Not long after graduating from college, he realized he preferred travel in a bass boat to wearying days on the road doing insurance chores. Hoover became a key figure in Ranger Boats’ taking the top spot in the fishing boat world then took the helm of an organization pushing bass tournaments into headline-grabbing payouts rivaling those of professional golf and tennis.

As an attorney who served as Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation Chairman, he negotiated many key conservation agreements and was instrumental in the acquisition of the 421-acre Crooked Creek tract, opening Kelley’s slab and miles of Crooked Creek to public access.

After a retiring from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, he led the fund-raising activities of Ducks Unlimited in Arkansas and has been a prime mover in a number of partnership habitat purchases, including Ed Gordon/Point Remove and Raft Creek Wildlife Management Areas.

A catalyst for such landmark conservation education projects as the Potlatch Conservation Education Center at Cook’s Lake, she led the successful efforts to protect “The Lost 40,” a remnant of virgin forest, and developed “The Classroom in the Forest.”

Having written thousands of articles on Arkansas wildlife and Arkansans’ activities in the outdoors, he is a celebrated outdoor writer. He was the long-time outdoor editor of the Arkansas Gazette and news editor with the Game and Fish Commission.

After helping build Greers Ferry Lake and staying on as resident engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Garner made an even more indelible mark with his yearly clean-up campaigns on the lake which gained national acclaim.

With her leadership, many significant areas have been protected by the Nature Conservancy, and the organization has helped public agencies with others. DeLamar lent her considerable support to the conservation sales tax campaign.

As longtime state Parks Director and as Director of Arkansas Parks and Tourism, Richard Davies joined Steve N. Wilson of the Game and Fish Commission in mapping the successful 1996 campaign to put the parks system on solid financial footing.

A Yellville school and college teacher, he used family banking connections to put a million dollars to use for conservation education. His gift of bank stock led to the Foundation’s purchase of a key 421-acre tract on Crooked Creek.

Passage of the 1/8th of one percent sales tax capped an illustrious 20-year career as director of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, one of the longest tenures in the nation. Solid achievements in wildlife and its use are also his legacies.