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501(c)(3)Texas public charityEIN 42-2050120

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Tex the longhorn mascot welcoming guests to a packed outdoor barbecue at sunset, with a smoker, string lights, picnic tables and a live band on stage.

Our Story

The Story Behind the Texas Honky-Tonk Crowd Foundation

It began around family dinner tables, in a Texas barbecue restaurant, and inside honky-tonks filled with country music.

I don’t remember the first BBQ I ever attended. I simply remember that BBQ was where people gathered.

It’s where stories were told, neighbors became lifelong friends and family wasn’t limited to the people who shared your last name. Some of my earliest memories are filled with the smell of oak smoke, the sound of honky-tonk music, laughter around the table and the unmistakable feeling that everyone belonged.

There were handshakes instead of contracts, neighbors who looked after one another and an unwritten understanding that when someone needed help, you simply showed up.

I didn’t know it then — but those simple moments were quietly shaping the rest of my life.

Why we do what we do

Roots of a Dream

The Texas Honky-Tonk Crowd Foundation wasn’t created overnight, and it certainly wasn’t created because of one event or one person. It was built from decades of experiences, family traditions, heartbreak, service, generosity, and a simple belief that when communities come together, extraordinary things happen.

Long before there was a Foundation, there was a little girl learning what hospitality meant in her grandparents’ barbecue restaurant. There were family gatherings filled with country music and stories of service. There were generations who wore military uniforms, law enforcement badges and firefighter helmets.

Love of country wasn’t something we talked about only on holidays — it was simply part of everyday life. Looking back, I can see those weren’t just childhood memories. They were the values that shaped the person I would become.

Where it all began

Family, Food & Hospitality

My grandparents owned a barbecue restaurant and bar where I learned that great food was never just about feeding people — it was about bringing people together. The conversations around those tables mattered just as much as the meals themselves.

Neighbors became friends, strangers became family, celebrations were shared, comfort was found and community naturally grew. Without realizing it at the time, I was learning one of the principles that still guides our Foundation today.

“Food creates fellowship. Fellowship builds community. Community changes lives.”

A packed event tent strung with lights, full of people in cowboy hats eating and talking around long tables.
The tent at Rodeo Austin — where fellowship still happens over a plate.

Honky-Tonks, Country Music & Texas Pride

On the other side of my family, life revolved around Texas dance halls, country music, a famous cousin known for giving back and the kind of small-town values that are becoming harder to find.

My Dad and grandparents taught me that music has a way of bringing people together regardless of age, background or circumstance. It wasn’t about fame or concerts. It was about community and ordinary Texans finding extraordinary joy simply by being together.

That’s why our Foundation isn’t simply called a charity. It’s called the Texas Honky-Tonk Crowd Foundation — because the name represents the people, the places, the memories, the culture, the friendships and the Texas spirit that shaped who I am.

A country musician in a cowboy hat playing guitar on stage under stage lights, with a Texas flag hanging behind the drum kit.
Live music has been part of every event we have ever thrown.

A Legacy of Service

Our family includes military veterans representing every branch of the United States Armed Forces. Law enforcement officers. A firefighter. A Coast Guard Admiral cousin. A father-in-law who proudly served during Vietnam despite how he was treated upon his return. A grandfather who served aboard the USS Enterprise (CV-6), the most decorated ship of World War II.

Growing up surrounded by people who answered the call to service taught me that public service isn’t simply a profession — it’s a commitment to stand beside complete strangers on what may be the hardest day of their lives.

In 2013, I had the honor of organizing and hosting the final international USS Enterprise CV-6 Reunion for those proud WWII heroes, in honor of my grandfather. It wasn’t simply an event. It was four days dedicated to preserving history, honoring heroes and ensuring their stories would never be forgotten — and they won’t, because their oral histories are preserved at the Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg, Texas.

“Honor isn’t something you say. It’s something you do.”

A thin blue line flag displayed in honor of law enforcement officers.

The Day Everything Changed

In 2002, my own little family’s life changed forever. My husband, Deke, was involved in a devastating, near-fatal on-duty motorcycle accident. Everything stopped.

Like so many families facing unexpected tragedy, we suddenly found ourselves on the receiving end of kindness after countless hours, days and months of just survival. Friends, neighbors, coworkers and people we barely knew showed up. They prayed and they donated much-needed blood.

Law enforcement officers from numerous agencies, firefighters, EMS personnel, the Sheriff herself, medical professionals and countless friends reminded us that service doesn’t end when a shift is over.

Somewhere during those difficult days, I quietly made myself a promise: one day, when life slowed down, when I wasn’t consumed by a career, when I had the time — I wanted to spend the rest of my life giving back to the kinds of communities that had carried us through one of our darkest moments. That promise stayed with me for two decades.

A Lifetime of Showing Up

For 36 years, I had the privilege of serving the people of Texas through State government — at the Texas Department of Transportation and the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles — where I learned that serving the public requires more than good intentions. It requires accountability, thoughtful planning, transparency and responsible stewardship.

Along the way, I wrote legislative proposals that became part of State law, prepared executive testimony for legislative hearings, developed responses to questions from the Governor’s Office and helped build statewide programs that served Texans every day. Those experiences taught me how strong organizations are built — not just with passion, but with planning, governance and integrity.

