The Board Blog

It’s good to have the 2022 Conference under our belt. Words alone cannot explain what a difficult conference it was to organise with a lack of communication from many of the venues and activities we undertook, price increases and about five changes to our Friday activities, which got changed again due to one of the buses going into limp mode on the way to Kim Rapley’s workshop. But what a grand time was had a Larnach Castle. Again it was the people who attended and also the level of sponsorship support that made this Conference.

It was our Communication Manager Jaime Bigwood’s first Conference and Jaime delivered a very professionally run affair. Our thanks also to Jeanette, Debbie and Donna for their input into the Conference and the National Fencing Field Day. The weather certainly played a helpful part.

Now planning is starting for the next Conference in New Plymouth and we welcome local members to help guide us as towards activities and local jobs of interest. Board changes

While we regrettably had valued Board member Mike Renner step down, Janine Swansson from Pahiatua has stepped up onto the Board. We welcome Janine and look forward to her input as we move to the next period of governance organisational structure for the Association.

Since the Conference Prue Younger has stepped down from the Board due to increasing work commitments. The Board welcomes expressions of interest from Members who are passionate about raising the profile of the fencing industry.

Conference discussions

During the forum time at Conference we brought up some important matters for general discussion, including a review of membership fees about to be undertaken and a membership fee increase in April next year. We also discussed the Association operating with a CEO role at its helm to implement the Board’s strategic planning. We are also introducing Sector/Regional subcommittees to feed back to the Board and CEO. One of our goals is to grow support and resources for the many sectors that our members are involved with – rural, residential, security, horticulture, viticulture etc.

Strategic review

We have started an external Strategic review of the Association which will help guide us and provide direction over the next five years. As a Board we have set up a number of budgets for activities as we strive for fiscal responsibility. The use of such budgets will play an important role going forward in our planning.

Webinar Series

Our webinar series continues to provide good value and reassurance to your business acumen. These webinars have been recorded and are available in the members only area on our website. We encourage you to log in and watch them, no matter how experienced you are.

Having updated employment contracts in the members only area is of huge help and we encourage you to check back to the website each time you hire a new worker so you can ensure any legislative changes are up to date.

Have your say

As a Board we have worked hard at encouraging member engagement and feedback, by consulting regarding proposed changes and also conducting surveys. We encourage you to have your say and get engaged in a collective process.