Former Herald GM Roger Sovde ‘brought out the best in people’

Roger Linton Sovde was as influential as a Rock Hill community leader as he was as a newspaper man through the 1980s and 1990s, according to those who served with him.

Sovde, longtime general manager of The Evening Herald and The Herald until he retired in 1998, died Saturday. He was 83.

Terry Plumb, retired editor of The Herald, worked with Sovde for about 11 years. He called Sovde “very professional.”

“He was very loyal to the people he worked for,” said Plumb. “He said he never had a boss he didn’t like working for. He learned from every boss he was with, and I feel the same way about Roger.”

During his time at The Herald, friends of Sovde say he served as the president of Rock Hill United Way, chair of the York County Economic Development Board, a charter member and president of the Rock Hill Personnel Association and as a trustee of Friendship Junior College.

Family and friends honored Sovde at a memorial service Monday at Oakland Avenue Presbyterian Church.

Sovde is survived by his wife Joye, sister Carol Letch, three sons and three daughters. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to United Way of York County, or other charities of choice.

Sovde was born Dec. 19, 1933, in Minneapolis, Minn. He served in the U.S. Naval Reserve during the Korean War.

He became the co-owner of the Herald-Press newspaper in Palestine, Texas, and worked for years as the vice president of Richardson-Sovde Co., Inc., a Minneapolis-based newspaper equipment company.

Following his time there, Sovde worked in various roles at the Mankato (Minn.), Free Press.

Plumb said Sovde was an unsung leader in the Rock Hill business scene, playing a large role in setting up the Rock Hill Industrial Park.

Sovde and fellow colleague Wayne Patrick promoted women and African-Americans to key leadership positions in the newspaper during their time, said Plumb. Those leaders included Patricia Simons, who was production manager, and Jim Lowry, who was press foreman.

“He was absolutely fair,” said Plumb. “He was tough... but he was fair. People did not want to disappoint Roger Sovde. He brought out the best in people.”

During his time in South Carolina, Sovde helped set up a statewide classified advertising program with the South Carolina Press Association.

Sovde was key in creating a system where every member newspaper would agree to run the same classified ad, with profits sustaining the SCPA. The money from the program allowed the SCPA to provide more member services, Plumb said.

Bill Rogers, executive director of the SCPA, said Sovde was a “super guy.”

“He was a soft-spoken man, yet so efficient,” said Rogers. “He was very smart... His knowlege of business helped us get off on the right foot.”

This story was originally published February 20, 2017 at 3:55 PM with the headline "Former Herald GM Roger Sovde ‘brought out the best in people’."