Mountain Home-based Foret named Arkansas Game Warden of the Year

LITTLE ROCK — David Foret epitomizes the description that an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission game warden isn’t truly ever off the clock. The Mountain Home-based game warden first class was spending a day away from the job turkey hunting with his brother in 2024 when they saw a poacher scattering bait nearby to attract turkeys.

The next day, Foret (pronounced “for-ray”) was back on duty. He found a hunting blind and cell camera near the dumped milo, and for the next six days he observed the bait site before eventually coming up on the man and another hunter with shotguns and decoys entering their blind. He cited the men for hunting violations.

Another time, when he was able to get in some fishing, Foret saw a crappie angler fishing from a private dock, catching what appeared to be more than his limit of fish, some undersized, and placing them in a submerged basket. He returned to the dock in his work clothes the next day, and the angler was there again, repeating what he’d done the day before. Foret eventually cited the angler for fishing without a license, catching crappie under the size regulation, and catching more than the daily limit.

Those cases and others earned Foret the AGFC Enforcement Division’s 2025 Sgt. Monty Carmikle Arkansas Game Warden of the Year Award, announced last Tuesday during a luncheon at the Delta Hotel in west Little Rock.

“It’s truly an honor just to be nominated for the district, let alone over the entire state,” Foret said. “It’s something we all hope to achieve one day, but this is awesome to be in the presence of the other 11 that were nominated.

Twelve game wardens were their individual district’s nominee for the award. Foret, who represented District B-1 (Baxter County), was nominated in 2023 as well. He joined the Enforcement Division in 2020 after a career in the U.S. Air Force, and he retired from the Air National Guard last year.

“David, he’s a dedicated guy,” Lt. Col. Jake Dunn, assistant chief of the Enforcement Division, said. “He’s worked in three counties, I believe. He’s always putting the resource first.”

Doug Schoenrock, in his first Enforcement Awards address as AGFC’s director, noted the wardens’ mentality needing to be 24/7 in the job; AGFC Major Brian Aston’s description of Foret’s efforts proved that.

Foret, a native of Norfork, not far from his current base of Mountain Home, said he had always wanted to work in AGFC enforcement.

After leaving the Air Force, he said, “I started pursuing my bachelor’s degree in environmental science before applying (for AGFC Cadet School). I think that helped me out getting through the process.”

Foret says all game wardens are avid hunters and anglers, and many cases begin from things they see or hear while in the field on their “off time.”

“I’ll keep going out and keep doing the same things,” he said. “As long as you’re out there, you usually see some stuff going on.”

Nominees for the Carmikle award and their respective districts were: Game Warden Caleb McClanahan, A-1; Game Warden Michael Dollard, A-2; Game Warden Adam Helm, A-3; Game Warden Tanner Mills, A-4; Game Warden Drake Cooper, B-2; Game Warden First Class Doug Martisek, B-3; Game Warden Brady Smith, C-1; Cpl. Dalton Shaw, C-2; Cpl. Troy Faughn, C-3; Game Warden First Class Stephanie Carter, C-4; and Game Warden Haylee Applegate, D-1.

Lt. Adam Baker, an Enforcement Division veteran, was presented the Meritorious Service Award, an honor that AGFC Major Brian Aston noted “is rarely given.”

The award “is the highest award for meritorious service or achievement presented” by the division, Aston said. “The performance on which this award is based must clearly be beyond the expectations from dedicated game wardens who are fully and competently discharging all the duties and requirements of their job description.”

Since 2015, Baker and his wife, Crystal, have been involved in the Arkansas foster care system and have been active with The C.A.L.L, a Pulaski County organization that assists foster children. Baker helped The C.A.L.L. celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2017 by partnering with the AGFC’s Family and Community Fishing Program and other agencies to stage the first Family Fishing Day at MacArthur Park.

That same year, over a holiday weekend, Baker and other officers were involved in saving residents at a housing complex on Lake Hamilton that had caught fire. In 2019, Baker intervened during a domestic disturbance that had turned violent and was able to get help to the female victim while also apprehending the male subject. In 2020, he helped rescue a suicidal person in Faulkner County after a five-hour standoff. In 2021, he performed the Heimlich maneuver to save a young woman who was choking on a bottle top at Bryant’s Bishop Park. Most recently, he rescued a nonverbal youngster who had left his home and was wandering on Highway 10 near Lake Maumelle.

Several other awards were presented Tuesday in the 11th annual event, including Brady Smith being noted for receiving the 2024 National Wild Turkey Federation Game Warden of the Year award. Cpl. Robby King was the Waterfowl Game Warden of the Year after a year in which he conducted 281 hours of waterfowl enforcement that resulted in 941 contacts and 169 officer violator contacts, which resulted in 84 arrests and 85 warnings.

Cpl. Bernie Soliz was honored with both a Lifesaving Award as well as being named the Butch Potts Boating Game Warden of the Year. Soliz, also the 2022 Boating Officer of the Year, worked 452 boating hours, made over 4,000 contacts and totaled over 175 boating-related citations, including 10 for boating while intoxicated or under the influence. Soliz also saved the life of a motorcyclist with his quick thinking to improvise a tourniquet from his belt and keep the man from bleeding to death before emergency personnel arrived.

The Wardens Star went to Sgt. Jeff Dalton for his rescue of a boater on the Eleven Point River. Game Warden Ethan Moore was presented a Certificate of Commendation for his efforts Aug. 9, 2024, which involved a head-on wreck that involved an ambulance; he rescued the ambulance driver from the ensuing fire, and also evacuated two other injured passengers from the ambulance.

K-9 Ruby, led by her handler, Kurt VanMatre, earned the division’s K-9 award after playing a key role in more than 64 AGFC and criminal violations and assisting in a multistate homicide investigation. VanMatre was the 2023 Sgt. Monty Carmikle Game Warden of the Year.

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CUTLINES:

THREE MEN AND AWARD
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: AGFC Lt. Col. Jake Dunn, Game Warden First Class David Foret, AGFC Director Schoenrock at last Tuesday’s Annual Enforcement Awards. AGFC photo by Mike Wintroath. 

MAN WITH FISH
AGFC Game Warden First Class David Foret holding a healthy White River bown trout while assisting local fisheries biologists with biological sampling procedures. Photo courtesy David Foret.

THREE MEN AND MEDAL
AGFC Director Doug Schoenrock (left) and Lt. Col Jake Dunn (right) presented Lt. Adam Baker with the Meritorious Service Award for consistent performance well beyond the normal duties of a game warden. AGFC photo by Mike Wintroath.

THREE MEN AND WOODEN PLAQUE
Cpl. Bernie Soliz was honored with both a Lifesaving Award and the Butch Potts Boating Game Warden of the Year Award. AGFC photo by Mike Wintroath.

MAN AND DOG
AGFC K-9 Ruby and her handler Kurt VanMatre earned the AGFC’s K-9 award for their role in more than 64 cases during 2025, including assistance to other agencies on homicide cases and evidence recovery. AGFC photo by Mike Wintroath.