Pat Fitts has worked his way up through the ranks at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission to become the agency's newest director, the commission announced Thursday.
Game and Fish commissioners appointed Fitts at a special meeting Thursday morning in Little Rock and said he will move into his new position Monday. Fitts' salary will be $132,729 annually, according to an agency spokesman.
Fitts, 52, who has worked at the agency for 29 years, has been assistant deputy director since April under outgoing Director Jeff Crow, whose last day on the job will be Sunday. Crow of Bismarck announced his resignation in October, saying he could stay on the job as late as Feb. 28.
Commissioners selected Fitts after a wide-ranging search and interview process. They interviewed four finalists over the past two weeks, Chairman Steve Cook of Malvern said in an interview Thursday.
"Pat's unique skills, experience and drive make him the right person to spearhead the mission of the AGFC," Cook said in an agency news release. "His ability to interact with the public and continue to manage this agency made him a natural for this position."
Fitts, a Little Rock resident originally from Jacksonville, obtained a bachelor's degree in fish and wildlife management from Arkansas Tech University in Russellville and began his career as a fisheries technician at the Joe Hogan State Fish Hatchery in Lonoke.
Before becoming a deputy director at the Game and Fish Commission, Fitts was colonel of the agency's Enforcement Division.
"I'm blessed to have spent my entire adult life serving alongside amazing people protecting our valuable natural resources," Fitts said in the news release. "It's a humbling experience and I know there are challenges ahead. It's just another opportunity to serve the wonderful people of Arkansas."
Fitts was duck hunting while on vacation Thursday and wasn't available for further comment, an agency spokesman said.
Fitts' institutional knowledge of the agency, his background in wildlife and fisheries, and his time with the agency's law enforcement division give him "broad-based" attributes to be the new director, Cook said in an interview Thursday afternoon.
"He has knowledge of the agency, and he's come up through the ranks in his 29-year career," Cook said. "He understands how the heart beats.
"He has an outstanding reputation and is a man of strong character," Cook said. "He has knowledge about our employees and what our agency does on a day-to-day basis and is very concerned about conservation and the future of wildlife management in our state. I guess one of his greatest attributes is he's a great listener. He listens, and he understands and is a good decision-maker."
Fitts and current director Crow worked together in the agency's Enforcement Division when Crow was chief of law enforcement.
Crow succeeded former Director Mike Knoedl on July 1, 2016. He promoted Fitts to deputy director in April.
"He's a person of great character, and he has unquestionable loyalty to the agency," Crow said of Fitts in an interview Thursday. "He's just a tremendous leader, somebody who certainly was a very valuable member of my leadership team. In my opinion, there's nobody more capable or deserving to be the next director."
When Crow announced his resignation in October, he said one of his own shortcomings as director had been a lack of communication between his office and commissioners, and his advice to his successor would be to make that line of communication a priority.
"That's good advice for anybody," Crow said Thursday. "Communication is critical. You need to make sure they're fully informed, and Pat is fully aware of that. I know he'll do a tremendous job with that."
Cook agreed, saying that because commissioners meet only once a month, they "don't see the day-to-day operation, and it's very important that the director communicate with each commissioner and keep us informed of what's going on."
Fitts will be the 18th director at the 102-year-old agency, according to the agency news release.
Crow said Thursday that the commission had previously agreed that he would stay through February or until a replacement was named.
Metro on 12/29/2017