Jeff Varner

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Survivor contestant
Jeff Varner
Date of birth April 16, 1966 (1966-04-16) (age 42)
Resides Kalamazoo, Michigan
Season(s) The Australian Outback
Finish 7th voted out
Tribe(s) Kucha, Barramundi


Jeff Varner (born April 16, 1966) is a news anchor, a former entertainment reporter, and a former contestant on the CBS reality television series, Survivor: The Australian Outback

Contents

[edit] Early Life and Education

Jeff was raised on a tobacco farm in Greensboro, North Carolina. He played right defense for a hockey team in the local youth hockey league. He participated in Tae Kwon Do classes soon after. He attended Southern Guilford High School, where he was active in student government and theatre arts. He later went on to earn a journalism degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill[1] .

[edit] Survivor

Jeff was a contestant on Survivor: The Australian Outback, 2001.[2] He was a member of the Kucha tribe, and made it to the merge, but not the core group of nine, as there was a tie between him and Colby Donaldson. At the time, in the event of a tie, previous tribal council votes would be used. Jeff had two but knew only of one, Colby had zero.

Tina Wesson once referred to him as a "little devil" because he delighted in tormenting his opposition.

During the show, Jeff's luxury item was a coloring book and a set of crayons. The Survivors colored in the books and signed their autograph in it, and after the show, he sold the pictures on eBay to raise money for charities.[3]

[edit] Journalism career

Jeff worked as an entertainment reporter for KCBS in Los Angeles, CA then E! News Live, and then as a field correspondent and host for the TV Guide Channel. He was a weekend news anchor and field reporter at FOX 8 WGHP in High Point, North Carolina. In his first year in broadcast news, he won an Associated Press Broadcast News Award: "Rookie of the Year," in 2005 [4].

Jeff began his career in communications as a public relations assistant and corporate communications manager for Citicorp in New York City. He was part of the first team in the corporate world to utilize the internet to communicate project information as a manager in Citicorp's "Product Design and Development Division."

He used that background to transition into web development, working in developing web properties for Citibank, MCI, Harlequin Romance, and Martha Stewart Living Online.[5] Jeff used his Survivor exposure to turn his web and PR career into a full-blown on-camera reporter, anchor and host.

In May 2007, Jeff left FOX 8 due to what he calls "angry and unprofessional management" from the station's news director. He is now working for WWMT in Kalamazoo, Michigan as a News Anchor for the News Channel 3 morning news.[6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ MyFox WGHP. Retrieved on 2007-04-13.
  2. ^ SurvivorHunks.com: Jeff Varner. Retrieved on 2007-04-13.
  3. ^ Jeff Varner of 'Survivor Australia' auctioning coloring book pages for children's charity. Retrieved on 2007-04-13.
  4. ^ Jeff Varner (I) - Biography
  5. ^ Survivor. Retrieved on 2007-04-13.
  6. ^ WGHP’s Varner takes his Southern charms north. Retrieved on 2007-06-01.

[edit] External links