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Nine summers ago, the son of a rural school superintendent stepped into a 14-acre hay pasture full of ticks alongside his longtime friend, Keith Daffron — Forrest L. Wood’s grandson. Together, they began staking out boundaries for an ambitious dream: to build their own state-of-the-art boat manufacturing facility in Flippin, Arkansas.
Today, that visionary son, Lance Newton, serves as V.P. of Operations for Vexus® Boats. He leads nearly 200 dedicated teammates in building some of the highest-quality fishing boats in the industry — efficiently, thoughtfully, and with a culture grounded in respect and appreciation.
“I can’t help but be proud of the fact we literally started Vexus from the ground up by pounding PVC stakes in the ground that summer day,” says Newton, who grew up in nearby Viola and earned a mechanical engineering degree from Arkansas Tech in 2002. “We’ve turned it into one of the most respected fishing boat brands in the world, while working with friends and family.”
Each autumn, as the ticks take a break and leaves fall across the Ozark Mountains, Newton’s heart for serving others takes on a special seasonal focus: designing the company’s annual Christmas ornament. Close to 500 ornaments are laser-cut by Precision Technologies in Ft. Smith and mailed to valued friends of Vexus, accompanied by a card signed by many Vexus employees.
“It’s something we’ve done since our first Christmas at Vexus — for all of our employees, boat dealers, industry partners, and even folks in the local community, like down at Flippin City Hall,” Newton says with a smile. “Everybody seems to love getting one, so it’s become a fun, expected tradition.”
This year’s ornament design, shown in the accompanying photo, features a jumping largemouth bass with a Vexus logo placed where the eye would be. Several ornaments from past years are also pictured — resting on the original CAD blueprints Newton created in 2017 for the state-of-the-art factory.
“We designed the factory around our long-term production goals. Our goal isn’t to build the most boats—it’s to build the best boats,” Newton explains. “With input from people who have decades of boat-building experience, we’ve learned what not to do and how to make each new model better than the last.” When he’s not leading the charge at Vexus, Newton loves dragging a football jig on Bull Shoals or pheasant hunting with close friends.
“I think to be a great leader, you’ve got to be a great listener and a great servant,” he says. “I’m here to make the lives of our employees and customers better through compassionate guidance. That’s how we build boats our customers are truly proud to own.”
Nearly a decade after he and Daffron trudged through that tick-ridden pasture with a dream, the premium boats built by Newton and his team stand as proof he’s a man of his word. And if you need a little extra confirmation, just look at the Christmas trees of longtime friends of Vexus—you’ll see reflections of his kind heart and creative mechanical mind hanging from their branches.
To learn more about the quality fishing vessels he and his team build, please visit vexusboats.com.
