⛳ 6-Year-Old From The Woodlands Just Became a Golf Prodigy
🎶 Sting, Santana, and Symphony: The Pavilion's 2026 Season Keeps Growing
🏫 Tomball ISD's School Board Just Won a Statewide Honor
🛍️ Little Pookie Kids Co. Doubles Down on Downtown Conroe

TWD | Issue #002

⛈️ Thunderstorms Likely · Sunday, July 12, 2026

🌡️ High 91°F · Low 75°F
💧 Humidity 75% · 💨 Wind SSE 7 mph · 🌧️ Rain chance 70%
☀️ UV Index Extreme · Sunrise 6:29 a.m. · Sunset 8:26 p.m.

Partly cloudy this morning, but afternoon storms are likely, so keep an umbrella in the car if you're headed out later.

Source: The Weather Channel

Hudson Guidry just became the youngest golfer ever to qualify and compete in the Under Armour Jr. Summer Nationals, one of the country's premier junior golf championships. He's six years old, a kindergarten student at the Sam Houston State University charter school in The Woodlands, and he locked in his spot at age five.

Qualifying wasn't simple. Players have to compete in at least three of six local Under Armour Jr. Tour events and hit a scoring average for their division, in Hudson's case 48.9 or lower in the 8-and-under group. He hit that mark in just two tournaments. But his age created a snag: tour rules require players to turn six before the qualification deadline, and Hudson's birthday landed just outside that window. His coach asked the tour to make an exception, and Ray Taranto, president of the Under Armour Jr. Tour, personally reviewed Hudson's results and cleared him to play.

Hudson trains with weekly group lessons plus individual sessions with Coach Nick Gerber or Coach Kaine Gibson. He told Woodlands Online he's been swinging a club since he was six months old and plays regularly with his dad, grandfather, and uncle. His mother, Stephany Guidry, said watching him compete on a big stage and meet golfers from other states made for an experience he won't forget.

Hudson has his sights set higher than most incoming first graders. He's already talking about beating the record set by Stephen Abrams, who won three junior world titles by age eight, and when asked what comes next, his answer was simple: turn pro, and be a dad, just like his own.

Why it matters: a kindergartner from The Woodlands just became the youngest golfer in this championship's history, and that's the kind of local story that makes the whole community feel like it won something too.

Source/Credits: Woodlands Online

The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion has added a wave of new performances to its already packed 2026 season. The updated lineup spans country, classic rock, pop, hip-hop, alternative, and blues, with acts ranging from Flatland Cavalry and John Mellencamp to Santana and The Doobie Brothers, TOTO, TRAIN, and Chicago and Styx.

The fall calendar keeps building too, with Mötley Crüe, Josh Groban, Mumford & Sons, and Eagle Fest featuring ZZ Top all now on the books through October and into November.

Alongside the ticketed shows, The Pavilion is keeping its free community programming going, including a Woodlands Symphony night on July 15 and a Houston Symphony tribute to Billy Joel and Elton John on July 21, both open with no ticket required.

Why it matters: this is the kind of lineup that reminds you why people drive in from all over Houston to see a show here, and it's happening in our backyard.

Source/Credits: Woodlands Online

The Tomball ISD Board of Trustees has been named the 2026 Region 4 School Board of the Year, recognizing its leadership, ethical governance, and commitment to student success. The board now advances as Region 4's nominee for the statewide Texas Association of School Administrators Outstanding School Board Award, with the winner announced October 9 in Houston.

The honor points to a decade of sustained growth. Tomball ISD's own release credits the board with overseeing the opening of eight new campuses and securing voter approval for the district's three largest bond referendums, while now serving more than 23,300 students across 25 campuses. A 26th campus is set to open this fall.

"Strong school boards create opportunities for students to succeed," said Dr. Rodney Watson, executive director of Region 4 Education Service Center, praising the board for leading "with integrity through a period of significant growth while keeping students at the center of its decisions."

Why it matters: a school district growing this fast needs steady hands at the top, and this is Region 4 saying Tomball ISD has them.

Source/Credits: Tomball ISD

Little Pookie Kids Co., a mobile children's boutique owned by Conroe mother of two Bree Olivares, opened its second storefront on June 22 inside Main Street Merchants in downtown Conroe. The boutique carries children's clothing and accessories for newborns through age 12, including mommy-and-me pieces, tween styles, and gender-neutral options.

The business name comes from a nickname Olivares gave her firstborn son. Beyond its two storefronts, inside Top This Party Co. and now Main Street Merchants, the boutique stays mobile, showing up at local pop-up events around Montgomery County several times a week.

Why it matters: a small local business built around a mom's nickname for her son just planted a second flag in downtown Conroe, and that's exactly the kind of growth this section exists to celebrate.

Source/Credits: Community Impact | Little Pookie Kids Co.’s Website

🎸 Cody Joe Hodges. Dosey Doe – The Big Barn. 7 p.m., doors and kitchen open at 5:30 p.m. Live country music with an optional pre-show dinner. Seats from $20. More info

🎼 Game On! A Symphony of Sport — The Woodlands Symphony. The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. Gates 6:30 p.m., show 7:30 p.m. Free, no ticket required. A high-energy tribute to stadium anthems and Olympic fanfares, from "Thunderstruck" to "Eye of the Tiger," kicking off the Symphony's Season 13. More info

🎤 Rock the Row: Brenda Guy, The One Woman Show. Hughes Landing, on Lake Woodlands. 7-9 p.m. Free outdoor concert, soul music, part of the summer Rock the Row series. Bring a blanket or lawn chair. More info

🎸 The Speaker Wars, featuring Stan Lynch. Dosey Doe – The Big Barn. 8 p.m., kitchen opens early. Stan Lynch is a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. More info

Note: Dates and times are as announced online. Organizers may make changes. Always confirm before heading out.

For the rest of the year, Woodlands Express riders can pick up a free WE TIX smart card at any Park and Ride location for faster boarding: just tap to pay, no scanning or fumbling with tickets. Starting in 2027, the cards cost $2. Connect it to an existing WE TIX account and you're set.

Source: The Woodlands Township

🎻 The Woodlands Symphony announced its Season 13 lineup, "Expect the Unexpected," running July 2026 through May 2027 with a stadium-sports tribute, a Grateful Dead-inspired concert, an audience-participation holiday jazz show, and a mystery season finale. Read more

☕ A new coffee shop, The Yemeni Bean, is coming soon to Stuebner Airline Road in Spring, promising authentic Yemeni coffee alongside freshly baked pastries and handcrafted desserts; no opening date has been announced yet. Read more

🏗️ Tomball City Council moved forward two $50,000 grants for a Hwy. 249 redevelopment project at Black Forest Flex Park, tied to facade renovations and site improvements across two buildings. Read more

🌼 Fourteen volunteers helped The Woodlands Township install a new native pollinator garden at Wendtwoods Park in May, planting 103 native species to support butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds, funded by an $8,000 grant. Read more

When The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion opened in April 1990, the very first show featured Frank Sinatra, alongside performances from The Houston Symphony and Alabama with Clint Black. More than three decades later, it's grown to seat 16,500 people and is still one of the top outdoor amphitheaters in the world.

"She's set in her ways like a fencepost in red clay." Translation: that opinion isn't changing, no matter how hard you push.

Muffins are to cupcakes as smoothies are to milkshakes.

What do you call a can opener that doesn't work?
— A can't opener.