McDill "Huck" Boyd

McDill "Huck" Boyd (April 17, 1907 – January 9, 1987) was a noted small-town newspaper publisher in Phillipsburg, Kansas, United States, and twice a candidate for governor of that state.

Journalism career Boyd for decades was the publisher of The Phillips County Review, a weekly newspaper in his hometown. His parents, Frank W. and Mamie Alexander Boyd, purchased the paper the year he was born; Frank had previously been the editor since 1902 of the Phillips County Post. The couple changed the name of the paper from the Post to the Review. There was considerable competition at that time in sparsely populated Phillips County, with four other newspapers in Phillipsburg and other publications in neighboring, smaller towns.

Huck, the Boyds' first child, joined the newspaper staff in 1929 as a junior editor when the Great Depression caused him to withdraw from college and return home to help his parents. The Boyd family was deeply involved in the newspaper business. Huck's brother, "Bus" (given name Frank), after a stellar sports career at Kansas State Agricultural College (now Kansas State University) coached sports for a time but later became editor of the Jewell County Record in Mankato, Kansas. Nephews and nieces (and their descendants) of Huck Boyd have also operated the Hill City Times and Norton Daily Telegram, among Kansas newspapers.

Huck Boyd also served as president of the Kansas Press Association.

Four members of the Boyd family — Frank W., Mamie, Bus, and Huck — have been inducted into the Kansas Newspaper Hall of Fame. Huck was inducted in 1990.

Fellow Kansas Newspaper Hall-of-Famer Henry Jameson once said of Boyd: "(He) has that rare knack for pulling people together and getting things done, with a minimum of fuss and fanfare. He never hogs the spotlight. He appears to be in the background - but all the time he's out front calling the signals."

On September 21, 1997, the McDill "Huck" Boyd Community Center was dedicated in Phillipsburg. It is home to the Huck Boyd Foundation, the goal of which is "revitalizing rural America, enhancing its quality of life and preserving America's rural heritage."

Political influence Boyd was active in Republican politics, twice launching campaigns for governor of Kansas and serving from 1967 to 1987 as a Kansas representative on the Republican National Committee.

Former Kansas senators Robert J. Dole and Pat Roberts have both considered Boyd to be a mentor in their political careers. Boyd maintained considerable influence in the state Republican Party, as he held almost every role within the leadership structure at one time or another, including state president.

Boyd was chairman of media arrangements for the Republican National Conventions in 1968, 1972 and 1976. And, in 1970, he was one of two public members of the United States delegation to the United Nations Economic and Social Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

Boyd also received several significant journalism awards. He was honored with the William Allen White Award for Journalistic Merit, the first Victor Murdock Award for distinction in journalism and community service, and was a recipient of the Eugene Cervi Award from the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors for public service through community journalism.

Death Huck Boyd died January 9, 1987, in Wichita, Kansas. He is buried in Phillipsburg's Fairview Cemetery.