Fraternity
By Preston Bradley, HANOVER 2026
Darrell Fuller, WILLAMETTE 1988, has impacted countless lives while volunteering during natural disasters with the Red Cross
Princess, the Fuller family dog, was curious about the contents on the kitchen counter above her while left home alone on Nov. 29, 2007. While reaching up to investigate, she ignited a burner on the gas stove, and a package on top of the stove caught fire. The blaze quickly spread throughout the kitchen and into other parts of the house. Thick smoke choked the air.
The home of Darrell Fuller, WILLAMETTE 1988, was destroyed. All of the family’s pets died due to smoke inhalation, and most of the family’s possessions were lost, leaving the Fullers with little except the clothes on their backs. In that dark period, the Red Cross was there for the Fullers, and a volunteer assured them they would not be alone in the recovery process. Fuller and his family received a comfort kit with necessities, and his children received stuffed animals to help cope with the devastating loss.
Fuller never forgot the impact the Red Cross made on him and his family in that moment. He began volunteering with the Red Cross in Oregon in 2018 and in the years since, has made a difference in the lives of countless people while working as a disaster response volunteer. In addition, he also is a volunteer firefighter; chapter advisor of the Delta Zeta chapter at Willamette University, where he has helped organize two blood drives a year for the past three years; and serves on the board of a food bank that serves over 1,000 families every month. He also serves on the board of the League of Minority Voters, which promotes the advancement of minority voters’ rights through education, empowerment and mobilization.
“There are two types of people. There are people who need help, and there are people who can help, and we just need to choose which of those two people we prefer to be,” says Fuller.
Fuller has deployed over 12 times in five years throughout the United States to help with natural disaster response and dedicated over 700 hours to the Red Cross last year alone. Fuller has also won numerous awards from the Red Cross and AmeriCorps for his extensive service, including an AmeriCorps Gold Volunteer Service Award from President Joe Biden in 2022 and 2023 for donating more than 500 hours each year to the American Red Cross, and he also received the Keizer (Oregon) Chamber President’s Volunteer of the Year Award for community service in 2021.
For his volunteer work with the Red Cross and his commitment to helping those in need after natural disasters, Fuller has been named this quarter’s Mark V. Anderson Character-in-ActionTM Leadership Award recipient.
After a natural disaster occurs anywhere in the world, the Red Cross is among the first on site to assist those affected. The Red Cross has more than 200 different volunteer jobs, from people working in shelters and feeding those in need, to driving trucks and forklifts to transport goods to where they are needed. Fuller typically works in the areas of media relations, in government relations, the emergency operation center or as an elected official liaison.
“You have to be prepared to leave within 24 hours of receiving a deployment order,” says Fuller. “If I can respond yes, then I get ready and head to the airport as quickly as I can.”
Fuller also acts as a representative for the Red Cross. He responds to state emergency responders, fire agencies, the police and military while also taking pictures and writing stories to post on the Red Cross’s website and social media.
“We make sure that the Red Cross message is getting out in terms of how we’re responding and what types of needs we have from the community and how people impacted by disaster can get a hold of us,” says Fuller.
One notable moment during Fuller’s volunteerism was in Hawaii after the Lahaina fires in 2023 when a woman collapsed into his arms and started crying about the loss of her family from the fires. Fuller held onto her for a few minutes, allowing her to grieve. Afterward, she looked up at Fuller, said everything was going to be OK, and walked away. The two did not know each other then and do not know each other now, but it’s a moment that sticks with Fuller.
“They’re called mission moments, which are specific events that occur that are meaningful to people that deploy,” says Fuller. “The Red Cross is good at producing big numbers, how many people we fed and how many overnight stays, but the Red Cross as an organization is primarily made up of individuals who really care about helping people.”
Peers of Fuller recognize him as someone emblematic of the Red Cross mission. Rebecca Marshall, the communications director for the Cascades Region of the American Red Cross, has worked alongside Fuller and has deployed with him to Florida after Hurricane Ian.
“Darrell Fuller is an exceptional individual whose dedication and selflessness shine brightly in the community. Serving as a Northwest Oregon (Red Cross chapter) board chairman, a respected member of the communications team and a government liaison in Disaster Cycle Services, Darrell embodies the spirit of civic responsibility,” says Marshall. “Darrell goes above and beyond by actively supporting the Red Cross, seizing every opportunity to make a difference. His unwavering support for the Cascades Region is truly commendable.”
The Sigma Chi International Fraternity recently announced a new service partnership with the Red Cross. Fuller shares his excitement with this partnership as a volunteer and chapter advisor for the Delta Zeta chapter.
“This was a huge boost to Red Cross nationally, to have an organization the size of Sigma Chi saying we’re going to step up, we’re going to stick our arms out, and we’re going to save lives,” says Fuller. “For the Fraternity at the national level, with Red Cross at the national level, to say, ‘We’re going to make a partnership,’ is just really extraordinary.”
Fuller hopes that this new relationship will help brothers find something they are passionate about with the Red Cross while helping people in need. Whether that’s organizing blood drives, installing smoke detectors for free or becoming a first aid, CPR or AED instructor, this new relationship can help bring people together and do something beneficial for the community.
“My impression of Sigma Chi ever since I joined is that we’re a group of men who believe that good enough isn’t good enough,” says Fuller. “We want to be that level above when it comes to community service, when it comes to leading, and when it comes to serving, which is part of Sigma Chi’s DNA and the Red Cross DNA.”
A person with good character shows trustworthiness, respect and fairness to others, as well as responsibility and citizenship. Those members who go out of their way to help others and those who overcome obstacles and lead with integrity are good candidates for the Mark V. Anderson Character-in-ActionTM Leadership Award.
Sigma Chi introduced the award to recognize the selfless acts of brothers. A formal recognition by the Fraternity allows non-members to appreciate the scope of the organization. For information about the award, see sigmachi.org/character.