Written by Jim Chliboyko, Fenestration Review
Dec. 8, 2016 – It took more than the bad traffic prior to a Jets home game as well as a Standing Rock protest at the intersection of Portage and Main to slow down the nearby FenMan AGM on December 1st, in downtown Winnipeg. Approximately 30 people attended the meeting at the Clay Oven Restaurant at Shaw Park (where the Winnipeg Goldeyes play baseball when it’s not winter).
FenMan President Ryan Dudeck summed up the year, in terms of events.
“We had a really good event with Jeff Baker in February in regards to thermal performance,” he said, highlighting just a couple of the organization’s events. “We had an installation meeting-slash-was supposed to be a golf tournament in June, but we had canoes instead of golf carts, so we had to postpone ‘til September, which everybody had a fantastic time.”
“As we move forward, our attendances are growing and our content is growing stronger and stronger. We’re really trying to grow the industry.”
The AGM was also a prime opportunity for Dudeck, as well as past president Al Dueck and organizer Nancy Zubriski to further promote FenCon17, an ambitious, new day-long conference, trade show and networking event set to take place Friday, February 10th, at the Victoria Inn Hotel and Convention Centre.
“So, about a few months ago, we started talking, after we launched Fenestration Manitoba, that we needed to try to create some activities that would more naturally occur on an annual basis or every two years,” Al Dueck told the crowd. “One of the proposals was that we put on an event in the off-season where we could get a group of window and door manufacturing professionals together and bring in some experts to talk about a whole range of different things.”
“Selfishly, I’m excited about being able to access things that help my business, but at the same time, Fenestration Valley in Manitoba is a place where, as far as I’m concerned, there are things we can do to help ourselves.”
According to the website, FenCon17 will focus on “creating a manufacturing culture of excellence for the fenestration industry in Manitoba.” (The FenCon17 website also has a list of speakers, exhibitors and sponsors—of which, full disclosure, Fenestration Review is a Gold Sponsor—and a schedule at fencon17.com.)
Dudeck also used the AGM to call for people to consider joining the board in the future.
“We’ve got a good board… but as the board moves on, we need new young blood out there, so if you’re not thinking about it this year, stay in touch with us throughout the year and we will definitely be looking for board members come again next year as succession happens throughout the board.”
Later, Dudeck said he was pleased with the turnout.
“Our AGM is really about letting our members know exactly what we’re doing, providing clarity as to what is going on and for them to give back to us, for them to give us input as to what is going on,” Dudeck told Fenestration Review after the presentation, and after changing into his Mark Stuart Jets jersey for the game. “It was very well timed with less than two months to go ‘til Fencon that we can really promote the event and turn this into a world-class event that people have not seen before.”