Georgia Recognizes Top Game Wardens

Game Warden First Class Brock Hoyt, who is assigned to Fulton County, was named the 2022 Game Warden of the Year by the DNR Law Enforcement Division (LED). Cpl. Dean Gibson from Talbot County received the James R. Darnell Award as the runner-up to Game Warden of the Year.

“These officers have proven themselves as leaders among their peers this past year,” said Col. Thomas Barnard, director of the DNR Law Enforcement Division. Their hard work every day to enforce the conservation laws of the state and to ensure public safety is a great asset to Georgia citizens and I am grateful for their contributions.

Game Warden First Class Brock Hoyt, who is assigned to Fulton County, was named the 2022 Georgia Game Warden of the Year.

Brock Hoyt, who moved to Georgia from Durham, Connecticut in 2018 to become a game warden, is known for his attention to detail, community involvement, and his excellent investigative skills. Fulton County, where he is assigned, is 527 square miles and includes Atlanta, which has a population of more than one million people. In this challenging environment, Hoyt has demonstrated great success as a game warden. Last year, he documented 439 violator contacts and checked 847 fishing licenses and 216 hunting licenses. He also focused his efforts on trespass complaints, which yielded 42 hunting without permission and 23 fishing without permission cases. In his most significant case of the year, which is still ongoing, he has spent well over 100 hours taking on a large-scale poaching ring that consists of 20 hunters in multiple counties. 

Cpl. Dean Gibson has only been with the Division since 2018 but has already shown great leadership potential and a strong work ethic. He is focused on conservation law enforcement, and his numbers prove it. This year, he checked 398 hunting licenses, 218 fishing licenses, conducted 26 boating patrols, 54 patrols on Wildlife Management Areas, and 11 State Park patrols. He also logged 183 violator contacts including five arrests for BUI, and the apprehension of 10 waterfowl violators and three subjects for hunting turkey over bait.

His most notable case this past year was the apprehension of a notorious poacher in Harris County who had eluded game wardens for the last 15 to 20 years. This is Gibson’s second time receiving the Darnell Award.

Cpl. Dean Gibson