The President's Corner

"April Showers bring May flowers" or so the saying goes. For the Lamar County Chamber of Commerce, April brings lots of visitors that will result in lots of sales and hotel tax in May. We are busily preparing for the ASA Archery SouthWest Shootout that will be here April 24-27^th. This is our 8th year to host this event, which brings in shooters from Virginia to California. These professional shooters compete in 7 different venues and cumulate with someone winning the coveted title of shooter of the year.  These visitors to our community come in and fill our hotels, restaurants and stores and always tell us that Paris is, by far, the most hospitable community that they visit on their tour. It takes many volunteers to make this event happen and the Chamber simply could not do it without your support. We have the best volunteers anywhere and that always shines through to our guests, as well. The City of Paris is invaluable in the support that they give to this event and we are ever so grateful to them for their partnership and hard work in making this event happen.

We are working on another one of our signature events, which is the Tour de Paris Bicycle Rally. This is the 30^th anniversary of this event, and we are so excited about the event and are planning some really exciting things to make this one really special, not only for the riders, but for the community, as well. The date for the Rally is Saturday, July 19^th, and the riders will begin at 8:00 a.m. This event, too, is made possible by many of our volunteers. We have well over 900 riders that come from all across the region and spend hotel and sales tax dollars in Paris and Lamar County, too. This year we are offering a special commemorative 30^th Anniversary jersey and socks for the event. These can be purchased online at www.tourdeparis.com.

Last winter, the Chamber and the VCC commissioned Texas A&M Commerce to do an economic impact study for us on these two events, so that we could have a measure of exactly what they mean to us in dollar for dollar return on investment. Everyone always likes to see what they are getting for the money they are spending. Neither the ASA Shootout nor the Tour de Paris are direct revenue generators for the organization, so our question was - "Is this worth the expense that we are putting forth for our community to bring these folks here for these events?" The results of that study are in and will be released within the next two weeks. Be looking for this exciting news - you will be pleased!!

From Becky's Desk!  

Bonjour Y'all!

Happy Easter!  Happy Spring!  :D

WOW!  In just a few weeks, we will have visitors from all over the country and overseas will converge on Paris, Texas and Lamar County to compete in the 8^th Annual ASA Southwest Shootout at Love Civic Center!  We have a host of volunteers helping in the concession stands, and giving that special "Southern Hospitality Welcome" that brands us!

The dates are Friday thru Sunday, April 25^th thru 27^th.

The Chamber Shoot is Thursday, April 24^th, and will be named the Scottie Norrell Memorial Shoot.  Scottie was the first person to organize an Archery Club in Paris founded in 1958.  This club was called Red River Valley Bowmen, now known as Archers for Christ.

Scottie passed away last year, and we are honored to be remembering Scottie and the wonderful world of Archery that he brought to our area so long ago, and the excitement continues today!

Our calendar continues to fill up with great events such as the K9 Congress American Bulldog Show April 12 and 13 at the Pavilion next to Love Civic Center, and Antique and Classic Car Cruisin' starts back up this Friday night, April 4 around the Plaza.

Events just around the corner in early May are Uncle Jesse Big Bass Fishing Tournament May 3^rd.  We have entries here at the Chamber office.  The "Big Catch" is worth $5000 to some lucky fisherman!

The  Paris Rodeo will be held May 2, 3 and 4^th at the Paris Rodeo and Horse Club Arena at the Fairgrounds.  This is the 55^th year!

John Chisum Western Days is scheduled for May 2 thru May 4^th at the Fairgrounds.  There will be a Chuck Wagon Cook Off, Vendors displaying old time favorites and craft making demonstrations, and more!

Today, we welcomed over 85 folks from Arkadelphia, Arkansas to Paris.  They were on a tour bus heading home.  Hopefully, they will choose Paris for one of their tours in the near future.  We are always amazed at the many visitors that come our way and the positive comments that they give our community.

There is always something fun going on in Paris and Lamar County!  Discover wonderful treasures in your own back yard!

Opening Doors!!