Morgan selected for post

AGFC commissioner follows his son’s lead

Gov. Asa Hutchinson (right) introduces Joe Morgan on Wednesday as the newest member of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission at the agency’s headquarters in Little Rock.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson (right) introduces Joe Morgan on Wednesday as the newest member of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission at the agency’s headquarters in Little Rock.

Acknowledging the economic and cultural importance of hunting and fishing in Arkansas, Gov. Asa Hutchinson named Joe Morgan of Little Rock as his first appointment to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission on Wednesday in Little Rock.

photo

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Newly appointed commissioner with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Joe Morgan speaks during a ceremony Wednesday at the agency's headquarters in Little Rock.

Hutchinson said he spent considerable time and effort seeking the right candidate to appoint to the commission, and that Morgan meets all of the necessary criteria.

"I want to have a commissioner that loves hunting and fishing," Hutchinson said. "I want someone who's a conservationist, who recognizes the importance of conserving our resources. I want a commissioner that understands the importance of hunting and fishing education, and the importance of passing that culture on to the next generation. And I want a commissioner who understands the importance of hunting and fishing to the average Arkansan.

"I do believe I've found that person."

Morgan, 71, is the father of former commissioner Brett Morgan, who served from 2005-12. Wayne Hampton and Rick Hampton and Gus Pugh and Tom Pugh are the only other father-and-son combinations to have served on the commission.

Morgan said he is overwhelmed to be Hutchinson's first appointment to the Game and Fish Commission, which is composed of seven voting members who serve seven-year terms. Commissioners are not compensated.

"I hope to make everyone proud, especially the governor, who saw fit to nominate me," Morgan said. "I'm usually long on words, but I am so excited and so pleased to be here, I don't know what to add to that."

Mike Knoedl, director of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, said Morgan will be a valuable addition to the commission.

"I've been around the Morgan family long enough to know that hunting and fishing is part of their life," Knoedl said. "Our main focus has always been serving the people of the great state of Arkansas and protecting our state's natural resources. I will tell Commissioner Morgan that we have the best staff not only in Arkansas but in the world.

"I look forward to helping him carry on a family tradition of serving on the commission, and I thank the governor for the time and effort he put into his selection."

A lifelong hunter, Morgan said he is intimately familiar with all aspects of duck hunting in southeast Arkansas, particularly at Bayou Meto WMA. He said he also absorbed considerable knowledge from Brett Morgan during his term on the commission.

"I had the benefit of some insight," Joe Morgan said. "I was exposed to a lot of how things work."

Morgan said it should be a priority to manage fish and wildlife resources to benefit future generations of hunters and anglers.

"I'm real interested in being sure that our WMAs are being managed to give these kids coming along a great opportunity to hunt," Morgan said.

Hutchinson said outdoor recreation has an economic impact of $1.8 billion in Arkansas, and that 1.3 million Arkansans participate in outdoor recreation, primarily hunting and fishing.

"That's $5 million a day that it puts into our economy," Hutchinson said, adding that Morgan's business experience is an asset to oversee an agency that manages hunting and fishing activities.

Morgan owned a Chevrolet dealership in Stuttgart for 30 years. He served on the Arkansas Motor Vehicle Commission for 14 years, on the Chevrolet Advisory Board for eight years and on the Cadillac National Dealer Council for three years.

Morgan said his career taught him that people come first in any business, especially an agency with a customer base as diverse as that of the Game and Fish Commission.

"I always told my people that we're not in the automobile business, we're in the people business," Morgan said. "As long as we take care of the people business, the car business will take care of itself.

"The Game and Fish Commission is in the people business, too. The number of license holders is huge, and they represent a complete cross-section of the state, from the wealthiest guys in town to the guy with the most meager of incomes. Everybody gets a fair shot at it."

Although he loves duck hunting, Morgan said quail hunting was his passion in his youth. A quail hunt near Natural Steps in western Pulaski County with his father when Morgan was 11 was a seminal hunting experience, and Morgan said he hopes youngsters in Arkansas can experience it again.

"Back when quail were plentiful, that was my favorite kind of hunting," Morgan said. "There's a lot of theories where the quail went and what it will take to bring them back. I know to have quail you've got to have habitat for them. That's a given. Between cows, bush hogs, pesticides and predators, they disappeared.

"It wasn't hunters that got them, I'll tell you that."

Sports on 07/16/2015

Upcoming Events