FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 13, 2025
Contact: Valerie Pencook
PALM BEACH, FL – On Wednesday, November 5, Art Pope received the National Review Institute (NRI) William F. Buckley Jr. Prize for Leadership in Supporting Liberty. The award was created to honor William F. Buckley’s lifelong work to preserve and strengthen the foundations of our free society. This year’s event celebrated what would have been William F. Buckley Jr.’s 100th birthday.
“From my youth—watching Firing Line, reading National Review, and learning about the Sharon Statement—I have admired the conservative movement that William F. Buckley helped create and lead,” said Art Pope, Chairman of the John W. Pope Foundation. “That movement, based on timeless shared principles, is needed more today than ever, especially as the alternatives fail. We should all re-dedicate ourselves to it. This is why I am so honored to receive the Buckley Award—as one small member of this great conservative movement.”
View the full video of Art Pope’s speech beginning at 45:52.
About Art Pope
James Arthur “Art” Pope is the Chairman of Variety Wholesalers, Inc., a private family-held business that owns and operates retail chains that include Roses, BigLots! And Maxway, among others. Art is also the Chairman of the John William Pope Foundation, a family foundation which provides both North Carolina and national grants to support public policy, education, arts and humanitarian efforts. Art has a long history of public service, currently serving on the University of North Carolina Board of Governors, and previously as the NC State Budget Director (2013-14), NC House of Representatives (1999-2002, 1989-1992), Special Counsel to the Governor (1985), and numerous other public appointments. Pope has an extensive service record of commitment to numerous nonprofit boards, including as the former Chairman of the Bradley Foundation, the Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University, Americans For Prosperity, and co-founder and former chair of the John Locke Foundation. Art lives in Raleigh, North Carolina and is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A. with Honors and received his Juris Doctor from Duke University. He and his wife Kathy have a blended family of three adult children and reside in Raleigh, North Carolina.
About William F. Buckley Jr.
William F. Buckley, Jr. is widely considered one of the architects of the modern conservative movement who influenced generations of politicians, including Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater. As founder of the National Review and host of the public affairs program “Firing Line” for over 30 years, Buckley created new spaces for civic discourse that were accessible to the public.
About National Review Institute
NRI was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. as a nonprofit in 1991. NRI’s mission is to preserve and promote Buckley’s legacy, support the National Review mission, and advance the principles of a free society through educational and outreach programs.
About John William Pope Foundation
The John William Pope Foundation is a private family grantmaker that supports nonprofit public policy research, education, human services, and the arts with the goal of improving the wellbeing of North Carolinians. Since 1986, the foundation has given more than $250 million to these causes. The Pope Foundation receives its support from the Pope family, the owners and operators of Variety Wholesalers, Inc. based in Henderson, NC.
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