April 2019

Page A33 APRI L 2019 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A www.funeralradio.com UNCUT ANDUNCENSORED ANALYSIS FORYOUR FUNERAL HOME ® Free Marketing Support for Today’s Funeral Professionals The Funeral and Memorial Information Council (FAMIC) created Have the Talk of a Lifetime ® – a national campaign that encourages people to find out what matters most to their loved ones, so they can celebrate life when the time comes. We’ve prepared free marketing materials for use in your community, including: print and digital ads, PR materials, social media, and more. FAMIC members can download materials at: FAMIC.org Have questions? Email us at: HavetheTalkofaLifetime@gmail.com News Association ContinueD NFDA to host Two Embalming and Restorative Art Seminars in 2019 BROOKFIELD,WI— To help both novice and seasoned embalmers hone their skills, the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) will host two Embalming and Re- storative Art Seminars in 2019. Registration for the first seminar, taking place May 17-18 at the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science in Pittsburgh, PA is now open. The second Embalming & Restorative Art Seminar will take place August 15-16 at the John A. Gup- ton College in Nashville, TN. The dynamic and engaging NFDA Em- balming and Restorative Art Seminars of- fer attendees advanced knowledge and tech- niques that can be applied when they return to their funeral home. The seminar in May will be led by some of the country’s most respected authorities on embalming and restorative art: Vernie Foun- tain, CFSP, embalmer and postmortem re- construction specialist and founder of Foun- tain National Academy in Springfield, MO; T. Scott Gilligan, NFDA general counsel and owner of Gilligan Law Offices in Cin- cinnati, OH; Amanda Marie Eilis King, li- censed funeral director and embalmer from Springfield, MO; and Jason Mishler, CFSP, MBIE, owner and operator of Mishler Em- balming and Transit Service in Columbia City, IN. These noted experts will lead sessions on a variety of topics, including: embalming pro- cedures and techniques for all experience lev- els, featuring a live demonstration; advanced restorative art techniques to help make the most difficult cases presentable; embalming standards of care; and how to manage risk and reduce liability exposure. Participants in the inaugural Embalming and Restorative Art Seminar in 2018 de- scribed it using superlatives such as, “fan- tastic,” “amazing,” “totally exceeding my ex- pectations” and “the best presentation I ever attended in my 54 years as a licensed funeral director and embalmer.” Complete details about the 2019 NFDA Embalming and Restorative Art Seminars at the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Sci- ence, including information on how to reg- ister, can be found on the NFDA website, www.nfda.org/embalmingseminar . Speakers for the August seminar are: Domi- nick J. Astorino, CFSP, MBIE, adjunct fac- ulty at Wayne State University Department of Mortuary Science and managing director and embalmer at Wujek-Calcaterra & Sons Inc in Detroit, MI; Scott Gilligan, NFDA gen- eral counsel and owner of Gilligan Law Of- fices in Cincinnati, OH; Wallace Hooker, CFSP, MBIE, owner, funeral director and embalmer at Family & Friends Funeral Home in Wingate, IN; and Amanda Marie Eilis King, licensed funeral director and em- balmer from Springfield, MO. Details about this event will be available in mid-May. For some embalmers, traveling to a confer- ence may not fit with the demands of their business. NFDA offers several online learn- ing courses focused on technical skills that enable funeral professionals to boost their skills wherever and whenever they have inter- net access. Courses include: New: Embalm- ing Risk Management (3 CE hours) presented by Gilligan and Jzyk Ennis, Ph.D.; Embalm- ing the Obese Case (3 CE hours) presented by Fountain; New: Demonstration of Soft Tis- sue Repair (4 CE hours) presented by Asto- rino and Hooker; New: Approaching Trauma Cases with Confidence (3 CE hours) present- ed by Astorino,; New: Relevance of Restorative Art (3 CE hours) presented by Astorino; and Embalming Perspectives and Paradigms Chal- lenged (6 CE hours) presented by John S. “Jay” Rhodes III, CFSP. To learn more about NFDA Online Learn- ing Courses, visit www.nfda.org/olc. Embalmers who have questions about how to approach a challenge they face in the prep room or want to share a tip that has helped them in the past can visit the new online “Embalmers’ Community.” Exclusively for NFDA members, the online community is a place to meet, share ideas and collaborate with peers. The “Embalmers’ Community” can be found on the NFDA website, www. nfda.org (click on the “Resources” link at the top of the page; choose “Online Communi- ties” from the menu). NFDA has developed a consumer brochure, Embalming: Answers to Your Questions. This brochure gently explains the embalming process, describes the value of viewings and visitations as part of end-of-life rituals, and answers common questions that families may have. The brochure can be ordered through the NFDA Resource Store, www.nfda.org/ store, or by calling 800-228-6332. Funeral directors may also want to encour- age families to visit NFDA’s new consum- er-facing website, www.RememberingALife. com, which serves as a guide to honoring a life well-lived, from planning a tribute to mourn- ing a loved one. The site offers guidance on how to start the planning process, the kinds of decisions families will make, and the many op- tions available to make a tribute personal and meaningful. The site highlights information on service options (including embalming and the value of viewing), details about cremation and burial and prefunding options. CANA Cremation Symposium and Preneed Summit: Business Superheroes Challenge Assumptions and Get to the Truth WHEELING,IL— CANA’s 2019 Cremation Symposium kicked off with a record turnout of 92 people on a quest to build their business superpowers during The Art of Selling Cremation 2 Preneed Summit. In this pre-sym- posium, one-day intensive held on February 5th, five industry experts dispelled common myths surrounding preneed programs. Spoiler alert: Yes, you CAN have a successful cremation preneed program—and many busi- nesses do! The keys to success lie in using demographics to find the right target market, challenging assumptions and getting to the truth, using modern marketing tac- tics and effective lead generation techniques, and starting sales where the customer is and working up from there. Following the summit, their business superheroes gath- ered with additional colleagues at the Symposium Open- ing Reception, where the networking exploded into a su- percharged event. Over the next two days, assumptions Continued on Page A34