Robert Fogelman

Asked to describe the perfect day of duck hunting, some among Delta's supporters might hesitate, considering all the possibilities.

Not Robert F. Fogelman II, 49, of Memphis, Tennessee - his answer is immediate. He knows his perfect day because he and his father lived it.

Fogelman said, "Dad and I had a couple days at Willow Brake with my first Lab. They were those special mornings when you break a little ice with the boat, hop in the blind, and then just watch those mallards that have to be in that open water because there's no place else for them to go. They find it and lock up from way up high and end up back-flapping into the decoys. We'd take our time and pick out four greenheads each, then maybe get lucky and pick up a couple greenwings or a random gadwall or wigeon. But taking our eight-mallard limit at an early hour and being back in the truck on the way back to Memphis. That's as good as it gets."

Memories of those perfect days are all the more poignant to Fogelman, as his father, Robert (Bobby) F. Fogelman, passed away in May of 2021. Though the senior Fogelman was not from a hunting family, his self-made passion for the pursuit and for conservation made it imperative that he share them with his son from a very early age.

Fogelman remembers, "My dad was part of a hunting lease with friends from Memphis and Jonesboro, Arkansas. It was called Keller's Woods - great, great green-timber hunting. That's where I went on my first hunt ever as a six-year-old with two others who became lifelong friends. We sat in the blind sipping on hot chocolate while the men were hunting, but it's how we all got started."

Over the years, Fogelman and his father developed a deeply shared passion for waterfowling. It was "their thing" together. Fogelman's schooling and early career took him away from Memphis, but duck hunting remained the thing he and his father always tried to make time to do together.

In his early 30s, the opportunity came for Fogelman to move home and join his father in the family business. He is now the third generation at the reins of the company begun by his immigrant grandfather as an insurance and real estate brokerage. Bobby Fogelman expanded into construction and apartment development. Under Fogelman II, the business focuses on asset management including apartment, retail, and office properties as well as farm and timber land.

Philanthropy runs deep in the Fogelman family. Bobby Fogelman was hugely supportive of education and arts in Memphis as well as a host of wildlife conservation causes.

Fogelman II's introduction to Delta Waterfowl came in the form of a Christmas gift. He said, "When I was about 18, Dad made an Adopt-a-Pothole sponsorship in my honor, and for years we carried that on. Then, when I moved back to Memphis and hooked up with the likes of Will Yandell (former Delta Board Chairman) and lifelong friend Henri Wedell (former Delta Board member) and others, I learned about what makes Delta and its specific programs different. Will brought me in early to the Minnedosa Duck Club, a group he formed among Memphis Delta donors to invest in Delta's duck production."

"I remember talking to Dad about that idea," he recalls, "and once we understood that Delta truly is The Duck Hunters Organization, meant to put more ducks in the air for us to enjoy and to conserve for the future, we were all in. We have been adamant supporters ever since. What sets Delta apart is the fact it's really for duck hunters and creative in finding ways to put more ducks in the air and willing to put science and resources behind it."

Looking to the future, Fogelman and his wife, Bradley, hope that Delta's successful work will allow him the opportunity to develop relationships with his two children (Foster, 12, and Eliza, 11) like that which he cherished with his father.

He said, "Robert III, my son, who goes by 'Foster', thankfully got a chance to go out and be in the duck blind together with Dad and me when Dad was still able to hunt. Foster's now 12 and just getting interested in shooting. I'm not pushing it on him, but I'm hoping his passion for hunting will grow and we'll build the same kind of relationship around it as Dad and I did." - Bill Miller