“The University was fantastic to me, helping me get an opportunity to get my degree.” Mark Doll
Doll is the chief executive officer and president of Doll Distributing Inc., which has rapidly become one of the largest beer distributors in the Midwest. He is keenly interested in the ways products are displayed in the ads, which are key to the success of his business and the brands he represents. He finds four of the brands he sells and steps away from the countertop, satisfied. “That’s good. Four out of five. That’s a win.”
LEARNING STRUCTURE AND RELATIONSHIPS Mark Doll grew up in Council Bluffs, Iowa, the second oldest of five children – and the son of a beer distributor. Merlin and Edith Doll founded Doll Distributing in 1965 with the purchase of a Hastings, Nebraska, distributor. The deal came with 2,260 Budweiser cases, 33 Budweiser kegs, 355 Goetz cases, seven tap accounts, two trucks and a wood-paneled Ford Edsel station wagon. By age 12, Mark was helping his dad deliver kegs of beer and unloading rail cars. But Mark also enjoyed football and wanted to continue his playing career after graduating from St. Albert’s High School in Council Bluffs. If he earned his college degree in business administration, Mark knew he could return to the Doll family business and take a larger role. The Bearcats’ head football coach Jim Redd ’66 gave Mark the shot he needed, allowing him on the team as a walk-on. “I might not have had the best grades coming out of high school, but Northwest accepted me,” Mark said. “It gave me some structure. You get around the other guys who really are just trying to do the same thing – have fun playing a sport they love. The University was fantastic to me, helping me get an opportunity to get my degree.” As a defensive linebacker, Mark lettered three times for the Bearcats between 1976 and 1979. Known to his coaches as an “aggressive, valuable performer,” he tallied 33 unassisted tackles and 73 assisted tackles during his career, along with a couple forced fumbles, blocked passes and an interception. He also was a senior member of the Bearcat football team that won an MIAA championship with Redd at the helm in 1979, one season after going 0-11. NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I FALL 2016
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