On Tuesday evening, May 20th 2003, NEACE awarded the first-ever William Hoar Executive Excellence Scholarship. The award was named to honor current Secretary and long-time NEACE Officer Bill Hoar for his many contributions to the organization. Patrick McCue of the Journal Inquirer in Manchester, Ct will be the initial recipient of the annual scholarship. The scholarship, fully funded by NEACE (tuition, airfare, hotel), will allow Patrick to attend the API Circulation Executives Seminar September 7th-12th, 2003 in Reston, Va. Patrick will then be one of the speakers at the NEACE Fall Conference, sharing his insights on the whole API experience.

The NEACE Board of Directors unanimously voted for institution of the API Scholarship at its Board Meeting in November, 2002. However, in order to surprise Bill with this honor required that work continue on this project external to any Board meeting, as Bill coordinates and attends all of the 6 meetings the Board holds each year.

An added highlight to the evening was Bill's 12-year old son Devin congratulating his father via phone hook-up while Bill stood at the podium receiving a plaque to commemorate the evening and the award. The plaque was titled, "The William Hoar Executive Excellence Scholarship", and read "Awarded annually to forward the core mission of NEACE - to contribute to the personal and professional growth of its members. Named in proud recognition of a man who embodies that core mission."

Bill served as the 69th President of NEACE in 1986, and is one of only nine individuals to have been awarded NEACE's Circulation Executive of the Year. Bill won the award in 1993.

The Scholarship was formally approved as an annual award at the post-Conference Board Meeting on May 21st, and the eligibility requirement for a daily paper remains singular - payment of the annual dues of the member newspapers' Primary Member must be received prior to the annual Spring Conference.