Denison Sister Cities

12/02/2025

🚨🚨 REMINDER 🚨🚨

The 2026 Exchange Program applications are due this Friday, December 5th at 5PM!

A few reminders:
- Applications are open for both students and chaperones.
- Applications can be found online or you can pick up a copy at the Discover Denison Visitor Center (321 W Main Street) and all applications must be returned to the Visitor Center.
- Denison High School freshmen, sophomores, and juniors are eligible to apply.
- Students will spend 2 weeks living with a host family in Cognac, France and then host their French partner in Texas for 2 weeks in late July/early August 2025.
- The cost of the program is $1,000 and covers all major expenses, travel, and hosting for students. The remaining portion is covered by the Munson Foundation.

Applications and more information can be found at:

Denison Sister Cities, Inc. celebrates the historic bond between Denison, Texas, and Cognac, France, rooted in the collaboration between horticulturist T.V. Munson and Cognac native Pierre Viala during the phylloxera epidemic of the mid-1800s. Since 1992, Denison Sister Cities has been part of a nat...

11/18/2025

Don't forget to apply!! The 2026 Exchange Program applications are due December 5th at 5PM!

A few reminders:
- Applications are open for both students and chaperones.
- Applications can be found online or you can pick up a copy at the Discover Denison Visitor Center (321 W Main Street) and all applications must be returned to the Visitor Center.
- Denison High School freshmen, sophomores, and juniors are eligible to apply.
- Students will spend 2 weeks living with a host family in Cognac, France and then host their French partner in Texas for 2 weeks in late July/early August 2025.
- The cost of the program is $1,000 and covers all major expenses, travel, and hosting for students. The remaining portion is covered by the Munson Foundation.

Applications and more information can be found at

Denison Sister Cities, Inc. celebrates the historic bond between Denison, Texas, and Cognac, France, rooted in the collaboration between horticulturist T.V. Munson and Cognac native Pierre Viala during the phylloxera epidemic of the mid-1800s. Since 1992, Denison Sister Cities has been part of a nat...

10/27/2025

The 2026 Exchange Program applications are open to Denison High School Students and Chaperones!

A few reminders:
- Applications are open for both students and chaperones and are due December 5th at 5PM.
- Applications can be found online or you can pick up a copy at the Discover Denison Visitor Center (321 W Main Street) and all applications must be returned to the Visitor Center.
- Denison High School freshmen, sophomores, and juniors are eligible to apply.
- Students will spend 2 weeks living with a host family in Cognac, France and then host their French partner in Texas for 2 weeks in late July/early August 2025.
- The cost of the program is $1,000 and covers all major expenses, travel, and hosting for students. The remaining portion is covered by the Munson Foundation.

Applications and more information can be found at https://www.denisontx.gov/652/Sister-Cities-Inc

12/02/2024

Applications Extended: 2025 Sister Cities Exchange Program

The deadline to apply for the 2025 Sister Cities Exchange Program has been extended to Friday, December 20th. This is an incredible opportunity to experience life in Cognac, France, and host a French partner here in Denison.

Who Can Apply:

Students: Denison High School freshmen, sophomores, and juniors
Chaperones: Adults interested in supporting the program
What’s Included:

Spend two weeks in Cognac, France, living with a host family
Host your French partner in Texas for two weeks in July 2025
Cost: $1,000 (major expenses covered, thanks to the Munson Foundation)
How to Apply:

Pick up an application at Denison City Hall (300 W. Main Street) or download it here: https://www.denisontx.gov/652/Sister-Cities-Inc
Return completed applications to Denison City Hall or Coach Cates at DHS

For questions, contact Rachel Reinert at (903) 647-7976 or [email protected].

Don’t miss this chance to immerse yourself in a new culture, create lifelong memories, and build global connections. Apply today!

10/30/2024

The 2025 Exchange Program applications are open to Denison High School Students, and Chaperones!

Check out some of the adventures from the 2024 Exchange to Cognac, France.

A few reminders:

- Applications are open for both students and chaperones and due November 22nd at 5PM.
- Applications can be found online or pick up a copy at Denison City Hall (300 W Main Street) and all applications must be returned to Denison City Hall.
- Denison High School freshmen, sophomores, and juniors are eligible to apply.
- Students will spend 2 weeks living with a host family in Cognac, France and then host their French partner in Texas for 2 weeks in July 2025.
- The cost of the program is $1,000 and covers all major expenses, travel, and hosting for students. The remaining portion is covered by the Munson Foundation.
Applications and more information can be found at https://www.denisontx.gov/652/Sister-Cities-Inc

10/22/2024

Applications for the 2025 Sister Cities Exchange Program are now open! Hear from some of our past exchange participants below and get excited for the upcoming trip to Cognac, France.

Reminders:
- Applications are open for both students and chaperones and due November 22nd at 5PM.
- Applications can be found online or pick up a copy at Denison City Hall (300 W Main Street) and all applications must be returned to Denison City Hall.
- Denison High School freshmen, sophomores, and juniors are eligible to apply.
- Students will spend 2 weeks living with a host family in Cognac, France and then host their French partner in Texas for 2 weeks in July 2025.
- The cost of the program is $1,000 and covers all major expenses, travel, and hosting for students. The remaining portion is covered by the Munson Foundation.

