Conservation, policy and agriculture
the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. He rode out the criticism. By early 2018, his name recognition on Florida water issues and middle-of-theroad stands on other points of statewide concern put him far ahead in the GOP primary race for Florida governor.
The lesser-known Desantis campaigned largely by voicing support for White House policies that contrasted with Putnam antipathy. Noted a 2016 Miami Herald headline: “Putnam ‘not real thrilled’ with Trump, won’t back him.” Two years later, Desantis’ support drew a cheerful nod from the president that resonated among Trump voters throughout the state. Reported the Tampa Bay Times: “The moment President Donald Trump tweeted in late June that Desantis ‘will be a Great Governor & has my full Endorsement!’ the northeast Florida congressman overtook Putnam.”
Desantis’ win left Putnam without a job. That worked in Ducks Unlimited’s favor. In 2017, Putnam was lauded for activities of particular interest to duck hunters and water habitat conservationists. U.S. Water Alliance awarded Putnam the U.S. Water Prize for innovative and sustainable approaches to water issues. He was the first elected official to receive the award.
“From the outset, the CEO search committee here at Ducks Unlimited wanted to find a unique balance of conservation, policy and agriculture background in the new CEO candidate,” DU President Rogers Hoyt said. “In Adam, we feel we have hit on all three. Not to mention he’s an approachable, passionate and visionary person, so Adam was the perfect fit.”
Putnam, a University of Florida graduate, lives in Bartow, Florida, with his wife, Melissa, and their four children. They plan to move to Memphis. Taking the new job will bring Putnam one of the larger pay packages in Memphis. Three years ago, Hall’s compensation including a $375,866 salary and $133,940 bonus surpassed $536,000, according to a 2017 Ducks Unlimited financial report.
DU offices are located in East Memphis off Walnut Grove Boulevard next to Agricenter International. The nonprofit employs 500 people, including about 140 in Memphis, maintains a $75 million endowment and operates the Ducks Unlimited heritage center, a free museum located Downtown inside Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid.
According to its annual report, Ducks Unlimited in 2016 strongly affected “328,000 acres and conserved another 277,858 acres.” The groups says nearly 6 million acres have been conserved” since the 1980s and 14.3 million acres since its founding by philanthropists in 1937 at Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Early advocates included the late Memphis author Nash Buckingham, a duck hunting enthusiast in the Mississippi Delta.
Memphis cotton industrialist William Dunavant Jr., a major contributor to Ducks Unlimited, led the effort to relocate the corporate offices to Memphis in 1992 from Chicago.
DU’S list of top fundraising groups last year includes chapters in Atlanta; Watertown, South Dakota.; Lagrange, Illinois; Washington, D.C.; Garrison, Minnesota; Bozeman, Montana; Wichita, Kansas; New York; Charlotte; Monroe, Michigan; Golden, Colorado; Austin, Texas; and Brandon, Mississippi.