Posted on

Fall Fence Forum 2024

At the beginning of October, Phil Cornelius, President of FCANZ was invited to attend the Fall Fence Forum in Worthington, Indiana. Luke and Leslie Gibson, who own and run Farm Fence Solutions, hold this event, and hosted Phil and I for the time we were there.

The Fall Fence Forum is specifically aimed at contractors and the betterment of their businesses and the fencing industry in its entirety. There were 126 registered attendees, although due to Hurricane Milton about a dozen couldn’t attend – including three competitors – as the contractors stayed back to help the stricken areas they lived in. Shane and Joelene Bouskill also attended, and Shane competed in the three fencing comps that are run throughout the event. Strainrite’s Hugh Morrison was the main judge, along with Phil and a few of the American guys.

We left on the 1st of October and arrived in Worthington on the same day (bearing in mind you’re flying back in time to a degree). We stayed onsite where the event was held, at the Farm Fence Solutions headquarters. Day one of the event kicked off with the Joe Nickerson Memorial Doubles fencing competition with five teams, they had a great mix of competitors. One team, consisting of Ryan Gray and Logan Corbett (Logan had never fenced, ever), competed. Logan is a personal trainer and strength coach to many fencers and thought he’d give it a whirl. He took away so much from that event – you don’t know what you don’t know, and if you want to get better at something – do it more.

Day two was a best practice type day similar to what we do in New Zealand. Matt Warner from Empire Fence kicked the day off with a very high energy toolbox (Monday morning) talk even though it was Thursday. Matt spoke to the forum delegates and got everyone invigorated for the day. Shane Bouskill then talked everyone through stay assemblies and how we do them to best practice in NZ. This was very informative and had everyone enthralled. Shane demonstrated the manual install as they do on a competition line, then did a mechanised version of the same assembly.

In the afternoon, Tony Thornton, the Executive Director of the Canadian Fencing Association (CFA) and also the Chairman of the American Fence Associations Education Committee (AFAEC), spoke to delegates on his Seven Strategies. Tony has a wealth of knowledge, his presenting skills are second to none, and his knowledge and passion for the fencing industry is admirable. I think to get this man to New Zealand to give Kiwis a taste of his knowledge would be worth every cent. Even though he brings a similar business-minded skill set to what we have seen and know, his presentation skills in bringing this information to contractors at a grassroots level is excellent and so absorbable you just want to sponge it up. Like everything in this vein, you either are doing it well or not. For those who are doing it well already, Tony gives you confidence that you are. Those who have something to learn gain motivation to do it better.

In the afternoon, Dan Wheeler, who specialises in chain-link installation, completed a demonstration on installing chain-link on an incline and cutting on the bias. He also has a podcast called ‘The Fence Industry Podcast with Dan Wheeler’. He and others compiled several podcasts throughout the event, and they are available to listen to on Spotify. It’s really quite easy listening.

Day three, Friday, saw the Single Action Showdown fencing competition, with the similar specifications to the Doubles, and seven competitors. This was really interesting to watch. Shane clearly won, with Luke following in second, however, the other competitors did so well. One guy had never competed before, let alone fenced to anything like the spec, he threw his hat in the ring the night before. Although he didn’t finish, his effort was admirable and the support and encouragement he received was unlike anything I have seen.

Saturday was the Shootout Machinery competition with 5 team lines in a doubles format; netting fence with an incline, single wire top and bottom. Dan Wheeler did his podcast throughout, talking to several well-known guys in their industry, including Ryan Gray (successful bronc rider), Seth Pottorff and Justin Nary. They spoke through the specifications of the competition and included Hugh Morrison – the main judge – and me in a discussion on the difference in Associations between NZ and USA. They also spoke to Peter Clark, CEO of the UK’s Association of Fencing Industries (AFI). All really interesting conversations, which was great, given the competition went for 5.5 hours.

One line didn’t finish, but this was due to them a) having never used the machine they were using, and b) having never used wood materials. So, they were purely having a crack and getting in the mix. They did an outstanding job given their experience.

