Gov. Mike Beebe named Andrew Parker of Little Rock as his final appointment to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission on Wednesday at the Little Rock Nature Center.
Parker, 37, replaces Ty Patterson of Texarkana. Beebe appointed Patterson in 2012 to complete the seven-year term of former Commissioner Rick Watkins, who resigned in January 2012. Parker's seven-year term will expire July 1, 2021.
Parker has a wife, Yvette, and a son, Benjamin, 6, from a previous marriage.
"Andrew is one of our bright, up-and-coming Arkansans who has a lifelong love for the outdoors, is an avid hunter and a conservationist, as well," Beebe said. "He will continue the tradition of ensuring the preservation of our natural bounty."
A 1995 graduate of Little Rock Catholic High School, Parker earned a Bachelor of Science in finance in 2000 from Arkansas State University. He earned a law degree from the W.H. Bowen School of Law at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2009.
From 2007-10, Parker served as Beebe's liaison to the Game and Fish Commission. He was an attorney with the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission from 2010-12 and is currently director of government affairs for the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce.
Parker said he learned to understand the balance between environmental and economic development concerns while serving as Beebe's Game and Fish Commission liaison and in his position with the Oil and Gas Commission. As Beebe's liaison to the Game and Fish Commission, he had a backstage, close-up view of how the commission operates.
"That's going to be invaluable, but it's daunting to think about spending seven years on that side of the table," Parker said. "I spent four years on a weekly basis spending time talking to the agency. I saw a lot of the decision making that goes on that nobody gets to witness."
Parker said he believes his work with the Oil and Gas Commission prepared him for his new position as a Game and Fish commissioner.
"I did a lot of work with rule making, and I did as much legal work as came around the corner," Parker said. "The subject matter is different, but the process is the same. There's a lot that I bring to the table that I didn't have then, dealing with the process and dealing with the public."
Parker was also an Eagle Scout and is a lifelong hunter and fisherman. He said he learned to hunt with Ted Darragh of Little Rock, a member of the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation's board of directors.
"He introduced me to every bad, expensive habit I have, especially golf and hunting," Parker said. "In college, we used to goose hunt in cornfields in Missouri, and we duck hunted on public lands. At first light I remember seeing 10,000 geese coming over. The sun was coming up, and it was ice-cold weather. That's an experience I haven't forgotten."
Parker said he spent a lot of time fishing as a child with his family on Greers Ferry Lake and the Little Red River, and on farm ponds in eastern Arkansas. He said those early experiences made lasting impressions on him and that he wants his son to enjoy the same type of experiences. He said he will be committed to bolstering the commission's youth hunting, fishing and target shooting programs.
"There's hundreds of memories that built my strong affection for hunting, but I'm sure those will pale to the experiences I'll have with my son when he catches his first fish and kills his first duck," Parker said.
Parker said it's equally important to make those opportunities available to youngsters who have limited access to game and fish, especially youths in urban areas.
"There are kids in Little Rock that have probably never set foot in the woods and have never spent a night in a tent," Parker said. "Those are unique opportunities that should not just be available for kids that have parents that hunt and fish."
Parker said he will be attentive to the needs of commission employees and sensitive to the perspective of recreational sportsmen, commercial fishermen, and people in the hunting and fishing professions whose livelihoods depend on decisions made by the commission.
Parker is Beebe's final Game and Fish Commission appointee in his eight-year tenure as governor. He said it's an honor that comes with a lot of responsibility not only to the commission, but to Beebe's legacy.
"It's a big weight, and it's humbling," Parker said. "I recognize the significance of this commission. I don't look like a lot of the other appointees. Age-wise, I'm near the beginning of my professional career.
"For the governor to put his faith in me, for me to stand on my own and look out for the best interests of the people that come to the commission to get their piece of the pie, it's humbling."
Metro on 07/10/2014