The Paris News

Anyone looking for something to do around Paris and Lamar County can wander down to the Lamar County Chamber of Commerce and ask for Becky Semple.

“A lot of people will say, ‘What is there here to do.’ It’s a wide open question — Maxey House, library, historical buildings, shops, Chisum monument and the Jesus in Cowboy Boots monument,” Becky said. She’s the tourism director for the Paris Visitors & Convention Council and, for her, life is all about Paris.

Except for a few years just after she married her husband, Jim Semple Jr., in 1973, she has lived here. She and Jim raised their two sons, Jeffrey and Jay, among the family and friends she grew up with. She graduated from Paris Junior College and attended East Texas State University, now Texas A&M-Commerce, as a marketing major. Becky and Jim are members of First Baptist Church where they assist the youth and sing in the Worship Choir.

She’s a busy person who has a knack for finding ways to do the things she finds interesting.

“Have you heard about the reading program the Diversity Task Force of Paris is doing? I want to do that. I’m going to sign up to do that. I’m really excited,” she said. The reading program is geared toward children in the third grade. Reading to that age group has been shown to foster a love of reading that helps those children as they progress through the school years.

Becky takes the time to read to her two grandchildren, Ailee, 6, and Bella, 3, when she visits them.

“My granddaughters and I curl up in a chair and read. Ailee is about to be in the first grade. Bella will turn the page before you’re done, but Ailee is into the story. She wants to know what happens. I change my voice and she’ll look at me and say, ‘Don’t do that voice on this page.’ Then she’ll say, ‘Do that other voice.’ It’s really fun.”

Becky’s grandchildren live out of state.

“I want my kids to be where you can get to them in a car in a day, she said with a sigh. Their son, Jeffrey with wife Heather and children Ailee and Bella, live in Rice Lake, Wis. Their youngest son, Jay, and his wife, Meaghan live in Portland, Ore.

All of her past job experiences have prepared Becky for her present position as tourism director.

“I love people, and everyday is a new day where we are privileged to meet folks from so many places. Of course, I don’t meet too many strangers,” she said. “When I became director, seeing Paris through the eyes of a visitor was just a very special experience. It made me appreciate a lot of what we have here. We take so much for granted.”

She’s done everything from working as a secretary for Texas Parks and Wildlife, receptionist for Dr. Ted McLemore, selling yellow page ads to help her husband start the Paris Area Phone Directory (now known as Yellowbook) and was manager of Spangler’s Bridal and Gift Store for 11 years.

She was working at Spanglers when the director position came open.

“I just thought, ‘Wow, it would be so fun to work with tourists and promote Paris.’ I’ve lived here all my life, most of my life. I just thought it would be so neat. So I applied in early February 2006. I got the job and started Feb. 20, 2006.

“I’m learning about Paris just like everybody else. I’ve learned so much. When I was growing up, my mom and dad and my family told me about the history of Paris. Now my aunt, she’s able to tell me a lot of things that she remembers. So, I have a wealth of information in my own family.”

Family trips as a youngster with her father and mother, Homer and Donna Eubank, also played a role in guiding Becky toward the tourism industry.

“When I was a little girl, my parents went on vacations, and there was always a tour guide. I must have registered that in my mind because I thought that would be so much fun, showing people around different things. Course I would have to learn about the place and how to find it to do the guide. I remember how much fun that was. They were so animated and they loved the place they were at. They were so connected with the place, whatever they were talking about. I guess that just stayed with me. I don’t think I ever told anybody. When the chance came up, it was just a God send,” she said.

When Becky came on board, she took the tourism duties to heart and set a goal to have an event each month of the year. She’s almost there, working along with the Lamar County Chamber of Commerce to bring in groups from all over for everything from one-day tours to major events. Tour de Paris, the main undertaking for the V&CC and the chamber, is a one-day rally that takes months to prepare and utilizes the capacities of more than 450 volunteers. Becky was also instrumental in bringing in other events such as the Archery Shooters Association Southwest Shootout in addition to numerous annual meetings and conventions.

She recently helped put together a three-day package tour for a group of antique electric car enthusiasts and, next year, Paris will host the Dallas V8 Antique Car Club and the Southwest Tandem Bicycle Rally. She and Mindy Moree, director of the chamber, met with the Texas Cushman Scooter Club recently to submit a bid and pitch the area for them to hold their meeting in Paris in 2011.

“Mindy and I got there, they asked questions and we had a Power Point. And they said, ‘Ok, how many people want to go to Paris?’ Everybody raised their hand. ‘Any opposition?’ Nobody. ‘OK, we’re going to Paris, yay!’ They knew before we got there that they were coming. They just had to make it formal and make sure that’s what everybody wanted to do,” Becky said.

