2015 AFCCA Convention Speakers

Douglas R. Gober Upping Your Game: What to Do When the Competition Levels the Playing Speaking Wednesday, June 3 at 9:00 AM    [su_spoiler title=”Topic Description” style=”fancy” icon=”arrow-circle-1″] You worked your tail off to create a marketable difference for your business and blazed a trail in your market. Now everyone in town is doing tribute videos, personalizing memorial folders and taking condolences from their websites. What’s next? How can we take control of this crucial …

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NFDA Policy Board Report from the Hill

By: Steve Palmer, NFDA Policy Board Rep for Arizona Rep. Mike Pompeo of Kansas spoke. Straight forward, truthful communication is the key to success in business and politics. It is easy to lead when all is going well. The true test is going to where there is a problem. Most of you succeed despite what the government does to you not health. The federal government cannot deliver healthcare effectively, it is too big and too …

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2015 William Aaron Scholarship Recipient

The AFCCA is dedicated to promoting the further development of professional, ethical, responsive death care providers that are a credit to the industry. This is why the  William Aaron Scholarship Program was created for current Mortuary Science students at Mesa Community College. Each year, AFCCA offers a scholarship to a 2nd year student, with a B or better grade point average. The scholarship is valued at $1,000. Applicants that meet the criteria are asked to submit …

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2015 Maintenance Seminar Recap

Thank you to all who attended our 2015 Maintenance Seminar, held at Resthaven Park Mortuary and Cemetery! We had a great line up of speakers this year that covered everything from turf, to water, to safety, and more. Our backhoe rodeo was heavily participated in, and everyone had a great time. A big congratulations to our winners: 1st – Henry Garcia with Diocese of Phoenix Catholic Cemeteries; 2nd – Barry Berkezchuk with Mountain View Cemetery; 3rd …

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National Study Confirms Value of Flowers at Funerals

For Immediate Release: January 30, 2015 Brookfield, Wis. – According to the results of a new report from the American Floral Endowment’s Floral Marketing Research Fund (FMRF), both bereaved families and funeral directors feel flowers and plants offer comfort during and after funerals. The study, Funeral Directors and Flowers: Insights into Floral Tributes in the Funeral Industry, by the FMRF sought to assess consumers’ attitudes toward and use of floral tributes in funeral services; the …

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Renew, Re-energize and Get Inspired at the NFDA’s Professional Women’s Conference

For Immediate Release: January 30, 2014 Contact: Jessica Koth, 262-814-1536, jkoth@nfda.org   Brookfield, Wis. – The 2015 National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) Professional Women’s Conference will bring together funeral directors, educators, expert presenters and suppliers in a unique, intimate gathering to generate new ideas, foster professional growth and create lasting friendships. This conference, which is the leading gathering for women in funeral service, will take place April 24-26 at the Loews Chicago Hotel in the …

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Safeguarding Your Business from Cremation Liability

Article Source, the Memorial Business Journal, NFDA As the basis for their workshop, “Safeguarding Your Business From Cremation Liability,” at the National Funeral Directors Association’s International Convention & Expo, T. Scott Gilligan and Mike Nicodemus used a document called “Due Diligence for Funeral Homes Dealing With ThirdParty Crematories.” This document came in the wake of the February 15, 2002, discovery by the Georgia Environmental Protection Agency that Tri-State Crematory failed to cremate some 339 discovered bodies and left the remains strewn about the …

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AFCCA Supplier Member, Paradise Pictures, Receives Visual Search Patent

December 9, 2014 – Chico, California On Tuesday December 9, 2014, Scott Neal, David Hopper and Paradise Pictures, LLC were awarded US patent # 8,909,670 titled IMAGE BASED METHOD OF PROVIDING MEMORIAL INFORMATION.  The patent provides protection for a method of retrieving memorial information by solely taking a picture with a smart phone or other device of a memorial portrait on a headstone; crypt front door or niche and having the system return information related …

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