MEDORA, N.D. — The Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation has tapped a North Dakotan and longtime executive as its next leader.
The group behind the Medora Musical and other tourism experiences in the small historical city has named Clarence Sitter as its new CEO. His first day is Wednesday, April 2, which marks the 39th birthday of the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation.
“There’s going to be so many fun things for people from all over to come and experience, and we’re ready to serve them,” Sitter told The Forum on Monday.
Sitter will succeed Randy Hatzenbuhler, who headed the foundation for nearly 40 years. He also takes over as the Medora Musical prepares for its 60th season.
Sitter grew up in Drayton, North Dakota, a Pembina County city about 45 miles north of Grand Forks. With roughly 735 residents, Drayton is almost five times the size of Medora.
Nestled in the Badlands about 35 miles west of Dickinson, Medora was founded in 1883 by French nobleman and meatpacking entrepreneur Marquis de Mores. He named the city after his wife.
Medora serves as the main entrance to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The park named after the U.S. president who lived and ranched near Medora welcomes on average more than 600,000 visitors each year, according to the National Park Service.
Medora has also become North Dakota’s top tourism destination, with a focus on preserving the historical aspect of its Wild West beginnings. Visitors can see the Maltese Cross Cabin that Roosevelt built, take a tour of the Chateau de Mores and explore the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame, among other attractions.
Its main attraction is the Medora Musical, which features country music, dancing and an homage to Roosevelt. The foundation said the musical attracts more than 110,000 attendees each summer.
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Sitter recalled visiting Medora as a child with his grandparents. The trips often included getting an ice cream cone from one of the old-time-style shops.
“We just had a lot of fun,” he said. “That’s where my Medora memories start.”
Those childhood memories played a role in his journey to lead the organization that creates experiences for Medora tourists, he said. After graduating from the University of Mary in Bismarck with an accounting degree, Sitter said he worked for Eide Bailly for more than 10 years.
He said he was participating in a consulting project with the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation when Hatzenbuhler asked him if he would consider working for the organization.
Sitter joined the foundation in 2012 as its chief financial officer, a position he held for 10 years. He was later named the chief operating officer, a post he has held for the last three years.
Medora is a special place for North Dakota, Sitter said. He called it the state’s bragging rights to the rest of the country, with values that North Dakotans hold “near and dear to their hearts.”
“I think you can go to every community in North Dakota, big or small, and everybody knows where Medora is, what it is, and they feel a sense of pride and ownership in that community, even though they don’t live there," he said.
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Sitter’s leadership style is about serving employees, visitors, donors and the Medora community, said Levi Andrist, chairman of the foundation’s board of directors.
“He has unimpeachable integrity,” Andrist said of Sitter. “His humility is unmatched.”
Sitter said he is focused on building customer relationships and investing in staff. The foundation plans to build a wedding and event barn that would include cabins and motel units at the Bully Pulpit Golf Course, Sitter said. He also said the group is looking to add another hotel, the first in decades.
“We’re going to continue to grow and evolve as an organization, but we want to balance that so we don’t lose the historic charm and nature that people have come to love about Medora,” Sitter said.
Sitter will head the foundation a year after the Medora Musical switched its production company and a year before the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library is set to open. He has high standards that will serve the foundation during a vital time in Medora’s history, Andrist said.
“We have tremendous confidence in Clarence's steady servant leadership to see through what is a really exciting time for the community and for the visitors,” Andrist said. “It’s that very servant leadership that will guide us through a lot of these really exciting and transformational changes that are happening for the benefit of our community and for the benefit of our state and for all of our visitors.”
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