Nominations for the Grand Island Senior High School Hall of Honor are accepted throughout each year. The Hall of Honor Committee will review all submitted nominations and honor inductees every other year. We are excited to announce the Hall of Honor Banquet & Celebration will be held again on Tuesday, March 12, 2024.
The Hall of Honor, inaugurated in 1983, recognizes Grand Island Senior High School alumni who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the betterment of society. Nominees must have graduated more than 20 years ago from the high school.
William Marshall, III
Class of 1962
Hall of Honor 2015
As businessman and community steward, William (Bill) W. Marshall’s life has been one defined by business success, charitable support, and a steadfast commitment to the betterment and advancement of his community.
Marshall was born in Niobrara, Nebraska in 1944. His family moved to Grand Island in 1959. During high school, Marshall excelled both academically and athletically. He participated in football, basketball, and track. He earned “All-Class,” “All-State” honors his junior year in basketball, and threw the shot put and discus for Grand Island Senior High’s 1962 State Champion Track and Field Team. After graduating from high school, Marshall pursued his higher education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, graduating in 1966. In 1969, he earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Nebraska-College of Law.
In 1971, Marshall returned to Grand Island at the persuasion of his father, William Marshall, Jr., to help start a local bank. In September of 1971, Five Points Bank opened its doors. Marshall was elected President of Five Points Bank in 1975 and Chairman of the bank in 1989. Under Marshall’s direction and guidance, Five Points Bank has evolved from the smallest bank in Central Nebraska into the sixth largest Nebraska bank holding company with over $1.25 Billion in total assets. Not only has the bank grown in asset size, it has expanded its operation’s presence throughout the state with locations in Hastings, Kearney, Omaha, and Sumner.
Marshall’s “community-minded” value system was ingrained in him by his father’s mantra, “You have to pay rent for the space you take.” In other words, in order for the bank to prosper, the community must also prosper, and the bank must take an active role in helping propel the community forward. Over the last 44 years, Marshall has lived out this ideology through his involvement and financial support of various projects and causes both locally and state-wide. He helped raise funds for the building of the Heartland Event Center, the building of College Park, and the movement of the Nebraska State Fair from Lincoln to Grand Island. Locally, he served as President of the Industrial Foundation, President of the College Park Board of Directors, and President of the Grand Island Community Foundation. In 2004, Marshall served as a United Way Annual Fund Drive Chairman. He also served on the Grand Island School Board and on the Grand Island Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. On a state-wide basis, Marshall served as President of the Nebraska Bankers Association and as a member of the Nebraska State Board of Education. Most recently, he served on the Hastings College Board of Trustees and as a member of the Nebraska State Fair Board. In 2013, Marshall was named the Grand Island Independent’s “Man of the Year.”
Marshall has lived in Grand Island for 44 years with his wife, Sharon. They have two daughters, Kara and Kristen, and they have six grandchildren: Katherine, Carolyn, Kate, Tommy, Will, and Jack.
Through his business involvement, philanthropic contributions, and board service, Marshall has proven that you don’t have to flee far from your roots to have a positive impact and improve the quality of life in your community.
