FCANZ Annual Conference Wrap-Up

The FCANZ Annual Conference, held on August 2 – 4 2023 in Taranaki, was once again a great success. Made up of the National Fencing Field Day on the Wednesday; AGM, Feedback Forum and Workshops on the Thursday; and an activities day on the Friday, the event provided something for everyone. Almost 100 delegates registered for Conference23, and it was a wonderful mix of new and previous attendees, providing unrivalled industry networking opportunities.

WEDNESDAY

The third annual FCANZ National Fencing Field Day was held at the delightful Stratford A&P Showgrounds and featured the largest number of exhibitors yet.

Unfortunately, Stratford didn’t put on the greatest weather for the event, with wind, rain and sideways hail making challenging conditions for exhibitors and attendees alike. Fencers and industry suppliers are a hardy lot however, and we still had great numbers turn out to the event.
Between squalls, the day offered plenty of opportunity for attendees to exercise their competitive sides through the hammer throw, guess the strainer weight, stride competitions, wire tying and battening competitions. The demonstrations put on by Tony White and fencing competitions legend Paul Van Beers were, as usual, well attended and incredibly useful.

Once again, the Carr Family Foundation’s Rural Health & Wellness caravan attended with mental health advocate Craig “Wiggy” Wiggins. Nurse Sarah Tatham saw 25 National Fencing Field Day attendees for their free health and wellness checks, of which 48% were referred to see a doctor. Hopefully, those referred have since followed up with their healthcare provider.

Ladies Who Lunch

While most were battling the weather, eleven lucky ladies opted to attend the Ladies Who Lunch event, which was sponsored by Debbie Robertson from Rural Safe – who potentially regretted her decision to stay at Stratford! A delightful day was spent visiting Bianca Lorenne Linens, Giles Chocolatier, Kina Art Gallery and Locals Café, finishing at Juno Gin Distillery for a tasting session. Keep an eye out for Conference24 info, as the next Ladies Who Lunch event is likely to sell out fast!

Mix & Mingle Dinner

Wednesday evening saw the quirky Mike’s Brewery & Bistro buzzing with old friends catching up and new acquaintances being made during our famous Mix & Mingle dinner. Fantastic food, a huge beer selection and great people made for a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

THURSDAY

Thursday was a full day – the longest in the Conference programme. Recently appointed Executive Director Jaime Bigwood was MC for the day and delivered the welcome to first-time attendees and the first prize giveaway, with one lucky newbie winning an FCANZ branded Swazi buffalo cape worth $379.

The Board update then provided attendees with an overview of what had been worked on since the last Conference and provided information on areas that would be discussed later in the day during the Feedback Forum. This was closely followed by the Association’s Annual General Meeting.

With no Board election required, the Association said farewell to Board member Max Walton, confirmed Nick Terry, re-elected Phil Cornelius, and welcomed Craig Sinclair.

Member Feedback Forum

Following the AGM, the Member Feedback Forum once again provided a valuable opportunity for members to discuss areas of concern with the Board. As usual, many topics were addressed, including qualifications, managed apprenticeship schemes, how best to engage with current members, and how to grow the membership. We appreciate the input and comments received from those at the meeting and will be working hard to respond to the items discussed.

Workshops

The theme for Conference23 was Building Better Business, and keynote speaker Stephen Caunter took two interactive workshops looking at Having a Great Team and Creating a Bulletproof Business. As always, Stephen provided some excellent insights and takeaways including “100% of business won’t pay an invoice they haven’t received”. The slides for these workshops, and the FMG Liability Insurance presentation are available in the Members Area of the website.

Thursday Evening

After a bit of downtime, delegates enjoyed the Bayonet Happy Hour before heading into dinner, after which followed the annual FCANZ Quiz. Once again, the quiz title was hotly contested – and made more competitive this year with attendees being randomly allocated to each team.

The organising team were all blown away when (like last year) an impromptu auction began to raise funds for the Whatever with Wiggy Charitable Trust. After last year’s unexpected auction event, quizmaster supremo Stephen had come along prepared with a gavel and wore the shirt he auctioned last year. It was incredible to see the 2022 fundraising amount smashed, with a massive $16,800 raised this year. Thank you to all those who donated items for auction and those who placed bids.

FRIDAY

After a long day on Thursday, delegates were grateful to get out and about around Taranaki. Thankfully the weather was spectacular, and therefore, the planned activities were able to proceed unhampered – no freezing hail today! The first group headed off to Actionaki, where the charming Paddy took them through three hours of archery and clay bird shooting activities. Meanwhile, the other group were doing a tiki-tour of fascinating collections.

The first stop was the Hillsborough Holden Museum and luge – complete with a cute train for transport. Next up, they visited Taranaki Aviation Transport and Technology Museum (TATATM) with its huge collection of hands-on exhibits, many of which are still in full working order. The crew then headed to the delightful Maketawa Museum. Created by dairy farmer Barry Bishop, the Maketawa John Deere Museum is full of vintage classic John Deere Machinery and collectables.

Coming back together for lunch, in the historic Inglewood Hall, delegates enjoyed a delicious BBQ lunch from Smok’n Comrades. Craig and the team delivered more than enough food for our hungry crew and collected up all leftovers to be delivered to those in need by the local charity “On The House”.

A short drive up the road took us all to Trundles Automotive’s HUGE workshop, where delegates learned about pimping a 4WD, before heading back to the hotel for some well-deserved downtime.

Friday Evening

Friday Happy Hour this year was FCANZ hosted and led nicely into the gala dinner and the inaugural FCANZ Awards night. The intent is that every Friday will be a semi-formal gala dinner and awards night, so make sure you pack your glad rags next year!

2023 Photo Album

FCANZ CONFERENCE24

Christchurch here we come! Keep an eye out for announcements soon on dates and details.

A huge thanks to Association partners and sponsors who supported the Conference and exhibited at the NFFD, and to the members who attended and made the Conference the success it was. We look forward to hosting again next year.