2026 GRAND MARSHAL
Mark Evans
Mark Evans was born on March 25, 1952 in Parowan and has spent his entire life there.
After graduating from high school, Mark joined the National Guard, where he served for seven years. Following basic training he attended Trade Tech, now Utah Valley University, and graduated as an electricion. Instead of pursuing that career, Mark chose to return home to Parowan and help his dad with the family trucking business, a decision that would shape much of his life.
In 1975, Mark married Joyce Brownell. Together they were blessed with six children: Jill (who has passed away), Cecilie, Cheryl, Alex, Wendy, and Cami. Family has always been at the center of Mark’s life. He has spent countless hours following his kids to sporting events and activities. He did everything he could to be there, despite the demands of driving truck. These days he has 12 grandchildren to keep up with, and he continues to do his best to be there for all of them.
In 1982, Mark and his brother-in-law decided to climb Mount Rainier. Apparently once was not enough, because Mark has since climbed it two more times. The first climb gave him the mountain-climbing bug and has now climed to the highest point in 49 states. The only one missing is Alaska, and according to Mark, that is because Joyce won’t let him climb it!
Mark has spent his entire adult life trucking livestock. He has often said, “If it can’t walk on and off the truck, I don’t want to haul it.”
Mark and Joyce took over the trucking business from his dad in 1984 and built it into what it is today. Their trucks travel throughout the western United States hauling cattle and, for some reason, Mark especially loves hauling sheep.
In the 1980’s, sheepman in Cedar City and the surrounding areas began asking Mark to help haul sheep off the mountain and from Panaca to Cedar City. He agreed and has never stopped. Over the past 40 years the business has hauled more than 2 million lambs from southern Utah to all over the western United States. He has also hauled more than half a million ewes locally.
When Mark isn’t behind the wheel of a truck, there is a good chance you’ll find him with his horses. He has a team that many people have seen in local parades, at hay rides, and events around Parowan. For years, Mark has also taken the trail ride up the mountain for the Iron County Fair, something he truly enjoys. One of the horses, Ralphy, even played Old Sorrell in SUU’s Back Up the Mountain.
Mark may be 74 years old, but you would never know it from the way he lives.
This July, he participated in a triathlon and finished fourth in his age group. He climbs Little Creek Peak every summer and can climb in and out of a sheep trailer faster than folks half his age. He likes to tell everyone to get out of his way because they don’t know how to do it.
The determination probably sums Mark up as well as anything. Whether he is climbing a mountain, hauling livestock, working with his horses, supporting his family, or serving his community, Mark has never been afraid of hard work and he certainly doesn’t know how to quit.
In the eyes of his family, Mark is simply “the man, the myth, the legend.”
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