Chis Loupe will be inducted into the Sabine Hall of Fame Tuesday, March 28, at the Sabine Hall of Fame banquet at the St. Joseph’s Catholic Hall in Zwolle. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and the program will start at 6:30 p.m.
Paul Christopher Loupe (Chris) was born October 6, 1948, in Lafayette, Louisiana. After Chris graduated in 1966 from Zwolle High School, he attended LSU in Baton Rouge, for two years then transferred to NSU where he graduated in 1971 with a BS in Animal Science. Having taken a vacation to Galveston he called home and talked to his mother only to find out he was drafted and was to report to Fort Polk for boot camp and be inducted into the United States Army. After his boot camp and AIT training, he received orders to report to Long Binh, Vietnam, where he spent 11 months. Returning home after serving 2 years in the Army he decided to attend La Tech and get his degree in Vocational Agriculture.
There he reacquainted himself with Miss Becky Brandon who would become the love of his life, his wife and best friend. He and Becky have raised four beautiful, and intelligent women who from their parents learned to work hard and to keep God first in their lives. Erica Harding, Erin Talley, Amy Petriello, and Meredith Founds have allowed their parents to become grandparents to twelve wonderful grandchildren, Leo and Caleb the only boys in the family and Lexie, Blair, Taylor, Emery, Alyssa, Sydney, Bella, Millie, Tegan, and Abbey, their ten girl- grandchildren. Chris always said, “Someone must beautify the world, and we were chosen”.
Chris, along with then board member E B Malmay reopened the vocational agriculture department at Zwolle High School. He taught for twenty-four years at the school and during his teaching years he was elected Area II Advisor of the FFA Association. Chris was also elected President of the Agriculture Teachers Association. He also served on the Sabine Parish Fair Board for over twenty years. Having four girls to put through college, Chris put away his blue jeans and boots for dress clothes and a tie. He became an agent with the Horace Mann Life Insurance Company and worked with teachers helping them with retirement choices and other insurance needs where he worked for twenty-three years making many new friends and clients. While with Horace Mann he became a member of the million dollar round table and received numerous awards and trips for his accomplishments. With retirement looming in his future, he sold his insurance company. But Chris’ working days weren’t completed.
Within six months, he heard the Agriculture Department at Zwolle was looking for a teacher, so he applied and was hired, stepping back to his first love of teaching young people. Chris is a lifelong member of St. Joseph Catholic Church, where he has served as catechism teacher for over thirty years, eucharistic minister, lector and member of the pastoral council. Chris loves his church and the service he gives was awarded the Diocesan Service Medal. He is also a member of the Knights of Columbus council 4818. He also has served his community for multiple terms as member of the Zwolle Town Council as well as one term as Zwolle’s Mayor. And of course, Chris has served on the Zwolle Tamale Fiesta Committee from its inception. His dad, Rogers Loupe, began the Fiesta in 1975. Mr. Loupe served as President of the Fiesta for approximately ten years. Chris followed in his dad’s footsteps and has been the president for over thirty years. The Tamale Fiesta, along with local sports has put Zwolle, Louisiana on the map. The time, energy and hard work that Chris, along with the entire committee have put into forty-five years of the Fiesta testifies to the integrity of the committee and it’s devotion to Zwolle as well as the surrounding Parish. Chris is a member of the Sabine Medical Center Advisory Board and serves as President of the Zwolle Depot Museum Committee, and a member of the Zwolle VFW Chapter. Chris is honored to be a candidate for the Sabine Hall of Fame following in his father’s footsteps.
Tickets for the banquet are $50 each and may be purchased at Pete Abington’s office, Nichols in Many, Sabine Parish Tourist and Recreation Commission, Sabine Parish Chamber of Commerce, Robert Gentry’s Office at the radio station and by calling Martha Henderson at 645-9573. Each year the Hall of Fame donates to non-profit charitable groups. This year, donations will be made to H.E.L.P of Sabine, a Christian 501c corporation that provides outdoor opportunities to physically disabled children, adults and combat injured veterans and to SWAG Youth Group at St. Joseph Catholic Church.