PRESS RELEASE
LITTLE ROCK, Ark., (May 3, 2023) – The Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation (AGFF) today announced its 2023 Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame inductees and the recipients of its Legacy Award and the Steve Smith Spirit of Giving Award. Honorees will be officially recognized during the Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame Banquet, slated for Saturday, August 26, 2023, at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.
“For more than 100 years, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has worked to conserve the state’s wildlife resources, thanks to the selfless contributions of people such as our 2023 slate of inductees and award winners,” said Deke Whitbeck, president of the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation. “We are delighted to be able to celebrate these success stories and the outstanding individuals behind them.”
ARKANSAS OUTDOOR HALL OF FAME
Jim Ronquest – Stuttgart, AR,
A lifelong outdoorsman and well-known entrepreneur, Ronquest has helped develop two of the mid-South's Arkansas’s most iconic outdoor brands. Following a long and distinguished career with Rich-N-Tone duck calls of Stuttgart, he’s now vice president, development with Mississippi-based Drake Waterfowl, a manufacturer of technical hunting and fishing apparel. Ronquest also won the World's Championship Duck Calling Contest in 2006.
Tom Foti – Little Rock, AR
For years the state’s foremost ecologist, Tom Foti is widely credited with bringing science to the natural area preservation movement in Arkansas. His career with the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission resulted in the creation of several important natural areas in the state, particularly in the West Gulf Coastal Plain of southwestern Arkansas and served as a model for similar efforts nationwide.
Bob Barringer, Little Rock, AR & Ronnie Ritter, Hot Springs, AR
Recognizing the problem of hunger in the state, Barringer founded Arkansas Hunters Feeding the Hungry in 2000 to help connect a portion of harvested deer with those in need. Shortly thereafter, Ritter signed on to lead the mission-driven organization. Today, Arkansas Hunters Feeding the Hungry has processed and distributed tens of thousands of pounds of meat to needy families.
LEGACY AWARD
Larry & Brenda Potterfield – Columbia, MO
Both country kids from Missouri, Larry and Brenda Potterfield turned their passion for shooting sports into a career by opening a small gun shop in 1977 that would eventually become MidwayUSA (midwayusa.com). Built on family values like honesty, integrity and respect for others, they strive to maintain this culture with each employee added to their growing team. They take a similar approach in their philanthropic efforts through the MidwayUSA Foundation, established in 2007 to provide sustainable funding to youth shooting sports teams across the nation.
STEVE SMITH SPIRIT OF GIVING AWARD
The Morrell Family – Alma, AR
The family behind the highly successful Morrell® Targets, the Morrell name has come to mean quality, innovation and above all, community-mindedness and commitment to the sport of archery. Recognized as the gold standard of targets in the U.S., the Morrell Corporation is relentlessly focused on investing in future generations of archers through the National Archery in the Schools Program and Archers USA's Varsity Archery. In addition, Dale Morrell created Archers USA, which is taking root across America.
Tickets for the 2023 Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame Banquet are $150 with tables of 10 available for $1,500 each. Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation Board Member TJ Lawhon and his wife, Mandy, will co-chair the event. The night will include dinner, raffles, a silent auction and the induction ceremony. Doors open at 6 p.m. for reception and silent auction; dinner will begin at 7 p.m.
Proceeds from the event support the year-round work of the Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization that serves as the fundraising adjunct to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, helping introduce hundreds to the joy of the outdoors every year. Established in 1982, AGFF’s mission supports AGFC initiatives, particularly those engaging children and youth in the outdoors and outdoor activities.
To purchase tickets to the event, visit the Foundation website (agff.org) or by simply texting “FISH” to 243–725. For more information, contact the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation office at (501) 223-6468 or email [email protected].