Jack Jensen believes everyone's experience is just as important as their neighbour's. He is one of the faces behind MSFT, which ran the Fuel Your Stoke event at Pongaroa. Photo / Leanne Warr
Jack Jensen believes everyone's experience is just as important as their neighbour's. He is one of the faces behind MSFT, which ran the Fuel Your Stoke event at Pongaroa. Photo / Leanne Warr
“Everyone’s big is big,” Jack Jensen told locals at the Fuel Your Stoke show at Pongaroa last weekend.
He says it’s about understanding that everyone has seen “quite a bit” over the past year, since Cyclone Gabrielle caused widespread damage to properties along the East Coast.
“It’s pretty crazy to reflect on what’s been going since then, the stories and the journeys.”
Jack says everyone’s journey has been different and there have been some “gnarly stories”.
“Everyone’s big is big and I think that’s been a huge part of the journey itself as well.”
Jack emphasised that everyone’s “big”, or everyone’s journey was just as important as their neighbour’s.
He says the point of the event was to come along and connect and share stories of what many residents and farmers along the East Coast have gone through in the past year.
Those experiences and the need to reconnect and relate is behind Jack’s organisation of the Fuel Your Stoke event, held by MSFT and Spark That Chat, which he’s been holding in communities along the East Coast.
Rural Support Trust and Tararua District Council also sponsored the event. From left: Jane Tylee from RST, Jack Jensen and Tararua District mayor Tracey Collis. Photo / Leanne Warr
The free event, sponsored by Tararua District Council and Rural Support Tararua, was held at Pongaroa Domain and included live music as well as entertainment for children.
Local John Beech sang as part of the music entertainment line-up.
Liberty sings at the Fuel Your Stoke event at Pongaroa.
There was entertainment for children. Photo / Leanne Warr
Jack believes it’s a way to bring people together in the community and connect for a positive thing.
It’s giving the farmers a way to “log off” from the farm and get away from the stress of putting up new fences or repairing damage from the cyclone and “celebrate living life”.
It was also a way to create a space where people felt safe to share their experiences and “talk about stuff”.
“[People] have gone to hell and back,” he says.
Having grown up in a rural community, on a sheep and beef farm in central Hawke’s Bay, Jack is very familiar with the territory.
He is also very aware that life will throw curveballs and will continue to do so but it’s still about carrying on in spite of those.
“At the end of the day, choosing to get up and giving it your best crack or best swing at those and put one foot in front of the other, and keeping on moving forward and keeping connected with your people and your community.”
Leanne Warr has been editor of the Bush Telegraph since May 2023 and a journalist since 1996. She re-joined NZME in June 2021.
