The Board of Directors of CCA Louisiana announced that its longtime Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, David Cresson, is leaving the organization after more than 17 years in the role. David has accepted a position as President and CEO of the Louisiana Chemical Association.
“It has been an honor to serve this organization and its members for the last 17 years. As a lifelong angler and conservationist, I am enormously proud of what we have accomplished together for our coast and our fisheries during that time,” said Cresson, in his message to the CCA Louisiana Board of Directors. “But equally important to me are the bonds we have forged and the friendships we have developed. Truly, they are some of the most important in my life, and that will not change. I will always support CCA and expect to serve alongside you all as a volunteer and resource in the future.”
During his tenure with the organization, CCA Louisiana has seen consistent membership and fundraising growth, currently enjoying historic highs in both areas. Since 2007, the organization has quadrupled its net assets and nearly doubled its number of local chapters. Over that same period, CCA developed the REEF Louisiana program, aimed at replacing lost fisheries habitat with artificial reefs, and have completed 54 unique reef projects across the Louisiana coast. CCA Louisiana has been instrumental in critical advocacy successes, including noteworthy progress on menhaden, red snapper, oysters, speckled trout, redfish, and more. CCA also led the charge to implement LA Creel, the nation’s premier marine fisheries data-gathering program. Currently, CCA is spearheading a first-ever effort to grow and release hatchery-raised redfish into Louisiana waters to enhance stocks. Cresson has represented CCA in multiple congressional hearings, countless legislative testimonies, as a member of Governor Jeff Landry’s gubernatorial transition team, and numerous advisory panels and task forces. He served as the 2019 Admiral and 2021 President of the International Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo and has overseen the popular CCA Legislators’ Fishing Rodeo for the past 15 years.
Cresson will remain with CCA until March 21. In the meantime, CCA Louisiana’s Board of Directors will begin an extensive search for its next Executive Director and CEO. The organization will release information on that search in the coming days but is accepting resumes.
You can read more here: ccalouisiana.com
