06/30/2026
In 1996, I spent a lot of evenings shooting pool at the VIP Lounge, owned by Herman Everett, right where Planet Fitness stands today.
Herman also owned a bond company, and since I was working as a detention officer at the time, I often interacted with Herman and his then-young son, Jerry, on jail business.
Herman knew I worked around the jail, so he’d let me play billiards, drink sodas, and visit with folks from every walk of Del Rio life.
Shania Twain was on the jukebox, Rodney Shuman was the DJ, and the VIP Lounge was one of those places where Del Rio stories seemed to walk through the door every night.
One night, a group of gentlemen walked in talking about a business they had just purchased: Ram Country.
That was only the second year of Dodge’s redesigned trucks, and let me tell you, those pickups had everybody looking twice. Between Walker, Texas Ranger and Twister, who didn’t want one?
I was barely coming of age, finally working a real job, and I listened close. Maybe one day, I thought, I’d be able to buy one myself.
Those gentlemen were part of what we now know as the Khoury Group.
What stood out wasn’t just the business talk.
It was how they treated people.
They shook your hand. Asked where you were from. Asked where you worked. Asked what you liked to do. They didn’t act like they were sizing you up for a sale. They acted like your story mattered.
Years later, when I worked for Ram Country Toyota, I saw it firsthand.
The Khoury Group had a way of building relationships that lasted. Not relationships made just to sell a vehicle, but real connections — the kind that made people come back, bring their families, and tell their friends.
That is rare in any business.
For 30 years, Ram Country and the Khoury Group have been more than a name on a sign. They have backed youth sports, graduates, charities, community events, local causes, and families across Del Rio and Val Verde County.
And they still stand behind the George Paul Memorial Bull Riding.
That matters.
The George Paul is not just another event on the calendar. It is one of Del Rio’s great traditions, built around the memory of a legendary cowboy and carried forward for the next generation of bull riders.
When businesses support the George Paul, they are helping keep that arena alive. They are helping young cowboys chase a future in bull riding. They are helping preserve a piece of Del Rio history that has brought some of the best riders in the world to our town.
Riders like J.B. Mauney have climbed into the chutes in Del Rio and reminded everyone why the George Paul still carries weight in the rodeo world.
That tells you something.
Because out here in West Texas, people remember who showed up.
They remember who sponsored the kids.
They remember who backed the cowboys.
They remember who helped keep tradition alive.
And they remember who became part of the town, not just part of the economy.
If the Khoury Group has proven anything over the past 30 years, it’s this:
They didn’t just do business in Del Rio.
They became part of Del Rio.
Did you buy a vehicle from Ram Country during the last 30 years?
What was it?
Thirty years of Ram Country is thirty years of Del Rio history.
One Del Rio.
