By: E&P Staff In a variation on a surprise party, Forum Communications President and CEO Bill Marcil was lured Thursday to what was billed as a ribbon-cutting for a new printing plant -- and instead became the center of a ceremony honoring him with North Dakota's highest honor, the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award.
Marcil, who also serves as publisher of the flagship Fargo Forum, is the 35th recipient of the Rough Rider Award. According to a Forum article Friday by Patrick Springer, Marcil, 70, "joins a diverse group of honorees that includes Lawrence Welk, Eric Sevareid, Peggy Lee, Louis L'Amour and Roger Maris."
North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven presented Marcil with the award; guests included USA Today founder Al Neuharth, a South Dakota native.
"Bill is deserving of this prestigious award because of the significant impact he has had on North Dakota and the national recognition he has received for his professional and personal achievements," Hoeven said, according to the Forum story.
Marcil, who became publisher in 1969, grew the family-owned chain into a strong regional chain that owns newspapers, radio and television stations, commercial printing plants, and online ventures in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
Marcil said the honor was "overwhelming," and that he was proud of North Dakota.
Like other winners of the Rough Rider award, Marcil's portrait will hang in a gallery in the state Capitol building in Bismarck.
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