The award was presented on the evening of Friday, May 5, 2017, during the Fraternity Communications Association’s annual awards banquet in Charlotte, NC.
The Varner Award Committee made the selection upon a nomination prepared from Pi Kappa Phi with supporting recommendations from Durward W. Owen (1994 Varner Award recipient); Christian Wiggins, past Chief Operating Officer; Dr. Lori Hart; Larry S. Wiese, Executive Director of Kappa Alpha Order; and Judson Horras, CEO of the North-American Interfraternity Conference.
Excerpts from recommendations:
“His warmth and sense of fraternalism is an example. He is that innovator and doer, that
interfraternal leader that exemplifies why the Varner Award was created,” – Larry S. Wiese
“It’s no surprise, Mark got his start in Pi Kappa Phi within the communications world. He is a true communicator. Mark likes to talk things out. His small note pad is always nearby and he takes notes. LOTS of notes. Mark takes great interest in people. His concern for my best interest and well-being, as well as his kindness, will be something I will value for all of my life,” – Dr. Lori Hart
“When the leaders of inter/national fraternities need a leader, they call on Mark Timmes,” – Judson Horras
“Mark is a well-known interfraternal leader, a mentor and trusted counsel to many within the craft, a champion of the Greek experience, and a fraternity communicator at heart,” – Christian Wiggins
“I have known all but six previous winners, and do not know of any other more deserving than Mark,” – Durward W. Owen
About the Evin C. Varner, Jr. Fraternal Communications Award:
As the Grand Senior President of Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity and President of the College Fraternity Editors Association (CFEA), now the Fraternity Communications Association (FCA), Evin Varner led both organizations to enhanced programs. He was a leader and speaker in many interfraternal programs and won many awards as editor of his fraternity’s magazine, The Tomahawk. He achieved all this while compiling a distinguished career in communications, marketing, and public relations. He was the first recipient of the award, shortly before his death in 1985.
Evin always had time for those who sought his counsel, and he easily shared his sense of mission. He was an innovator, a doer and above all, a friend. He influenced others’ appreciation of the role of the fraternal communicator and the effectiveness of interfraternal cooperation. It is this spirit—the outreach of caring and sharing, as well as communicating and achieving—that the Evin C. Varner, Jr. Fraternal Communications Award memorializes, recognizes, and inspires others.