Steve “Wild Man” Wilson was one of the most recognizable outdoor figures in Arkansas during his 38-year career at the
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. In addition to hosting weekly television and radio shows for the AGFC, his work was extremely influential in the passage of the 1/8th-Cent Conservation Sales Tax, which helps fund conservation throughout Arkansas. He also began Arkansas’s efforts in Project WILD in his early years with the Commission, the position that eventually led to his interesting moniker.

Steve Bowman is an accomplished outdoor writer and editor, photographer, book author and television show producer. Originally from Jonesboro, Steve lives in Little Rock. In his work as the outdoor editor with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, he was instrumental in the implementation of the 3-point rule in deer hunting, ending the channelization of the White River and passing Amendment 75, which is utilized by the AGFC to support conservation work across the state. He and his wife Barbara share three children.

Dr. Doyne and Nancy Williams of Little Rock are All-American competitive trapshooters, winning hundreds of state, regional and national championships. Both are members of the Arkansas Trapshooting Hall of Fame and the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. Doyne was a noted cardiovascular surgeon at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and St. Vincent Infirmary, while Nancy worked as a clinical nurse specialist in cardiovascular disease.

C.B. Thompson Jr. of North Little Rock founded Fort Thompson Sporting Goods, a legendary outpost for hunters across Arkansas. Under Thompson, a lifelong aficionado of bass fishing and duck hunting, what began as a grocery and general store in Rose City in 1931 has transformed into a retail haven for hunters and fishermen. Fort Thompson continues to thrive today as 19,000-square-foot destination for outdoorsmen along Warden Road in Sherwood.

LEGACY AWARD

The first Republican elected to Congress from Arkansas since Reconstruction, Hammerschmidt served 26 years in office. In one of his 12 campaigns, which he typically won handily, Hammerschmidt defeated a law student named Bill Clinton. Among Hammerschmidt's lasting legislative achievements was his work to designate the Buffalo River as the country's first "national river." Hammerschmidt-sponsored legislation that prevented the federal government from building dams on the Buffalo, thus preserving it as a free-flowing stream and leading to its development as a national park.

The late <strong>Sergeant Darrell Monty Carmikle of Heber Springs died in the line of duty as a wildlife officer with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Carmikle was killed in a helicopter crash the morning of Nov. 16, 2008, while investigating deer poachers in Cleburne County. A former Wildlife Officer of the Year, Carmikle created the Game and Fish search-and-rescue dive team and boated with former Governor Mike Huckabee down the Arkansas River to promote the state’s natural resources in support of a “conservation amendment.” It designated that one-eighth of a penny from the state’s general sales tax go to the Game and Fish Commission, state parks and the Arkansas Heritage and Keep Arkansas Beautiful commissions. The amendment passed in 1996.

Randy served on the founding board of the Arkansas Nature Conservancy and later served as a board chairman. He served two terms on the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission and as a chairman was instrumental in developing regulations for in stream mining, the protection of the undammed upper Saline watershed and the start of the White River minimum flow campaign. He has been in leadership roles with the Foundation for two decades.

David Snowden Jr. has been closely involved with the Arkansas Nature Conservancy since it was launched in the 1970s. He has served as the chairman of the organization and helped with numerous land acquisitions and conservation easements for private and public use.

David Snowden Sr. has been closely involved with the Arkansas Nature Conservancy since it was launched in the 1970s. He has served as the chairman of the organization and helped with numerous land acquisitions and conservation easements for private and public use.

Mike Freeze of England is a fisheries biologist who has been a major national figure in aquaculture and fisheries conservation, as well as a leader of Arkansas Farm Bureau activities. He is a former Arkansas Game and Fish employee, who was later appointed to and served a seven-year term on the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.