Alumnus Tharaldson ’67 to do book signing at VCSU fieldhouse on May 8

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Gary Tharaldson, entrepreneur, hotel magnate and a 1967 graduate of Valley City State University, will sign copies of his biography, “Open Secrets of Success: The Gary Tharaldson Story,” in the W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse on the VCSU campus at 10 a.m., Tuesday, May 8.Tharaldson will sign and give away 100 books to the first arrivals at the signing; more books will be available for $12.99 after that. Following the book signing, Tharaldson will field questions from the audience.Described by Forbes magazine as North Dakota’s richest man, Tharaldson majored in business education at VCSU, did high school teaching and sold insurance before getting into the hotel and motel business. He purchased his first hotel, the Super 8 in Valley City, in 1982. By 2005 he had built and bought more than 400. In January 2018, he said he was still building 20 hotels every 15 months. An avid softball player and sponsor, Tharaldson is a member of the National Softball Hall of Fame.