July 12, 2022 - Texas Travel Industry Recovery Grant Program (TTIR) was established by Senate Bill 8 during the 87th Legislature, Third Special Session, to administer $180 million of Funds received from the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund, which was established under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

November 27, 2019 - Rio Theatre owned by Mike and Nita Atkinson received the 2019 Small Business of the Year Award for Shelby County during the 2019 Texas Forest Country Partnership (TFCP) Economic Development Summit in Lufkin on Wednesday, November 13, 2019.