Roughly 30 miles west of where Vexus® Boats are built in Flippin, Ark., sits a gorgeous house on seven acres of well-manicured lawn with an equally awesome back porch. This spot often hosts social gatherings, ranging from summer fish fries to the Harrison CrossRoads Community Church praise and worship team singing Christmas songs in December.
But one night each autumn, the porch is home to a dinner party hosted by owners Mark and Sherri Billings to show their love for the folks from Vexus, as well as other local anglers who are proud Vexus owners, over a plate of smoked tri-tip beef and a dessert table that rivals the best bakery in Boone County.
And mostly, it’s an effort to make sure a boat-building culture with a long history of treating folks like family never ceases — 58 years after Forrest and Nina Wood started it.
Mark Billings, a retired Farm Bureau insurance agent of 31 years in Harrison and a bass fishing force to be reckoned with in Ozark area tournaments for much of his adult life, still remembers how Forrest and Nina made him feel as a teenage tournament angler decades ago.
“I was only 16 when I started fishing tournaments on Bull Shoals, and I can remember Forrest and Nina being at every weigh-in there at Bull Shoals Lake Boat Dock and Marina. And if I didn’t see them at the lake, then I often saw them at the cattle sale barn in Flippin. But no matter where you saw them, they treated you like family,” reflects Billings in heartfelt fashion.
No surprise then, when Vexus began 10 short years ago, Mark Billings became one of the brand’s greatest supporters. In fact, he purchased the fourth fiberglass boat they ever built. The burgundy VX20 was the first of five fiberglass rigs he’s now purchased from Vexus.
However, his unparalleled support of the brand is not limited to himself. Billings is constantly escorting interested fishing buddies to the state-of-the-art factory in Flippin for a tour that often results in them purchasing one of the innovative vessels for themselves.
“We used to accompany Mark on factory tours. But now, we know to just let him walk in and do his own thing. I could make a case that he’s one of the best salesmen we have,” grins Vexus leader and Forrest Wood’s grandson, Keith Daffron.
“I just tell folks the truth,” says Billings. “If you want the best built boat on the market, backed by true craftsmen and world-class people who answer the phone when you need them, then buy a Vexus.”
Mark and Sherri are also doing their part to carry on Forrest and Nina’s legacy of hospitality by frequently hosting Florida pros Keith Carson and John Cox when they’re traveling through the region. They even provide airport shuttle services and pack pulled pork sandwiches as on-the-go snacks for the two comical Floridians. Gestures that would indeed make Forrest and Nina proud.
That’s exactly why they do it. When asked why they spend so much time taking folks on factory tours, hosting dinners and housing pros, Mark’s eyes fill with tears.
And through a voice covered in raw emotion, he answers, “Forrest and Nina inspired me my whole life. I just want to make sure their legacy continues.”
To learn more about the boat brand Mr. Billings loves so dearly, please visit https://vexusboats.com/.
