From the Treasurer

It is human nature to ask the question, “What do I get from my membership?” And as treasurer, I do hear the question. In fact, I’ve probably asked the question myself of various things we have belonged to over the years.

At the FCANZ conference and AGM this year, I had the privilege of presenting member benefits to the members present and having researched the topic beforehand, I was actually surprised at how much we do get. Sadly, there are members who leave the Association sighting lack of benefits for their investment, however, if they were to do some research, they may change their mind.

I am into my third year as a Board member and second as Treasurer, and I feel amazed and privileged every time a fencer contacts me for a chat, or to find info about something, or just a question of what I do to solve a fencing related issue. And that’s something all members can do! If you want to talk about something, ring a Board member. We are just like you, out there doing it, building fences, running a business, but also donating our time to the industry we love and advocating for the industry by being on the Board.

The current Board has worked very hard by continuing the work of previous Boards and adding a whole lot more of what we think members want from their industry association. Membership is in the mid 500’s and stable, and we would like that to continue to grow. More industry partners have come on board and are more active within the Association. The more the industry can unify, the stronger we will become. Fencing is no longer about a guy digging in a fence in the back blocks of a farm. Fencers are trades people that are visible to the public every day. Surveys show the average fencer builds a whole lot of “stuff” including fencing these days, and fencers aren’t just rural. Security and residential fencers are specialised in what they do, and we see more fencers specialise in horticulture and vineyards. The Association is working to bring those businesses on board, as in the future their contribution will be important and valuable to the industry. In fact, we are planning Best Practice Days on security and residential fencing which is something the Association hasn’t done before.

As a member, some of the things you can get from your investment are:

• Your business listed in “find a fencer” on FCANZ website

• Exclusive password access to the member only area on the web site

• Individual employment contracts templates

• Job description template

• Legal guides

• “The Business Staples” webinar series

• Articles from previous “Wired”

• Fact sheets and technical sheets on building techniques

• Exclusive Partner deals

• Membership of Federated Farmers

And not forgetting, four copies of WIRED each year. A unique publication. 98 percent of FCANZ members surveyed have expressed their support for the magazine.

Like anything that you may invest in, the more you engage and are actively involved with it, the more you are likely to get back out.

An average fencer that makes use of Association resources are likely to benefit by around $2475 per year. This will vary from fencer to fencer. We came to that figure by collating survey results and website and social media tracking against what is available to a new member signing up and ongoing use of resources.

As more becomes available, members will see even more value from being a member.

Currently member fees are $195 +GST for a General member, $165 +GST for a Certified member and $70 +GST for an Employee member. The last increase was in 2019. As a comparison, Rural Contractors members pay $595, and they are a similar sized organisation. A Contractor membership with Federated Farmers costs $470.

Certainly, being a member of FCANZ is value for money. The Board alluded to a fee increase at the AGM so we can continue to grow the Association and

“ Membership is in the mid 500’s and stable, and we would like that to continue to grow. More industry partners have come on board and are more active within the Association. The more the industry can unify, the stronger we will become bring on an Executive Director to help do the important work that the Board really doesn’t have time to do, remembering that we are just volunteers and still run our own businesses.

A fee increase seemed to be well supported by members at the AGM, as more members are starting to understand what we are trying to achieve. The Board is currently working on a fair fee increase and will let members know what that might look like once we have finished our due diligence.

FCANZ now has 11 Gold Partners, 7 Silver Partners and 12 Bronze Partners as well as Farmlands being a Retail Partner. The Board remains focused on bringing on more industry related partners as well as a new corporate category to further grow and galvanise the industry.

Gallagher did a first in September by offering a month of selected product discounts to members only. We would like to see - and are working with partners to bring - more and regular “member only” deals to members. Its exciting to see this development as partners see huge benefits for their businesses engaging with members through the Association, and they actually want to help and see fencers succeed. They want to be involved and we want to see more of them at Best Practice Days and Conference, sharing their industry knowledge and product innovations with us. So it will be interesting to track member uptake for partner exclusive deals and great to see solid member support for our partners.

The September Best Practice Days were very well supported, (around 100 people at Tauranga and a solid turnout at Gisborne) and are now a “not to be missed” event that are well supported by our partners and industry experts. There is plenty, for every fencer who goes, to get something out of it.

The key thing I’m trying to get across, is for those of you that participate in your Association, there is a lot of value you can get back.