Taking the Next Shot

TCDRS retiree Grace Treviño is taking aim at new challenges on and off the range.

Story by Leonard Balsera; photos by Quenton T. Fisher

She stands ramrod straight, focusing on the space between two squat, square buildings facing one another in an open field.

An evening breeze stirs fallen leaves, and the sun burns above. But none of that matters to her.

“Pull,” she calls, her voice cutting through the air. It’s not a shout, but a controlled projection, a confident signal of readiness.

She catches movement — a small clay disc from one of the buildings blasts out into an arc at over forty miles per hour. Her eyes and shoulders move as one, tracking the motion, and she squeezes the trigger.

The disc shatters into fragments and dust.

Others might feel a sense of reward, of satisfaction, seeing the pieces scatter back to earth. But Graciela “Grace” Treviño is just getting started.

When asked about the mindset in competitive target shooting, her answer was both simple and sharp. “You have to tell yourself, ‘It’s your turn and your target.’ Block out the rest. And take your shot. That’s it.”

It’s a mantra that guides her both on the range and in life.

A Steady Hand, No Matter the Challenge

Grace brought the same focus and determination to more than 20 years of public service. As a manager of the Webb County Hot Checks Division, she recovered funds from thousands of fraudulent checks on behalf of local businesses and individuals.  “[When] I went in,” she said, “they hadn’t collected monies in many, many years… I just started sending notices. And, you know, it just picked up.”

That “pick up” meant stepping into a world fraught with high-stakes interactions, confronting perpetrators who would try to elude her and coordinating with investigators to track down the funds. “I loved the challenge,” she said. “My goal was always to get it done; protect the victim… that was satisfying, because I knew I had done my job.”

In 2016, she took on a new challenge as Webb County’s case manager and liaison to the Texas Specialty Courts, helping defendants access community-based rehabilitation services, especially in the case of drug abuse and DWIs.

She described the programs as “intense,” requiring the defendant to participate in frequent check-ins, counseling, drug testing, community service and other classes, with a heavy penalty for missing any of the requirements. “It’s an adjustment,” she said, “but it’s ultimately a win-win. If they successfully graduate through the program, their case basically gets dismissed… but if they want to make it, and they do make it, it’s a real second chance.”

From Hunter to Champion

Above: Grace successfully hits a skeet clay while training at the range.

Grace’s path into competitive sport shooting was also a product of natural ability and raw grit. She grew up hunting with rifles and bows, but it wasn’t until 2011, after a lifelong friend invited her to join a competition, that she discovered her passion for the sport. Despite never having handled a shotgun before, she walked away with a “Best Female Shooter” trophy.

From there, she ran with it, training under Carlos “Kaliman” Valdez, then ranked the 11th best shooter in the world in men’s skeet.

Under his guidance, Grace would go on to join the National Shooting Complex, taking home trophy after trophy in sporting clay tournaments.

But in 2022, everything changed.

Her Toughest Target

Grace said she first noticed the symptoms during competitions and practices. “I couldn’t see some of the targets,” she said. “Or I would see it when it would come out, but then I would lose it halfway, or I would see it when it was dropping. … I didn’t know anything was wrong with me at the time.”

Tests revealed devastating news: a severe case of glaucoma, which had already led to losing 75% of the top vision in both eyes. She said, “He told me that if I had not gone to see him when I did… I probably would have lost my vision 100% in three months.”

She began treatment immediately, but then faced a second blow: severe cataracts, requiring surgery to implant entirely new lenses in her eyes. Her recovery required extreme lifestyle changes. She wore special sunglasses 24/7 to avoid light exposure and could not go outside or even use a ceiling fan because it could dry her eyes out.

“This was my adjustment,” she said, “like the defendants from our rehab programs. I knew I had to do the work if I wanted a second chance to see again.”

After her medical recovery, she entered a special training regimen to prepare her for returning to the range. During this time, she chose to shift her emphasis from sporting clays to the more precision-oriented discipline of skeet shooting.

It took two years of grueling work. But it paid off.

In 2024, she returned triumphant, placing within the top 10 at a regional tournament in San Antonio, and took third place in a World Skeet Championship event after a tense tie-breaking shoot-off.

Still Aiming High

Above: A partial collection of Grace's shooting trophies.

Grace retired on September 30, 2025, and she shows no signs of slowing down.  She hopes to build her tournament credentials toward a spot on the U.S. Olympic team, and she doesn’t consider her age a deterrent. “In my world,” she said, “if you don’t have that dream, you have nothing.”

She admitted that she is still adjusting to the changes retirement brings. She said she's still waking up in the morning with a desire to go to the office and struggling with feelings of guilt for the meaningful work she has left behind. “You have to know when you’re ready. But nothing can really prepare you for it.”

But she also looks forward to the possibilities her retirement benefit allows. Like many retirees, she expressed a desire to travel and spend more time with family: her husband of over 35 years, their three adult children now scattered across Texas and their new granddaughter, who was over a year old at the time of publication.

For new challenges? She has one of those in mind as well. “I love to cook Mexican food,” she said. “I have always said that the day I retire, I am going to open my ‘Chela’s Café,’ a small mom-and-pop [place], nothing big. That’s what I want to do when I’m ready, which is hopefully soon.”

As she has done for decades, Graciela Treviño is ready to take her next shot — and the world is waiting.

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