ND Cowboy Hall of Fame - Archived Articles

** NOMINATIONS ACCEPTED FOR YEAR 2002 HALL OF FAME HONOREES**

North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame (NDCHF) Trustees are accepting and preparing nominations for the year 2002 round of inductions into the Hall of Fame Hall of Honorees. Since 1998, numerous individuals, events, and ranches have been nominated. Of those nominated 37 individuals, four events, three ranches, a rodeo production company and two horses have been selected as inductees for the center of western heritage and history that will be built in Medora.

Last year, the Hall of Fame’s 180 Trustees selected 15 for induction into the Hall of Fame Hall of Honorees. For 2002, board members have approved a rotating plan that will allow the induction of nine Honorees in the Ranching, Rodeo, Rodeo Livestock and Leaders of Ranching and Rodeo Divisions. In future years, nominees will again be accepted in the Arts and Entertainment, Great Westerner, and Special Achievement Divisions.

Hall of Fame Trustees must make nominations to the Hall of Fame on or before January 20, 2002. Anyone with knowledge of a person or event they feel belongs in the Hall of Fame should contact a Hall of Fame Trustee (List of Trustee District Chairs enclosed). All nominations must include a brief biography of no more than one standard, double-spaced page, photos and other supporting material. Trustees will meet in February to decide which of the nominees will be placed on the year 2002 ballot. Selection for induction into the Hall of Fame will be made by the Hall of Fame’s 180 Trustees who will vote in May and June of 2002.

NDCHF Executive Director Darrell Dorgan says, “There will be four inductees in the Ranching category. Two of the individuals must have been a person engaged in ranching prior to 1940. The third will be person currently engaged in ranching. The fourth inductee in the Ranching Division will be a ranch. Three will be inducted in the Rodeo Division and two must have been involved in rodeo prior to 1940. One person will be selected for the new Leaders of Ranching and Rodeo Division and one animal will again be inducted in the Rodeo Livestock Division.”

NDCHF President Phil Baird of Mandan notes, “Those not selected for induction into the Hall of Fame this year are eligible for nomination in future years.”

If fund raising remains on target, plans call for groundbreaking for the 14,000-square-foot Medora facility in September and a grand opening the summer of 2003. The Hall of Fame recently received preliminary approval of a $750,000 matching grant.

In addition to the matching grant, Billings County Commissioners recently pledged $250,000 for the project and Medora City Commissioners have voted to provide $100,000. Dorgan says several additional grants are being worked on and the group will soon launch a major individual fund raising drive.

The Hall of Fame will be located at the site of the current Museum of the Badlands. The Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation gave a 100-year lease to the Hall of Fame for one dollar a year. Dorgan says, “Once work gets underway most of the building will be replaced. The Hall of Fame will feature high tech interactive displays showing the development of the horse culture on the plains and the evolution of the ranching industry and the sport of rodeo. There will also be a theater and art galleries and a large outdoor patio that will be used for entertainment.”

Work on the NDCHF began with a Dickinson organizational meeting five years ago. More than 1,000 people from across the country are charter and annual members. Contributions for the project may be sent to: The North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame, 1110 College Drive #212, Bismarck, North Dakota, 58501.

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