Outside of my career, I devoted countless hours to Brown Santa and Blue Santa, Rodeo Austin, SafePlace, the Blue Knights Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club, the Travis County Sheriff’s Officers Association, Animal Trustees of Austin, the Texas Fallen Project, the Keith Ruiz Memorial Foundation, the TxDOT Winter Holiday Committee and many other causes — and quietly helped individuals and families whenever I could, without publicity.

“Service isn’t something you do occasionally — it becomes part of who you are.”

Building Something That Would Last

When I retired after 36 years of public service, I believed I was finally entering the season of life where I could pursue the dream I had carried for more than two decades. Life had other plans. Shortly into retirement I received a breast cancer diagnosis, and as I worked through treatment and recovery, another diagnosis followed. I chose to walk much of that journey privately — I’m the person you call when you need someone, not the other way around.

As my strength returned, I found myself doing something that had always brought me joy: cooking and giving back alongside people who had become like family. In 2025 I helped build a BBQ team and coordinated a VIP Tent Event for Rodeo Austin BBQ. Together we were honored to earn 4th Place Top Fundraiser and several other awards — a reminder of what can happen when people rally around a shared purpose.

Midway through the 2026 season, life interrupted again. Deke — who had come out of retirement into a third law enforcement career with the Austin ISD Police Department — was involved in another on-duty motorcycle accident. It was nowhere near as severe as 2002, but it brought back every memory of that time and the promise I had made to myself.

As we worked through yet another recovery, I realized how many people around us didn’t have the advantages we were fortunate enough to have. Veterans, first responders and hardworking families quietly carry burdens they rarely talk about. They are often the very people who spent their lives answering someone else’s call for help, yet find it difficult to ask for help themselves.

I stopped waiting for the perfect time. I founded the Texas Honky-Tonk Crowd Foundation to build something that would continue serving Texas long after I’m gone.

And I certainly didn’t build it on my own. My husband, Deke, has stood beside me through every high and every low. Friends, family and volunteers stepped forward with their time and talents, often before there was anything more than an idea and a lot of determination. A dream may begin with one person, but it only becomes a Foundation because others choose to build alongside them.

The BBQ Austin 4th Place Top Fundraiser award for 2025, a guitar-shaped acrylic trophy.
2025 — 4th Place Top Fundraiser, BBQ Austin.

Why the Name Matters

People often ask why we chose the name Texas Honky-Tonk Crowd Foundation. The answer is simple. The name represents everything that shaped this dream: Texas pride, BBQ, honky-tonk music, neighbors helping neighbors, honoring those who serve, growing our next generation of young Texans and building stronger communities.

It’s not about honky-tonks. It’s about the people who gather there — because that’s where relationships are built, trust is earned and communities become stronger.

Illustrated caricature portrait of founder Ann Pierce in a black jacket, smiling.
E. Ann Pierce, Founder, Chair and Executive Director.

Along the way

Moments from the road

Events, awards, music and the crowd that keeps showing up.

  • A packed event tent strung with lights, full of people eating and talking around long tables.
    The VIP tent at Rodeo Austin
  • A country musician in a cowboy hat playing guitar on stage under stage lights.
    Live music on the tent stage
  • Guests gathered under the event tent during the 2025 season.
    2025 season
  • The BBQ Austin 4th Place Top Fundraiser award for 2025, a guitar-shaped acrylic trophy.
    4th Place Top Fundraiser, 2025
  • Volunteers and guests filling the event tent.
    A full house
  • The band performing on the tent stage in front of the crowd.
    Rick Treviño Band
  • The crowd enjoying the 2025 event.
    2025 season
  • The team holding their first place Bloody Mary trophy at Rodeo Austin.
    First Place Bloody Mary, Rodeo Austin
  • Guests seated at long tables under string lights in the tent.
    Fellowship over a plate
  • Stage lights over the band during the evening concert.
    Saturday night
  • Volunteers serving guests at the 2025 event.
    Serving the crowd
  • Texas Honky-Tonk Crowd BBQ first place Bloody Mary trophy.
    First place Bloody Mary trophy
  • The event tent filling up before service.
    Before the doors open
  • Guests gathered at the 2025 event.
    2025 season
  • The tent crowd at the 2025 event.
    2025 season
  • Ann Pierce with country artist Clay Walker.
    Ann with Clay Walker
  • Ann Pierce with country artist Dale Watson.
    Ann with Dale Watson
  • Bottles of Texas Honky-Tonk Crowd BBQ sauce.
    THTC BBQ sauce

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“This Foundation isn’t my legacy. It’s the foundation for everyone else’s.”
Ann Pierce, Founder

Who’s carrying this forward?

Our Board of Directors is made up of people who share a commitment to integrity, transparency, servant leadership and community impact. Together, we’re building an organization designed to outlast all of us.

Meet the board

Join Our Story

This Foundation isn’t about what we’ve already accomplished. It’s about what we’re building together.

If, along the way, we inspire even one more person to serve their neighbor, honor those who serve our country and communities, or discover the power of giving back, then every mile of this journey will have been worth it.

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