Arkansas Blog: We're hooked on fishing UPDATE

Gov. Mike Beebe gets to pass out one of the coveted Game and Fish Commission seats today. It will be announced at 11 a.m. I haven't a clue. A white male with a big bank account and a record of contributions to the governor would be a good guess for key demos. He must also like to shoot guns at living things. Sandal-wearing birdwatchers who do their shooting with cameras need not apply.

UPDATE: Blog reader Al Fornaut thinks the appointee will be cut from slightly different mold, though a mainstream outdoors type just the same. He predicts it will be Ron Duncan, the Springdale teacher who pioneered the "Hooked on Fishing, Not on Drugs" program. Now I'll be humming that "Hooked on Fishing" jingle all day, whether it's Duncan or not.

UPDATE II: Al Fornaut wins the kewpie doll for news tip o' the week. Ron Duncan is the new commissioner. Release on the jump. He's a white male, to be sure, but, as a school counselor, not the fat cat exec. often favored for these seats. He gave a whopping $113 to Mike Beebe in 2006. In 2002 he gave $750 to the Republican Party. No other hits on followthemoney.org.

GOV. BEEBE NEWS RELEASE

LITTLE ROCK – Governor Mike Beebe has named Ron Duncan of Springdale as the newest commissioner of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

"For decades, Ron has shown that the efforts of one man dedicated to education and the outdoors can better the lives of thousands of students," Beebe said. "His passion for fishing has provided inspiration nationwide and Arkansans can be proud to have him as a Game and Fish Commissioner."

Duncan, 56, started a fishing club in 1982 at Springdale Central Junior High School, where he was a civics teacher. Based on the simple idea of introducing kids to fishing, the club inspired a national initiative known as the "Hooked on Fishing, Not Drugs" program. That program has produced thousands of similar clubs nationwide.

Inducted into the Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame in 2004, Duncan has twice been honored as the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society Man of the Year, and was the National Wildlife Federation Educator of the Year in 1999. Through the fishing clubs he's championed, Duncan has worked closely with the Arkansas Game and Fish Education and Fisheries Departments for many years.

A graduate of the University of Arkansas, Duncan joined the Springdale School District in 1974. He remains with the district today as a student counselor.

Duncan fills the 3rd Congressional District position on the Commission, replacing Sonny Varnell. His term will expire July 1, 2015.

Comments

Dang! Guess that means I've been passed over again.

Posted by: Kat Robinson | July 23, 2008 09:11 AM

Could be a Springdale teacher/former teacher who established the model for the national fishing not drugs program and was inducted into the AGFC Foundation Hall of Fame. Wouldn't that be a surprise and a pretty big break from the norm? I don't know about his sandals wearing credentials, but I don't see how wearing sandals makes for a good nominee either.

Posted by: Al Fornaut | July 23, 2008 09:19 AM

Well Max, it could have been a worse guess and jingle. What if I had suggested someone working for Roto-Rooter?????

Posted by: Al Fornaut | July 23, 2008 10:04 AM

As a birdwatcher, I can tell you that wearing sandals in the field is the height of folly. Besides inviting attacks from ticks, mosquitoes, and chiggers, sandal-clad feet are a magnet for thorns, briars, and other stickers.

This stereotyping of birdwatchers is deeply hurtful.

ARK. BLOG: Yes, the reach for the cheap joke should be avoided. My apologies to all birdwatchers. I should have said earth shoes.

Posted by: Archaeopteryx | July 23, 2008 10:09 AM

I like cheap jokes. But I wont mention their names, except Louies.....

Posted by: Cato | July 23, 2008 11:10 AM

I seriously doubt Ron is a wealthy campaign donor living on a school counselor's salary. He is at heart a conservationist. Once he refused to tell me where access was to a well guarded part of a river because he asked if I kept fish instead of returning them to the water. I said that I kept enough fish for one meal for two people. That ended the conversation. He gives endlessly to kids to get them interested in fishing (catch and release) and in appreciating the great outdoor experience.

This is a watershed moment for Arky commission appointments.

Congratulations Mr. Duncan!
.

Posted by: eLwood | July 23, 2008 11:36 AM

eLwood. You're speaking my language, man. Or at least Mr. Duncan is, if he's guarding fishing limits and the environment so pro-actively. That's some one I can get behind. That's great.

Posted by: JenJens | July 23, 2008 11:44 AM

Try again, Max. Hiking boots perhaps, or if there is the slightest possiblity of stepping on a snake, taller boots. Of course the only taller boots I have are cowboy boots and I get an odd look or two when I have them on -- and always have to beg off the longer stretches of walking when I wear them. Still, they're better than flip flops and I've seen my share of those out there.
It'll be interesting to have someone on the Game and Fish Commission who seems to come at it from a slightly different angle than most. We shall see . . .

Posted by: Doigotta | July 23, 2008 11:51 AM

"he gave $750 to the Republican Party."

Living in nw Arkansas, it's called covering your a$$ or get your house burned down.

Posted by: Cato | July 23, 2008 01:57 PM

He was a big help when one of my kids was having issues at school. He's a good guy.

Posted by: springdale_progressive | July 23, 2008 02:12 PM

I don't do either, but if pressed, I think I'd pick drugs over fishing. Drugs have to be more interesting that standing or sitting around and playing with strings and hooks.

Posted by: Gaddis | July 23, 2008 04:44 PM

Arkansas Blog

We're hooked on fishing UPDATE

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