Borjas Honored as the Texas Society Daughters of the American Revolution, Outstanding Veteran Volunteer Awardee

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, TX -- The Montgomery County News and The Coushatti Trace Chapter of the Texas Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, are pleased to announce that MCN Reporter/Columnist Ruben Borjas Jr, was named as the Texas Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, Outstanding Veteran Volunteer for 2025. The announcement was made as part of the TSDARs 127th State Conference, National Defense Banquet, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel at the DFW airport on the evening of March 14th. Ruben was nominated by the Coushatti Trace Chapter for his numerous Veteran volunteering efforts in Montgomery County, working with the VFW, as well as with mentoring Veterans in 359th District Court Judge Kathleen Hamilton’s Veterans Court in Conroe, as well as Veterans who have committed non-violent offenses and are capable of following a mandated court program that upon completion will expunge their record from the system. Borjas was also a mentor to Veterans in the Montgomery County jail Veterans Pod, where Veterans reside in confinement, awaiting trial or probation, or serving out their sentence while housed with fellow Veterans separate from the general population of prisoners on the MC jail campus. Ruben is a U.S. Army Veteran who served during the First Gulf War, Operation Desert Shield/Storm. As a reporter for the Montgomery County News, he uses his pen to advocate for Veterans who’ve fallen on hard times. Many of the Veterans he has helped suffered from PTSD, addiction, or have had mental health struggles, or untreated trauma.

Ruben personally intercedes with local homeless Veterans in Conroe and Montgomery, giving of his own time and money to ensure they can have a meal, or coordinate with others for a place to stay when the weather turns rough.

Borjas was crucial last year in the case of Vietnam Era Veteran helicopter pilot Larry Bates, a local Montgomery Veteran who was wrongly threatened with eviction from an apartment complex in the city. He worked with several Veterans organizations, including VFW Post 12223 in Montgomery, and Veterans and Patriot United in Huntsville, in reviewing the evidence to best presented to the public, the actual facts of the case. His stories also included vital information to inform senior citizen apartment tenants strategies to be informed of tactics of unruly apartment companies and intimidating managers who do not fully inform tenants of their rights. Following his first story on Mr. Bates, the Hopkins Law Firm in Conroe, John Paul Hopkins, contacted Ruben, and asked to meet with Mr. Bates, taking on his case Pro-Bono. After numerous court hearings at the Justice of the Peace and County Court levels, Mr. Bates won his case by the ruling of Judge Scharlene Valdez, County Court at Law #6 in Conroe, and Larry will no longer be subject to eviction by the whim of the apartment manager or the company.

“I was thrilled to have Ruben recognized at our National Defense Night,” said Coushatti Trace Corresponding Secretary, Merrilee Gordon. “We thank him for all of the support he provides to our local veterans and our community.”

Each year TSDAR Chapters, approximately 200 from across Texas, nominate deserving Veterans in their jurisdictions, and hold votes by the chapter for approval. A chapter representative, in the case of Coushatti Trace, Merrilee Gordon, worked with Ruben to create a packet of background information and Veteran accomplishments for consideration at the state level. The completed packet was then submitted to the State Chair for DAR Service for Veterans, where the nominees were scrutinized by a three judge panel via a point system to choose the winner. The State Chair then notified Coushatti Trace Regent Jan Cook that their nominee had won this year’s competition.

Despite all the work that Borjas does for Veterans and in his reporting for the Montgomery County News, he is still a Disabled Veteran, and routinely suffers from bowel obstructions, collateral damage from his cancer he suffered from 28 years ago . Borjas has since been hospitalized approximately 80 times, with occurrences generally ranging from 2 times per year, to more recently five hospital visits in 2025, with a record 9 visits in 2019. In 2026, Ruben has had two separate hospitalizations, one from a bowel obstruction on February 19-21, and February 22-March 2, when Ruben was hospitalized and diagnosed with Diabetic Ketoacidosis, a life threatening Blood Glucose condition that resulted in the loss of up to 10 pounds of body fluid per day via water loss from fat and muscle cells. He lost 25 pounds before his blood sugar stabilized, and was able to consume a regular diet beginning on February 28th, being able to gain a few pounds back before his discharge on March 2nd. Coushatti Trace officials were aware of Mr. Borjas’ hospitalization and were concerned that he would not be able to recover in time to attend the DFW TSDAR Conference.

“I enjoy my work with Veterans and the Montgomery County News so much, I never even considered receiving an award for my endeavors,” said Ruben. “To receive any state level award is a true honor, and it's satisfying to know that my work is making a difference and being recognized with Veterans and civilians in Montgomery County.”

Mr. Borjas’ name and nomination packet will be submitted to the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, NSDAR, for further consideration. The organization is deeply excited this year for the American 250 celebration honoring the Independence Day of Our Nation signed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 4th, 1776.