After a year's hiatus, the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation will hold its Arkansas Outdoors Hall of Fame induction banquet Aug. 28 at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.
Libby Davis, a member of the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation's board of directors and chairwoman for the Arkansas Hall of Fame banquet, said that the coronavirus pandemic caused the 2020 ceremony to be canceled, but the auctions were held virtually. The 2021 ceremony will properly honor last year's inductees, Davis said. The auctions will be held virtually, with bidding beginning Aug. 18.
Honorees include Hank Browne of DeVall's Bluff, Jerrell Dodson and Penny Dodson of Little Rock, Mark Davis of Mount Ida and the Mahony family of El Dorado.
"Every year, the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation recognizes individuals whose contributions to the great outdoors transcends mere hobby," said Tyler Lawrence, events director for the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation. "The individuals we honor have devoted their time, energy and passion for the outdoors in such a way that preserves and enhances our wild spaces for generations to come."
Prominent in law and politics since 1896, the Mahony family is distinguished in conservation circles as well. Noteworthy members were the late Joseph "Jodie" Mahony, the late Michael Mahony and Emon Mahony, the latter having served on the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission from 2009-15, as well as on the Arkansas Nature Conservancy board of directors and the Arkansas Soil and Water Commission.
During Emon's term on the Game and Fish Commission, his wife Kay Mahony attended every committee meeting and every public meeting. That's 154 official meetings and does not include all of the dedications, ribbon-cutting ceremonies and other functions members of the commission attend.
Jodie Mahony served 36 years in the Arkansas Legislature and supported laws that protected the state's natural resources. Michael Mahony was president of the Union County Wildlife and chairman of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
Among its conservation accomplishments, the Mahony family leveraged its influence at the state, regional and national levels to help establish the 65,000-acre Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge. Emon Mahony was also instrumental in helping develop the state water management plan.
"The selection of the extended family is particularly pleasing because my brothers, father and I worked together as a family administratively, legislatively and philanthropically to enhance Arkansas outdoors," Emon Mahony said in a statement. "We, of course, recreated together, hunting and fishing across the state our entire lives. It was a way of life. Kay's and my children and grandchildren and friends were participants as well.
"Joining old friends and acquaintances and coworkers in the Hall is a profound honor and pleasure."
After years of paying his dues as a fishing guide, Mark Davis competed in his first Bassmaster tournament at age 23. Early in his career, Davis was a foil for Bassmaster emcee Ray Scott, who teased him at every tournament about his weight. Determined to be known for fishing, Davis not only lost a lot of weight, but he also won Bassmaster Angler of the Year titles in 1995, 1998 and 2001. In 1995, he became the first pro to win the Bassmaster Classic and Angler of the Year in the same calendar year. He earned the nickname "E-5-0" for dominating Bassmaster's defunct Elite 150 tournaments.
Davis is also heavily involved in youth fishing activities, most recently coaching the Mount Ida High School Fishing Club to numerous titles and contributing to the birth of the Arkansas Bassmaster High School Series.
In 2019, Davis was inducted into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame.
In 1991, Jerrell Dodson and Penny Dodson established Archer's Advantage, a small archery shop off Markham Street. They grew it to become the largest archery outfitter in a five-state area. Archer's Advantage consistently ranks in the top 50 in sales for national brands such as Hoyt and Mathews.
A famous furniture entrepreneur, Hank Browne is a longtime hunter and avid patron of the Game and Fish Foundation. As a member of The Nature Conservancy Arkansas' Last Great Places Society, Browne has championed conservation via financial support, land donations, and gifts of time and talents to advance the Conservancy's work across the state.
For more information about the induction banquet, call the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation at (501) 470-6874 or email Tyler Lawrence at Tyler@agff.org.