didn’t time-travel this morning. But my brain did. One second I’m scrolling news, inboxes, calendars, social media. The next, I’m a kid again, sitting on the carpet, cereal in hand, watching Saturday morning cartoons like nothing else in the world mattered. I can’t wait to meet my friends in the park and play some basketball and wiffle ball.. That wasn’t just nostalgia. That was my nervous system crying out, “Please, make things simple again.” We’re overwhelmed because we’re off-script.…
Some stories start with inspiration. Others start with blood work. Mine started with both. In July 2024, I walked into Impact Family Wellness expecting just another check-up. Instead, I walked into the beginning of a new story. Monica McKitterick and her team didn’t just take my vitals. They ordered full blood work that uncovered the truth I had been avoiding. My blood sugar was more than triple the healthy range. My blood pressure was spiking. Other markers weren’t much better.…
Back when I was a 20-something social worker in New York, I had a boss named Fred. Former priest, recovering alcoholic, lived through the Bowery, and taught me more about people than any textbook ever could. He used to ask, “When are you going to write your book?” I didn’t get it back then. But I get it now. It wasn’t about putting words on paper. It was about owning your story, leading your story, and writing your next chapter…