David and Ashley Twiggs
“It’s not often that one’s business and personal passions come together into a single opportunity,” says David Twiggs, the man selected to replace Dennis Foster as the new Executive Director of the MFHA. Dennis will retire on April 1, 2017.
David Twiggs’ business career has flowered from a passion for the successful integration of sporting activities into rural economies and, with an eye for conservation, developing them into widely recognized destinations and living space. He is currently Chief Operating Officer of the 26,000-acre Hot Springs Village in Arkansas, the largest planned sporting community in the country.
In just three years David has reshaped this forty-year-old gated community—still hewing to the old model of sport and retirement—into his own new vision for what today’s families seek for pleasure and living in the modern era. In an interview related to his Hot Springs experience, David said. “I want to build community—not just a community. This is about people and their lives—not just real estate.” The MFHA is counting on David’s love for sport combined with his concept of the modern family and the times to promote foxhunting in this new millennium.
CeCe and Salem Twiggs, winning the Pack Class at the Carolinas Hound Show for the Belle Meade Hunt.
Foxhunting is a personal passion for David, wife Ashley (both North Carolinians), and daughters Salem and CeCe. David sees the challenges of his new job with the MFHA as an exercise requiring vision and concepts parallel to those he applied in his former business. He intends to put a happy face on foxhunting wherever it thrives and increase its appeal to modern families and communities.
Before taking the helm at Hot Springs Village, David was CEO of Savannah Lakes Village, a planned community of sporting enthusiasts—golf, tennis, angling, and other outdoor activities—in western South Carolina. Savannah Lakes Village fronts on three large lakes linked by the Savannah River. While in South Carolina for those eight years, David and his family hunted with the Belle Meade Hunt (GA). They cheerfully contributed to the myriad efforts in keeping up the hunting country and in helping to provide the fabled Belle Meade hospitality that is required of all members. Belle Meade Master Epp Wilson is high on the whole family.
“David would work a full day in the office, come home, climb onto the Belle Meade tractor, and go out to mow trails. One time he had a flat tire, and instead of calling me he jacked up the tractor, changed the tire, and finished the job. He’s a doer, not a talker!
“David also whips-in to me, and he’ll often stay out late into the night looking for lost hounds. We expect this from all our whips, but few actually do it! He also volunteered to head up the Tally Ho Wagon Committee for our Opening Meets, and anyone who has seen our Opening Meets knows what a huge deal that is!”
I’ve been there, and it’s a very “huge deal.” Serving as Wagon Master, David was responsible for the hospitality and safety of more than four hundred paying guests throughout a daylong fund raising celebration for the hunt.
“Ashley Twiggs has been helping with our Hunt Ball,” Epp added. “She even introduced and ran a new fund raiser—a silent auction—that’s been very successful.”
Both David and Ashley are strong advocates for bringing juniors along in the hunt As hard as it is for Epp to lose valuable hunt members like the Twiggs, he’s happy for our sport.
“I was thrilled when I heard that David was selected to be the next Executive Director of the MFHA,” he said. “I can’t think of anybody with a better balance of ability, temperament, and passion for the sport than he has. He has strong marketing skills, and believes that foxhunting has a powerful story to tell. He wants to sell the sizzle, not just the steak, and will develop a strong presence on social media, where the juniors—and the future—are.”
According to the MFHA, “David will serve along with Dennis Foster for a three-month transition period, before assuming sole responsibility for the position on April 1, 2017. David’s mission will include growing the sport and the MFHA Subscribing Membership, supporting existing hunts, and increasing our financial base and endowment.”
The MFHA news release also credits David for a deep knowledge of land conservation issues. While in Arkansas he developed a rod-and-gun club, a magazine, and an outdoor tourism promotion company. He is the author of the book, Destination Communities (2015), which promotes the creation of sustainable outdoor-based destinations for leisure and living. The book advocates fostering authentic sporting subcultures with common interests in preserving the nature of place to stimulate sustainable economic development. It warns about using formulaic development models, and outlines how to build places that celebrate and protect the existing natural and cultural resources of a region. David often speaks to groups to promote rural economic development strategies that are sensitive to the unique natural and cultural elements of place.
“We are extremely excited to have someone with David’s many skills and enthusiasm take a leadership position in our sport,” said MFHA President Jack van Nagell. “David brings a passion for sport, deep knowledge of land and hunting issues, and a keen sense of marketing and development to help the sport of mounted hunting grow.”
David becomes only the fourth person to manage the MFHA office since the association was established in 1907. Joe Jones was the man in charge in Boston from 1907 until his retirement in 1973. John Glass from Lincoln, Massachusetts served as Clerk and Keeper of the Stud Book in Boston and remained on the job through the move to Virginia, retiring in 1995. Dennis Foster became Executive Director in 1995 and will have served for twenty-two years upon his retirement. Each man in the succession expanded the duties of the office as each era brought new technology, new needs, and, especially recently, as the MFHA expanded its outreach to foxhunters.
For more than three hundred years, foxhunting has adapted to changing times. Every age has introduced new hurdles and new opportunities. Today, much of the world communicates in ways not even imagined a short fifteen years ago. David Twiggs comes to the office in fast-changing times, but he comes with a background in synch with the times. The future of foxhunting is a mission for which David will soon be largely responsible, and we wish him success in his new role.
Posted November 12, 2016