KWED Radio announces 2025 Christmas Angel Contest winner

(Seguin) — Kenneth Tristan didn’t write his Christmas Angel nomination letter asking for gifts like shoes or clothes. Instead, the Seguin High School junior wrote from the heart — hoping only that his grandmother, the woman raising him and his brothers, might have a little less to worry about this Christmas.

His letter reads, “My name is Kenneth Tristan and I am in the 11th grade at Seguin High School. I am the 4th son of 11 boys, and my grandmother is raising us. She has never asked for any help with food or anything and she mows yards to take care of us and we help her.

I really do not know what to ask for because we all have learned to be happy with what we have. My older three brothers have all graduated and I am happy my grandma has taught us so much. I think my grandma is the one that deserves the help from this letter so she has less to worry about with all of us boys.

She gets sick and still mows yards, but we help as much as we can and are starting our own mowing service too. She has good customers but has never asked for help so I am just hoping she can get some help so she does not worry so much about us. We do not care if we get anything for Christmas but maybe with this extra money she will like getting us things we need.”

That letter was one of many submitted to KWED Radio as part of its annual Christmas Angel Contest, a tradition that awards a $500 cash Christmas blessing to a Guadalupe County individual or family facing hardship or who gives tirelessly to others without asking for help.

On Thursday morning, just days before Christmas, KWED announced Kenneth as this year’s Christmas Angel winner and invited him to read his letter live on the air to the person he wrote it for his grandmother, Silvia Renovato.

According to station staff, reaching the family beforehand proved difficult and not because of missed calls, but because even in heavy rain and darkness, Kenneth was busy across town helping his grandmother work yard jobs.

During the live broadcast, Marcos Saenz of Seguin Youth Services, who joined the program to help translate for Renovato due to a language barrier, shared her immediate response after hearing her grandson’s words and learning of the $500 blessing.

“Her response was that she said, Kenneth insisted that money is for her, not for him, for her to buy presents for them. It’s for her. She’s saying she’s so grateful for the money, but she wants to give some of that money to the younger little kids that they’ve got. She has some other grandsons there and she says we’re going to give them some money to get them whatever they want and then with the rest of the money we’ll figure out what to do with it,” said Saenz.

After reading the letter, Kenneth took time to explain to listeners the bond he shares with his grandmother and the role she has played in raising him and his brothers.

“So, the relationship I have with my grandmother – my parents were always at work and they would always bring us to our grandma’s house and she would always take care of us ever since we were like babies, thankfully – always taking care of us because our parents would be at work trying to get us what we need and so like most of our lives – all of our brothers – we all have been with our grandma for our whole lives and we are just thankful for everything she has done for us and we want to have something more in life so we can give to her because she helped us out so much and she has done more than what we can ask for,” said Tristan.

Saenz, who along with his wife Sheryl Sachtleben also nominated Kenneth and his family, said Seguin Youth Services has watched the boys grow up over the years and that Kenneth’s priorities have always been clear.

“There’s a lot of brothers that have come to the youth center. We’ve had the whole family there honestly and still have some there. Kenneth is one that has been with us for a long time ever since third grade, and he’s just always been there. He’s always been supportive, always done what’s asked of him and more. He’s a great student, does great in school, and he’s a very smart young man. But I’ll be the first to tell you, his grandmother comes first and nothing else. Every time I talk to him, he’s going to tell me something and say and ‘I’ve got to go do this for my grandmother,’ ‘I’ve got to make sure my grandmother takes her meds,’ but he’s a great kid. The only thing I can say about this lady sitting next to me is she is one top notch grandmother. She raised all those boys and when I say all, it’s a handful, it’s a bunch of them, and she’s never asked us to help her. She’s never come in there to ask us to help. We know she will never ask, so we do what we can to make sure the family has what they need for any holiday. But she is a wonderful lady,” said Saenz.

When asked what he wanted his grandmother and the community to know most, Kenneth didn’t hesitate.

“That I love her so much and I wish for her to keep on living forever even though I know she will pass on one day, I will always remember her as my grandma,” said Tristan.

KWED radio thanks everyone who took time to submit nominations this year and encourages those whose letters were not selected to try again. Winners each year are selected by the Christmas Angel and other individuals not affiliated with KWED radio or the Seguin Daily News.