Last night, HBFA held its 2020 Annual General Meeting and we are pleased to announce the following members have been appointed onto the Executive Committee in their respective roles:
President: Richard Pentreath
Vice President: Brydon Nisbet
Richard brings a strong strategic and operations background into the role with extensive experience in the horticulture sector. Previous roles include Orchard Productivity Manager for Zespri, Senior Consultant with AgFirst and he is currently Regional Manager at Ngai Tukairangi Trust. Richard is the Hawke’s Bay/Lower North Island Forum representative for Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated (KGI) and was previously Kiwifruit Sector Chair for HBFA.
As an orchard owner and fruit grower, he is passionate about fostering new talent entering the industry, protecting and safe-guarding the future of fruit growing in Hawkes Bay and promoting our exciting industry within the communities we live and work in.
Brydon Nisbet has a wealth of experience in the pipfruit sector. He currently sits as an Associate Director on the Horticulture New Zealand Board, Director on Rockit Apple Growers Trust, horticulture tutor at the Eastern Institute of Technology and runs his own family orchard business, Global Harvest.
Brydon brings a pragmatic ‘can-do’ attitude and genuine passion to serve the industry. He is passionate about supporting young individuals in the industry to grow and emerge as future leaders.
Congratulations to Chris Treneman, Protect Chair, who was also re-elected.
The Association welcomes Tom Dames and Shane Flynn onto the Executive Committee.
We look forward to the collective experience and industry knowledge our new and existing executive members will bring to the Association.
Thank you to our two retiring Executive Members Ben James and Lachlan McKay for their contribution to the Association during their tenure.
During Ben’s tenure as President, he initiated the strategic review which led to the rebuild of the HBFA website and the new digital communications strategy. This work has culminated in developing successful digital platforms that will be a great asset to the Association in the years ahead.
With the exception of Rule 5 b) ii) Members must be approved by a majority of the members present at a General Meeting which will remain unchanged, the proposed changes to the membership structure will provide a platform from which employees, students and interested parties can better access and engage with the Association and the industry. In the coming weeks we will communicate to our members the process of transferring to the new membership.
The second rule change passed, referred to the disestablishment of the Sector Chairs. Industry product sector groups – New Zealand Apples & Pears, Kiwifruit Growers Inc and Summerfruit New Zealand provide effective support and regulatory advice at a national level. The Association will continue to work closely with these sector organisations to represent the interests of growers at a regional level.
It was noted that labour supply will be a major challenge for growers in the foreseeable future. The Association will continue to support lobbying being undertaken by Horticulture New Zealand and New Zealand Apples & Pears. An approach will be made to PickNZ to ascertain if they can facilitate labour sharing of teams between growers at critical pinch points during the season.
There has been significant changes over the past 12 months to the way the Association operates, communicates, with the purpose to drive and inspire the next generation of emerging young horticulture talent.
We have a challenging year ahead and look forward to your continued support.
