Outstanding Alumni - 2001
Colonel Doug Hendricks
Bemidji State University Graduate 1972
Colonel Doug Hendricks graduated from Bemidji State College in 1972 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech /Drama and Social Studies. During that time, he participated in an international exchange and spent a year at Manchester College in Oxford, England. After graduation, he joined the US Marine Corp. He spent nearly 26 years as a US Marine, rising to the rank of Colonel. Post-graduate military education includes attendance at the Amphibious Warfare School (AWS) in 1979, the Marine Corp Staff and Command College from 1985-86 and Fort Leavenworth's School of Advanced Military Studies from 1989-1991. Colonel Hendricks also received a Masters degree in Speech Communications from the University of Minnesota and a Master of Military Arts & Sciences degree from the U.S. Army's Command and General Staff College. His personal decorations from the military include the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, three Meritorious Service Medals and two Navy Commendation Medals. In addition to his military duties, Colonel Hendricks volunteered as a youth sports coach, used his experience in drama to direct plays in his children's schools and was active in the Jaycees. After retiring from the Marines, he returned to his hometown of Brainerd, MN, where he works as a leadership and defense systems consultant and coaches Brainerd High School girls soccer. Colonel Hendricks and his wife, Kathleen, have a daughter in her last year at the University of Virginia, a son in his second year at the Virginia Military Institute and two daughters attending Brainerd High School.