Political career
A colorful figure, Sampite' wore white socks, a habit begun during his early days as a coach. He distributed "I Love Natchitoches" stickers by the thousands during his twenty years in municipal office and was instrumental in bringing the filming to Natchitoches of Dolly Parton's Steel Magnolias . [1] Coincidentally, the year that Sampite graduated from Northwestern, another picture was filmed in Natchitoches, John Wayne's The Horse Soldiers . [2]
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, actress, author, businesswoman, and philanthropist, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album debut in 1967 with Hello, I'm Dolly. With steady success during the remainder of the 1960s, her sales and chart peak came during the 1970s and continued into the 1980s. Parton's albums in the 1990s sold less well, but she achieved commercial success again in the new millennium and has released albums on various independent labels since 2000, including her own label, Dolly Records.
Steel Magnolias is a 1989 American comedy-drama film directed by Herbert Ross. It is a film adaptation of Robert Harling's 1987 play of the same name. The play and film are about the bond a group of women share in a small-town Southern community, and how they cope with the death of one of their own.
Marion Mitchell Morrison, known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed 'Duke', was an American actor, filmmaker and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient. He was among the top box office draws for three decades.
In his first election as mayor in 1980, Sampite', a native of New Orleans, defeated the one-term incumbent Robert DeBlieux. As mayor, he expanded the city's fire and police departments and recreation program and directed major improvements in infrastructure and the Natchitoches airport. [1]
New Orleans is a consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of Louisiana. With an estimated population of 393,292 in 2017, it is the most populous city in Louisiana. A major port, New Orleans is considered an economic and commercial hub for the broader Gulf Coast region of the United States.
Robert Buford DeBlieux, usually known as Bobby DeBlieux, was a historian, preservationist, painter, an author, businessman, and a former Democratic mayor of Natchitoches, the oldest city in the U.S. state of Louisiana.
As the president of the Louisiana Municipal Association from 1986 to 1987, he was the first recipient of that organization's President's Award. At the turn of the 21st century, the Shreveport Times named Sampite among its "Top 100 Influential People in Northwest Louisiana." In 2000, he was inducted into the Northwestern State University Hall of Distinction, or Long Purple Line, the highest designation for alumni. [1] In 2002, he was named to the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield. [3]
The Times is a Gannett daily newspaper based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Its distribution area includes twelve parishes in Northwest Louisiana and three counties in east Texas. Coverage focuses on issues affecting the Shreveport-Bossier market and includes investigative reporting, community news, arts & entertainment, government, education, sports, business, and religion, along with local opinion/commentary. Its website provides news updates, videos, photo galleries, forums, blogs, event calendars, entertainment, classifieds, contests, databases and a regional search engine. Local news content produced by The Times is available on the website at no charge for seven days.
The Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in located in Winnfield, Winn Parish, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It was created in 1987 by an act of the Louisiana State Legislature to highlight the careers of the state's leading politicians and political journalists. Because three governors, Huey P. Long Jr., Oscar K. Allen, and Earl Kemp Long, were born there Winnfield calls itself "the birthplace of Louisiana politics." The museum, which opened in August 1993 on the centennial of Huey Long's birth, is located at 499 East Main Street in a restored Louisiana and Arkansas Railroad depot. Until his death in 2011, each inductee was sketched by the former Shreveport Times cartoonist Preston Allen "Pap" Dean Jr., himself one of the original thirteen honorees.
Winnfield is a small city in the parish seat of Winn Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census, and 4,840 in 2010. Three governors of the state of Louisiana were from Winnfield.
Mayor Sampite' was profiled in The Oxford American literary magazine in an article entitled "No Ordinary Joe." He received numerous other honors, including "Man of the Year" awards from the Natchitoches Parish Chamber of Commerce, Natchitoches Junior Chamber International, and the Louisiana Parks and Recreation Association. He was a member of the American Legion, the group Founders of Natchitoches, and the Roman Catholic men's organization, the Knights of Columbus. [1]
A magazine is a publication, usually a periodical publication, which is printed or electronically published. Magazines are generally published on a regular schedule and contain a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by prepaid subscriptions, or a combination of the three.
Junior Chamber International, commonly referred to as JCI, is a non-profit international non-governmental organization of young people between 18 and 40 years old. It has members in about 124 countries, and regional or national organizations in most of them.
The American Legion is a U.S. war veterans' organization headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is made up of state, U.S. territory, and overseas departments, and these are in turn made up of local posts. The legislative body of The American Legion is a national convention, held annually. The organization was founded on March 15, 1919, at the American Club near Place de la Concorde in Paris, France, by members of the American Expeditionary Forces, and it was chartered on September 16, 1919, by the U.S. Congress.
A Democrat, Sampite' did not seek reelection to a sixth term in the municipal election held in the spring of 2000. Two Democrats competed in the runoff election held on April 15 for the right to succeed Sampite. City council member at-large and current mayor, Wayne McCullen, narrowly defeated John Winston in the election, 3,026 (50.3 percent) to 2,962 (49.7 percent). [4]
The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party.
Sampite' sought a political comeback in the fall of 2007, but he was defeated in a competitive campaign by the Republican Rick Nowlin, a Natchitoches businessman, for the District 23 seat (then Natchitoches and Winn parishes) in the Louisiana House of Representatives. Nowlin polled 4,609 votes (55 percent) in the general election to Sampite's 3,766 (45 percent) [5] In the primary on October 20, Nowlin led a four-candidate field with 4,849 votes (35 percent) to Sampite's 4,598 (33 percent). Two other Democrats, Ralph Wilson and Mack James, polled 2,847 (21 percent) and 1,459 (11 percent), respectively. Hence, Nowlin and Sampite' were thrust into the general election. [6]
Death and legacy
Sampite' died in Natchitoches at the age of eighty-one. His services were held on May 22, 2012, at his home church, the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in downtown Natchitoches, with interment at Memory Lawn Cemetery. [1]
Sampite' was preceded in death by his wife, the former Hazel Barnes, and a daughter, Sharon Elizabeth Sampite'. He was survived by a son, Chris Sampite' and wife Daphne Gray Sampite'; two daughters, Sheila Sampite' Hardin and her husband, Lieutenant Colonel Alan Hardin, and Michaela Marie Sampite'; two sisters, Sally S. Logan of Alexandria and Marielise Sampite' Brosset of Cloutiervillel; a brother, A. J. Sampite', Jr., of Hemet, California, and six grandchildren. [1]
Mayor Wayne McCullen issued this statement on his predecessor's death:
"It is certainly a sad day for the citizens of Natchitoches and the state of Louisiana. Natchitoches has lost an icon with the passing of Mayor Joe Sampite'. He touched so many lives through his years of coaching and twenty years as mayor ... He was a mentor of mine as I served with him while I was city councilman at large. Our prayers certainly go out to his family. Mayor Sampite's legacy will live on forever in Natchitoches." [7]
David West, the Northwestern State University news bureau director, described Sampite' as "a tireless advocate for Natchitoches and NSU. He loved NSU a lot. He was always available to speak to freshmen at our Freshman Connection and was a commencement speaker at one of our graduations. Mayor Sampite' was one of a kind." [7] A "Joe Sampite Scholarship Fund" has been established at the Northwestern State University Foundation. [1]
