On behalf of the TEAs and Grooby, we’re sad to report the passing of beloved adult industry reporter and former Free Speech Coalition board member, Mark Kernes. A longtime reporter for AVN, Mark was also the first recipient of the TEA Best Industry Professional Award.
“Very sad to hear of Mark’s passing,” said Steven Grooby. “Mark was always such a big supporter of my company since the early days, and always had kind words (among his many words) when asking for a quote. He was the first recipient of our Best Industry Professional award at the TEA Show for someone who didn’t directly work with trans but had supported within his job role, and was a frequent guest of our event. He was a kind and gentle man whose presence in our industry, online and in-person, will be surely missed.”
“I believe Mark was the first person at AVN I ever met,” said Kristel Penn. “It was very early in my career, back when the TEAs were hosted at modest little clubs around LA. There’s a mental image I have of him happily thumbing through the program. I remember he was wearing his signature suspenders. I was told, even way back then, how much Mark advocated for our performers and our genre. He wasn’t embarrassed or annoyed to attend the TEAs, he was proud to support our community and it showed. He was vocal and consistent in his support of our industry. I very much enjoyed our conversations throughout the years and feel grateful we kept in touch even after his retirement. His kindness was matched by his passion to do good in our industry. He was someone I sincerely admired and respected. He was someone who led by example and I know we will continue to see the ripple effects of his hard work in our industry for years to come.”
Mark served on the Free Speech Coalition Board of Directors for nearly 20 years, more than a dozen as the Secretary, where he used his skills as a former court reporter to generate perfect minutes of the Board meetings. He was named the first Director Emeritus of the Board after his retirement. He was also the first board member to advocate for the integration of all sex work into the scope of FSC.
AVN did a wonderful writeup about Mark here: https://avn.com/news/video/mark-kernes-former-avn-editor-fsc-board-member-dies-at-76-179364
