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Paris Junior College has three days planned for the 2023 Homecoming Celebrations, Thursday through Friday, November 2-4. One highlight of the weekend will be the awarding of the College’s Distinguished Alumni Award, and PJC will induct four alums into the PJC Hall of Honor for their outstanding achievements.
Receiving the 2023 PJC Distinguished Alumni Award are Richard “Stubby” Clapp and Joshua Northam, both Class of 1995. Slated to be inducted into the Hall of Honor are Richard “Dick” Boots, Chonda Hicks, Dr. Quitman Dillard, and Becky Semple.
Northam has had a stellar legal career, with many family law recognitions, and in 2020, named a “Law Dragon Leading 500” in family law. Clapp left his native Canada to join the Dragons baseball team and has had a notable career in professional baseball. Currently, he is the first base coach for Major League Baseball’s St. Louis Cardinals team.
Baseball also drew Boots to PJC when he received a scholarship to play. His municipal career brought him back to Paris, and notable accomplishments as Director of Facilities include planning and constructing Farmers Market, Cox Field Airport Terminal, Oak Paris, and more.
Paris native Semple worked in Austin, returned to Paris, and eventually took a life-changing role as Tourism Director for the Lamar County Chamber of Commerce, where she has welcomed thousands to the City in the past 18 years.
Another former Dragon athlete, Dillard, came to PJC to play basketball, where he earned numerous awards and went on to a career in education administration. He is currently an associate principal in Chicago Heights, Illinois. He was named the 2004 Chicago Westside Branch NAACP Educator of the Year.
Hicks first worked in the medical field, then returned to college to become an educator. She teaches fourth grade at Thomas Justiss Elementary School in Paris, and they recently recognized her at the Texas Teacher of the Year celebration as Region 10 Elementary Teacher of the Year.
PJC’s Office of Student Life starts festivities on Thursday, November 2, with the Annual Homecoming Parade beginning at 4:00 pm at the Hunt Center on the PJC campus. The parade proceeds up Clarksville Street to 12th S.E. and north to Lamar Avenue, where the floats and decorated vehicles will circle the Plaza and return down Clarksville Street to the Campus. After the parade, students, faculty, family, and friends will celebrate in the Hunt Center with a pep rally.
Friday, November 3, Dr. Pam Anglin will host alums, guests, and friends at the annual President’s Reception in the McLemore Student Center Ballroom from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm.
The weekend is highlighted with the Distinguished Alumni Award Luncheon on Saturday, November 4, at Love Civic Center, beginning at noon. The Cost for the luncheon is $30.
The Hall of Honor ceremony, also on Saturday, begins at 2:30 pm in the McLemore Student Center Ballroom, and the public is welcome to attend the free event. Refreshments will follow.
Homecoming basketball games kick off in the Hunt Center at 4:00 pm as the women play University of North Texas – Dallas and the men play Tribulation Prep. The crowning of the 2023 Homecoming Queen and King will take place at halftime of the men’s game.
You can make reservations for the luncheon by calling Baleigh McCoin, Director, Institutional Advancement/Alumni Affairs, at (903) 782-0276 or email bmccoin@parisjc.edu to request a form. The deadline for registration is noon on Wednesday, November 1.