Guns, tunes and spoons

Saturday evening, we had the conference awards ceremony; you’ll see pictures of the trophy guns. Shane Bouskill cleaned up.

An unsuspecting Hugh was honoured with Fence Man of the Year. And then Harvey Nix, a gentleman who was at the conference researching the industry, working out if he wanted to buy a particular business in his area, wrote and produced a song for the New Zealanders called ‘The Fence Builders Anthem’ by Harvey Nix. This was so unexpected and showed the appreciation the attendees had for the effort made by the New Zealand contingency during the conference and how much they valued having us there. Shane also treated us to a session on the spoons, that experience in itself was memorable.

Multi-national attendees

This brings me to the attendees; people came from everywhere. Charlie, Wayne and Peter from the UK; Pedro from Puerto Rico; a couple from Mexico; people drove for miles and miles to attend. There were guys looking at getting into fencing as a career or wanting career changes. When speaking to them, they loved the community that is being created not only in their own country but around the world, they loved the inclusiveness and the willingness to share.

Analogies from the likes of Ryan Gray, a World Class bronc rider with incredible contacts and connection in that sport (which he is still involved in to a degree) said the connection and lifelong friends made in the fencing industry is worth more than anything. You can call anyone, and they will help you out regardless of what the situation is. It was really humbling.

Meeting fencing’s next-gen

On the following Monday morning, Kate, Lukes’s daughter, was presenting international fencing at a school event where she is part of the local Future Farmers of America (FFA), and we all spoke about fencing around the world, to ag-kids coming through the different activities on the day. It would be fair to say she had the best presentation and keynote speakers. Later that afternoon, we went and shot the trophy guns and had a great evening at Luke and Leslie’s on the lake.

A refreshing change

The overall event run by Luke, Leslie and their team was like a well-oiled machine, the event is run for the sole purpose of upskilling the contractors – encouraging them to be the best they can be. Partners/Sponsors are showcased, thanked and given speaking time, but it’s not a sales forum. The sponsors accept this and are happy to just be involved.

Each of the days brought a new level of gratefulness, the speakers were empowering – giving attendees the confidence that what they’re doing is right and to keep doing it better – and each brought something unique to the conference which was 100% relevant to each component of the event. The other presenters, Matt Warner and Logan Corbett, were souplifting and passionate about building culture, being better and looking out for one another. It was great to see everyone celebrating successes, whether big or small, with no negativity or judgement. It was overwhelming to see, because it’s the absolute opposite of what we are used to, but need to replicate.

While the competition side is still in its infancy (some of the competitors were green as grass, with a few signing up the night before, just to learn), they want to be better and want to learn as much information on the fundamentals of fencing as we can offer, for the style of fencing they do.

Aligning with the US

There aren’t enough people in NZ to contemplate fencing the entirety of America. However, if we can align ourselves to aid the upskilling, that’s got to be a good thing. They are years behind in skills standards, but years ahead in attitude, positivity and overall thankfulness. Exchange programs and scholarships are being discussed and what we can do collectively for the people in our industry internationally.

New connections

FCANZ connections have been made with the UK’s AFI and Canada’s CFA, who both face similar challenges to FCANZ with member engagement and setting the correct standards. Knowing these people and having robust conversations with them on how they deal with similar issues will be invaluable. Peter Clark has grown the UK membership by 50%, and Tony Thornton has doubled the AFAEC membership in the time they have been on the committees, so they have valuable experience we will look to extract.

Final thoughts

Attending the Fall Fence Forum has really highlighted to me that New Zealanders can and should try to do better with our attitudes; supporting our peers, uplifting one another, and perhaps practicing a bit of gratitude and appreciation.
Hats off to Luke and Leslie and their formidable team. They are doing a fantastic job in their country.

Written by Donna Upton

Published in WIRED issue 75/December 2024 by Fencing Contractors Association NZ

You may also like: A New Zealand fencing experience (from an American fencer’s perspective)

Read WIRED online
Follow us on Facebook

© Fencing Contractors Association NZ (FCANZ)