Women Successfully Running Family Business Finalists
The Women of Hutchings Funeral Home of Macon, GA founded in 1895. Nominees are Bettye Hutchings; Sharon Hutchings and Starr Hutchings Purdue
The Women of Buchelon Funeral Home of Birmingham, AL founded in 1976. Nominees are Annie Bushelon Holt; Barbara Pryor; and Rosie Lee Bushelon Hayden
The Women of James C. Boyd Funeral Home of Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Meyers and Winter Haven, FL founded in 1957. The Nominees are Avis Boyd Gaines; Erma Boyd Dorsey; and Hattie Boyd Wilson.
The Women of March Funeral Home of Baltimore, MD; Washington, DC and Richmond, VA founded in 1957. The nominees are A. Lola March; Annette March-Grier; Cynthia March-Malloy; and Carmalita March-Harris.
The Women of Rhodes United Fidelity Funeral Home of New Orleans and Baton Rouge, LA founded in 1884. The nominees are (L to R) Ashea Duncan, Sandra Rhodes Duncan, Kathleen Rhodes Astorga, Duplynn Joan Rhodes, Stephanie Rhodes Navarre, and Jasminne Navarre.
Top African American Educators in Mortuary Science Finalists
Rhonda Keyes Pleasants, CFSP–department chair and associate professor at John Tyler Community College; president of the Virginia Morticians Association; also affiliated with Joseph Jenkins Funeral Home in Virginia.
Shun Newbern, CFSP–International educator and presenter; master embalmer, consultant, case review and gross negligence specialist; prepared more than 12,000 decedents; president of Metropolitan Mortuary in Jurupa Valley/Riverside, CA.
Dr. Edith Churchman, CFSP–national certified presenter for the NFDMA, NFDA, ICCFA, NFDA Professional Women’s Conference, Epsilon Nu Delta Mortuary Fraternity, Inc and other affiliated funeral organizations in the industry; affiliated with Churchman Funeral Home in New Jersey.
Robert Dean, CFSP–ABFSE faculty program director; involved with various educational boards around the nation, currently at Florida State College of Jacksonville, FL
Venus Riley-Smith, CFSP–program coordinator in Funeral Service Education program at Jefferson State Community College, Birmingham, AL; affiliated with the Smith and Gaston Funeral Home of Alabama.