The Mark Voiles Memorial Award
The Mark Voiles Memorial Award was set up to remember and honor our friend and fellow-owner that passed away in December 2004. Mark had taken over three bottom-dwelling teams in the E*OFFICE and was well on his way to turning those teams into contenders. Mark was a true wheel-and-dealer in the fantasy game. He was on top of free agent pick-ups and would talk trade at any time with anyone. He was also a voice of reason that often bridged the gap between two extreme views. Most of all to us he was a friend and colleague of sorts. Fantasy Football was a major source of enjoyment in Mark's life and so it seems fitting to award one owner the Mark Voiles Memorial Award each year. The award will be given to the owner who best utilizes all the tools for improvement (Trades, Free-agents, Draft) to better their team and who at the same time loves fantasy football and shows a great joy for the game.
2004
Sheri York's Yorktown Terapins, of the Masters League, improved in total points by 50. Sheri's Independence team, the Cairo Camel-Toes improved from 9th place to 6th place while improving by over four hundred points! But, it was the Four Star League that put Sheri over the top. In 2003, Sheri finished in 7th place in the Four Star League. In the off-season she made a blockbuster trade for P. Manning and improved by over 200 total points on her way to winning the Four Star Championship.
2005
Mike Isaacs, who earned owner of the year honors for winning the Independence League for two straight years after taking over a last-place team, orchestrated another impressive turn-around. Mike's team finished with 13 wins and 1575 points in 2004, but he won 23 games and scored 1697 total points in 2005. But, Mike's turnaround is only part of the picture. Mike also shows a true enthusiasm for fantasy football, he always finds a way to be at the draft in person, and he is an active trader. He traded a future pick for T. Barber and he picked up M. Brunnell and Brad Johnson as free agents.
2006
Jamie Smith has had many great years in the E*OFFICE where he came up a game or a few points short of a title and he is a threat to win at any time. However, in 2005 Jamie had one of his worst years finishing 7th in Four Star and next-to-last in the Masters. In 2006, Jamie moved up to 4th place in the Masters League and finished one game away from a Four Star title in a season that his Venom led the entire league in points. Jamie does not win this award solely on the strength of his revival but he wins it also for exhibiting the true spirit of this award. Jamie is a year-around trader willing to trade with anybody and he has become the leader at waiver-wire addiitions. For these reasons there was little debate and the committee was unanimous in it's decision to select him as this year's recipient.