Applications and more information can be found at https://www.denisontx.gov/652/Sister-Cities-Inc

10/14/2024

Applications for the 2025 Youth Ambassador Exchange Program to Cognac, France, are officially open as of today, October 14th—Sister Cities International Day in honor of Denison’s very own President Dwight D. Eisenhower! President Eisenhower, born in Denison, founded Sister Cities International as part of his vision to foster global peace and understanding through citizen diplomacy. Today, the organization boasts 2,000 partnerships in more than 140 countries.

Both students and chaperones are invited to apply! Applications can be picked up at City Hall or found online here: denisontx.gov/652/Sister-Cities-Inc. The deadline to apply is November 22nd.

For students applying, the exchange program will take place in summer of 2025. Participants will be partnered with a host from our Sister City in Cognac, France, spending two weeks living with their host family. Afterward, students will return to Denison with their partner, hosting them for an additional two weeks in Texas.

For questions, please contact Rachel Reinert at (903) 647-7976 or [email protected].

City of Denison, Texas Government Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site Ville De Cognac Sister Cities International

05/24/2024

Today the Olympic Torch came through Cognac on it's way to the 2024 Paris Olympics!

Olympic Torch Relay: which cities are involved?
From 8 May to 26 July 2024, the Olympic flame will cross the whole of mainland France and a large part of the French overseas territories. In all, more than 400 towns, including 65 stopover towns, will be hosting this event.

The stopover towns will host the torch at the end of the relay day, usually between 5pm and 8 pm. In these towns, there are three main events:
1. The live parade. A number of cultural and/or sporting events are planned to highlight the relay.
2. Live celebrations. These take place alongside the live parade, in a celebration area (e.g. local Olympic village, cultural event, theatre, etc.).
3. The lighting of the cauldron, when the last torchbearer sets fire to the cauldron in the stopover city.
Between two stopover towns, the torch continues its journey
Each day, the Olympic Torch Relay passes through 4 cities (main convoy) and 3 iconic sites (secondary convoy):
• The main convoy takes the form of a running relay in each city in the convoy over a stretch of 4 to 5 km, with a change of torchbearer every 200 metres. The last town crossed (stopover town) hosts the cauldron lighting ceremony.
• The secondary convoy is adapted to suit the location: it can take the form of a run of less than a kilometre or a presentation of the torch in a symbolic place, or with an unusual mode of travel.
When the torch is visible and the convoys are in relay mode, traffic lanes are closed off at least 30 minutes before the arrival of the convoy and until the last vehicle has passed. Depending on the terms of the closure, motorised travel will be restricted or even prohibited on the route concerned. Diversions will be in operation.
When a stopover town hosts the torch, security zones and traffic zones will be activated before and during the highlights of the event. These involve checks at the entrance to the celebration sites and traffic restrictions and arrangements: parking bans, reserved lanes, etc.
When the torch passes from a town to an iconic site, the convoy has right of way. It is flanked by vehicles in a safety bubble.
17 people carried the torch in Cognac this morning.

05/14/2024

The Denison Sister Cities Exchange Students from both 2023 and 2024 met last night to talk about the upcoming trip this summer! Our students who traveled to Cognac last summer gave our new students some tips and tricks for their trip this year.

03/25/2024

This weekend our Sister Cities students got together to help clean up a community member's yard in the first annual Big Event!🌿

City of Denison, Texas Government

02/28/2024

The 2024 Exchange Program has been advertised to Cognac students in the newspaper - check out the article and the translation below!

Who wants to welcome American correspondents?

Who doesn't dream of going to taste XXL milkshakes and burgers in the United States? For six young people from Cognac, the American dream is within reach. Well, rather, 1,700 in the bank account, since that is the price proposed by the twinning committee to fly to Denison, Texas, from July 21 to August 2. All inclusive "On condition that these young people, aged 15 to 18, welcome their American correspondent in Cognac, from July 8 to 18," specifies Monique Arramy, president of the twinning committee. "During the day, we will show them the region with excursions, notably to La Rochelle, to the Courdouan lighthouse, to caves in the Dordogne... During the afternoon and at the weekend they will be with families."

These exchanges between correspondents are not new, since they began shortly after the start of the twinning between Cognac and Denison, in 1993. Due to covid, they were stopped for two years, before resuming last year.

"It’s a great opportunity for young people to improve their English and discover another culture," says Martine Granier, committee member and retired English teacher. "For example, we don't eat at the table in the United States: we help ourselves from the fridge!"

Once in America, a nice program awaits future globetrotters: visit to the cattle market and the house of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, excursion to Dallas to the Sixth Floor Museum dedicated to President Kennedy, baseball match, discovery of the city ​​and its skyscrapers, among others.

“In addition, we are also organizing a stay in Koenigswinter, in Germany, from April 29 to May 6, for which there are still places available” adds Monique Arramy. For 390 participants will discover the citadel of Ehrenbreitstein, the rock of Lorelei, Koblenz, Kommern, Badmunstereiffel and Bonn, as well as Kayserberg and Colmar in Alsace.

https://www.charentelibre.fr/charente/cognac/cognac-qui-veut-accueillir-des-correspondants-americains-et-partir-a-denison-18571026.php #:~:text=le15%20f%C3%A9vrier%202024%20.-,Cognac%20%3A%20qui%20veut%20accueillir%20des%20correspondants%20am%C3%A9ricains%20et%20partir%20%C3%A0,burgers%20XXL%20aux%20%C3%89tats%2DUnis%20%3F

11/28/2023