FICA BOARD ELECTIONS 2023

All current FICA Member Companies are eligible to vote in the 2023 FICA Executive Board Member Elections.

Key Dates
Voting open	14 September – 28 September 2023
Candidates informed	1 October 2023
AGM and official onboarding as new Executive	6 October 2023

VOTING

All current FICA Member Companies are eligible to vote in the 2023 FICA Executive Board Member Elections. 1 ballot per FICA Member Company.

Key Information

The number of vacancies is 1 (one) x Chair position. The Executive Board Member positions have been filled with nominations (no vote necessary as there are 4 nominees for 4 positions).
Each FICA member company is entitled to 1 vote for Chair per ballot
Method for voting is electronic ballot. Instructions will be emailed to voting members - please email office@fica.org.nz with any issues relating to the voting papers email
Return email address for independent secretary: Kim Godfrey, Frank Communication, kim@frankcommunication.co.nz

How to vote

To vote, follow the link in the email you are sent from FICA. You will be asked to provide:

Your Name as the nominated voting representative of your FICA Member company
Your FICA Member Company Name
Your selection for FICA Chair
Your email

Voting closes Thursday 28 September 2023 at 5PM

“An approved nomination form shall be deemed to form part of the notice of impending election.” Return email address for independent secretary: Kim Godfrey, Frank Communication, kim@frankcommunication.co.nz. Nominations and votes are only eligible if the candidate, nominator, seconder and voter has a current FICA membership, paid up for the 2023-2024 season. Voting instructions will be emailed to FICA members when voting opens 14 September and voting will close 28 September.

Nominees - FICA Chair

Nick Tombleson

Tombleson Logging

Nick is the Director of Tombleson Logging, a company he and his family set up in 2002. His dad Leigh still works in the business but has handed the reins to Nick. He has been working in forestry since he left school at 16 and has been on the FICA Board since 2019.

Tombleson Logging has 3 crews including a fully mechanised road-lining / clearfell crew based in Kinleith Forest, a fully mechanised ground-based harvesting crew based in Woodhill Forest in West Auckland, and a thinning — half mechanised, half manual — based in Kaingaroa Forest in the central North Island. We also Provide traffic management to Forest companies in the Central Region.

Nick is a Safetree / HFM certified tree faller and industry accessor. He also has been contractor representative for the HFM Northern Safety Committee and on the Forestry and Wood Processing Council as the representative for harvesting contractors.

Nick thrives on a challenge and has a thirst for knowledge and self-improvement which sees him regularly putting his hand up to complete relevant courses. His driving motivation is to be able to use his skills and knowledge to improve the business and the way they work with industry, and to better help his employees and others in the industry.

“Forestry has been a strong part of New Zealand’s history and I feel it is going to play an even more important role in the future.”

Nick is hopeful forestry will be seen by all as a way to battle climate change, which would lead to a far more secure future for all.

“Forestry is far more complex than just chopping a tree down,” he says. “There are hundreds of different parts and roles, with each as vital as the other. I think we will continue to see massive advances in technology too, making it something quite exciting to be a part of.”

Mandie Skipps

Skipps Logging Ltd

Mandie had a career in media sales & marketing working her way up from Sales management, General management, Regional Manager to 5 years ago holding an executive role at a national level with NZME.

She was first introduced to forestry in 2000 in Whakatane when she met her husband, Tom Skipps. Many a weekend was spent carrying his fuel, water, and lunch while he manually felled trees.

In 2007 Mandie & Tom started Skipps Logging Ltd their own cable harvesting crew in the Auckland region. Mandie handled all the finances & HR for SLL while working for The Radio network.

Following work opportunities, they moved to Whangarei in 2010 and started a second crew. Mandie was the GM of Mediaworks Northland but remained heavily involved with the management of SLL. In 2018 the opportunity arose for Mandie to step into the business fulltime and take on the Operations role.

Mandie studied fitness and gained her personal training qualification, and in 2019 opened her own gym in Whangarei. As part of her role in their business Mandie offered free personal training sessions for their crews, including group fitness sessions for them, their partners and children.

Mandie devised and implemented a “Kickstart” which is done after the morning toolbox meeting. The “Kickstart” is a 2-minute exercise regime before the guys commence their day. This is designed to get the blood pumping around the brain, so they are more alert and increases the “happy juices” for a positive start to the day.

Mandie sets a high priority on health & fitness knowing the importance of a healthy body, healthy mind and the positive impacts that has on H&S in the crews and the business overall.

Mandie’s role with Skipp’s logging is diverse. She manages all of the office administration, health & safety & recruitment. She has fully redesigned their induction process which has incorporated wellness checks which cover both physical & mental health needs.

Mandie & Tom now run their business out of the Waikato and are based in Cambridge with two of their children. One who is Head breaker out in one of their crews and the other still at school. Their eldest is married with 3 children and is a Doctor at Tauranga hospital.

Mandie is new to the FICA Board as of this election in 2023.