“We did all these things, getting a package together, goodie bags, welcoming things, elaborate Power Point. They were so excited. What they tell us is that Paris opens their arms to visitors and makes them feel at home when they come. I hear that so many times. That is so important. They will also tell us they want to move here. That’s about the best compliment you can get, whether they do or not. Still, the fact they have said it.”

All of this is in addition to helping individuals and couples find points of interest in the area in addition to providing directions, maps and advice on where to stay, eat and play while they visit the area.

“When someone walks into the visitor center, the first thing they want to know is where is the Eiffel Tower, usually. We get a map out, show them how to get there. Then we ask them if there’s anything else they’d like to see. If they have time, there’s the Maxey House, we tell them about restaurants, shopping areas, give them a visitor guide, tell them about the history of Paris. We even have people who originally plan to stay for a day and they spend the night, even when they don’t have any clothes. They are just so involved. It’s because of the laid back lifestyle and the people are so friendly. I’ve had people leave here and go someplace and come back through, stop and say hi on their way back home. I might not remember them, but they’ll come in and just tell us bye. It’s really sweet, the people we meet along the way.”

Becky said the more she does to promote Paris and Lamar County, the more she finds there is to learn about the area.

“Last week, Jim Blassingame did a cemetery tour for our antique car club. They had a ball. I was right there with them because that was my first time to do it. What was so funny, Jim came up and said, “Do you want to do this?’ I said, ‘No! I’ve got a note pad. I’m taking notes.’ He did a great job. And the first time I went on a tour at the Lamar County Museum, I was just like a sponge. I didn’t know this or that. If I had had the tour before taking the people to the cemetery, I would have known that man was not the fire chief in 1916. He was a volunteer fire chief in the 1800s. I knew I had heard that, but I got that all mixed up. They told me it was the best time they ever had, laughing so much. We were on a journey of, ‘What’s going to happen next.’

`“A lot of times when we’re in school, the thought of moving somewhere exciting and large is what you want to do. But then, how many people come back here to raise their families. We did. We wanted to raise our family here,” she said.

Becky agreed to share a couple fun stories of her experience as tourism director for Lamar County. Following are two accounts told in her own words.

Those lovely Paris gardens

“We love to work with groups, and we had a ladies garden club come from Oklahoma to spend the day viewing lovely gardens, eating and shopping. So, I set up two gardens that we had information on and knew the ladies would enjoy them.

After visiting the first garden and hearing all the oohs and aahs, I was so excited about them seeing the second one. The garden’s owner said he might not be able to leave work as planned, but his wife would probably be there and to just make ourselves at home and enjoy the grounds.

We pulled up and parked and I got out. A lady came to the window and I assumed her husband was not home yet, so I just waved and told her we would just look around the gardens. I noticed she just stood there looking at us from the window.

The ladies were so complimentary of the gardens shown to them that day and, after a delicious lunch at one of our restaurants, the spent a few hours shopping and left for home.

A few weeks later, Jim and I were out eating and I saw the owner an his wife who had the garden we strolled through on our own. I told him I was so sorry that we missed him, but the group really enjoyed their time in their gardens.

He look at me puzzled and said, “Becky, I waited and waited for you to come that day. Where did you go?”

Well, we went to someone’s garden and had a good time. I’m sure they are still trying to figure out who all those people were walking all over their yard! Thank goodness they didn’t call the police!”

It’s around here somewhere

“I had only been on the job for a few months and we had our first bus tour group from a church from Fort Worth. They were senior adults and wanted a package plan just like you have when you go to places like Branson. So we put together hotel, restaurants, entertainment and sightseeing. They were a delightful group and so much fun!

That was my first time to get on a bus and actually take people on a tour of our city. How proud I was.

Well, we went to the Eiffel Tower, John Chisum burial site, Sam Bell Maxey House, Lamar County Historical Museum, Dr. and Mrs. Hayden’s Museum of American Art, Paris Junior College’s jewelry school and they attended a play at our Paris Community Theatre. And, of course, they wanted to see the famous monument of Jesus with Cowboy Boots in Evergreen Cemetery.

I took the bus in a different entrance as usual and we drove all over that place. I was so turned around, there were many monuments, but not the one we were there to see that particular time.

One of our guests said, “Becky, I am 83! How long are we going to be in here, I am getting scared! Everyone was laughing. At least they were having a good time, so when we finally found it, I was just so thankful. They all got off the bus and started walking around and were just so impressed with something that they had only seen in print. To I started telling them about Willet Babcock, that he was the fire chief during the Paris fire of 1916. Then I heard a bit of giggling in the background when one of our visitors yelled out, “Becky. That would be kinda hard since he died in 1881.”

They later told me they didn’t know when they had had so much fun on a trip.

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