Technical Skills
Embalming and Reconstructive Techniques for Trauma, Including Organ and Tissue Cases
Vernie Fountain, CFSP, Embalmer, Postmortem Reconstructive Specialist, Fountain National Academy

19th Annual Funeral Service Foundation Golf Classic
Topgolf, Naperville, IL

Since its 2001 inception, the Funeral Service Foundation’s golf outing has raised more than $1 million to advance its mission to support funeral service in building meaningful relationships with the families and communities it serves. Experience all the perks of our annual Golf Classic in a social, casual and exciting atmosphere at Topgolf in Naperville, Illinois, just 40 minutes from downtown Chicago. 

No matter your skill level, at Topgolf you’ll be able to take a swing and score some points during our tournament-style golf games. You can also relax and enjoy great food and drinks while networking with your fellow funeral service professionals. And because each covered bay is heated, you’re guaranteed to play no matter what weather comes our way in late October. 

Want to support The Foundation, but golf isn’t your game? Join us as a spectator! You’ll still experience all the networking and excitement of the day without the pressure to step up to a bay and take a shot. Registration includes transportation, tournament fees, food and beverage, golf clubs and four hours of play in reserved bays, complete with a golf pro and tournament ambassadors to help the day’s play run smoothly. 

This year, we will once again offer a limited number of single-player registrations to licensed funeral directors, subject to availability.

Visit FuneralServiceFoundation.org/golf to register and learn about sponsorship opportunities.

Technology
Online Reviews: Getting Good Ones and Fixing Bad Ones
Welton Hong, Founder, Ring Ring Marketing

A pristine reputation and excellent community standing have always been critical to a funeral home's success, but your online reputation is just as important as your "offline" word of mouth these days. To achieve this, your funeral home needs excellent online reviews – and lots of them. Quantity is arguably more important than quality: It's better to have 100 reviews, even if they're not all five stars, than a handful of perfect reviews. In this session, Hong explains exactly how funeral directors can generate more positive reviews in a respectful, thoughtful way; how to mitigate the damage of negative reviews; how to deal with fake reviews; and which review sites are most important for success. (1 CE hour)

Technology, Customer Service
Lessons From the Web
Ed Michael Reggie, Managing Director, Funeralocity

Two key dynamics are completely shifting how funeral homes successfully market these days – the internet and the consumer – and owners and managers must learn how to understand the mindset of internet-shopping consumers. Almost 42% of all consumers fit into a demographic classification called "Movers." Discover the difference between how Movers and Non-Movers think, and take away a complete internet strategy and the features each business must control. (1 CE hour)

Business Operations, Cremation, Compliance and Legal
Facing the Judge: How Proper Paperwork Can Save Your Firm
Mike Nicodemus, Vice President, Cremation Services, NFDA

The importance of having the proper paperwork in place to safeguard against litigation cannot be overstated. Inaccurate, incomplete and/or inferior paperwork can cause you and your firm considerable damage in court if you fail to ensure all paperwork is filled in properly and correctly. Nicodemus, who has served as an expert witness in multiple criminal cases, will explain why proper documentation is of the utmost importance just in case you need to defend yourself in front of a judge and jury. (1 CE hour)

Business Operations, Customer Service
Nurturing Families for Life
Ellery Bowker, CEO/Founder, Aftercare.com

Acquiring new customers is important for any business, but what's even more important is keeping the ones you have. Discover why customer retention is the most overlooked way to grow your business and how to build loyalty so families will choose your firm again. Learn what makes a consumer use a business once and never return, as well as proven steps you can take to prevent that from happening. (1 CE hour)

Business Operations
Case Study: Opening a Grief Counseling Center
Cristian Arbelaez Alvarez, Psychologist, San Vicente Funeral Home

In response to growing demand in Columbia, San Vicente Funeral Home built a grief counseling center in 2005. Supporting the need to raise awareness about end-of-life issues, funeral rituals and mourning in the community, the center offers lectures, workshops, exhibitions and rituals at public and private companies and foundations, as well as at healthcare, military, police and funeral service institutions. On average, 600 grieving individuals each month are seen by medical and psychological professionals specializing in perinatal mortality, parents who have lost children, widows and widowers, suicide, survivors of chronic diseases, and grieving children and teenagers. (1 CE hour)

Grab a bite to eat in the McCormick Place food court located on level 2. 

Gail Marquardt, Vice President, Communications, NFDA; 
Melissa Marney, Marketing Manager, NFDA

This interactive experience will inspire you to stand out from the competition and create a lasting impression with your families using resources from Remembering A Life, NFDA’s consumer education campaign. You’ll leave this engaging workshop with tools (literally!) that will help you implement Remembering A Life in your community and create memorable, meaningful tributes for the families you serve. 

Business Operations
Funeral Financing and Payment Strategies
Sal Cimino, Director of Business Development – Funeral Division, Hunter Warfield
Kathleen Ervin, Associate Director, Account Management, TSYS
Mike Testa, President, LendingUSA

Discover strategies for at-need financing and payment methods for both funeral directors and their client families. With the rise in funeral costs, families seek payment options and expect access to the ease of credit card payments and financing options. Web-based payment solutions – such as recurring billing, e-commerce solutions, ACH, mobile and point-of-sale financing – are technology-driven approaches that make the process quick and simple so that funeral directors can focus on helping grieving families rather than negotiating costs. (1 CE hour)

Technical Skills
Reconstructive Techniques for Severe Trauma
Jason Mishler, CFSP, Owner, Mishler Embalming and Transit Services

Open-casket viewing of difficult cases can be achieved with proper training. Join Mishler for an in-depth, step-by-step view of reconstruction cases, including severe-trauma cases that resulted in open-casket services even after families were told that might not be possible. Both novice and expert embalmers will gain confidence to work with trauma cases, such as motor vehicle accidents, farming accidents and gunshot wound victims. (1 CE hour)

Compliance and Legal
Inside the Courthouse
Michael Sharkey, Esq., CFSP, CCO

Sharkey will discuss the most important current legal issues facing funeral homes, cemeteries and crematories. Learn how to reduce the potential for lawsuits, as well as how to mitigate the effects of a lawsuit filed against your business. Explore the legal issues confronting funeral practitioners, and discover best practices and other ideas for immediate use at your funeral business. (1 CE hour)

Learn how one cemetery CEO has captured a dominant market share in a short period of time using innovation and creativity to surpass clients’ expectations. Jardines Santa Rosa Cemetery features a playground for children, a private bus line for customers, golf carts for older people and other amenities that create an exceptional, memorable experience. You’ll also discover how Jardines Santa Rosa Cemetery is an active partner in their community with initiatives to educate consumers on suicide awareness and prevention.

To know what consumers think about funeral service and what a funeral home provides, the best thing to do is ask them! For the seventh consecutive year, NFDA did just that by surveying consumers about their attitudes and preferences toward funeral service and the products and services offered. During this panel discussion, the presenters will discuss NFDA's statistically significant data to get inside the numbers and translate how to use them to reach out and reconnect with today's consumers – and how to stay connected tomorrow. (1 CE hour)

Digital directories, data aggregators, review sites: Today’s online world can feel like a web of opportunists ready to poach your traffic, divide your revenue, and confuse your families. But every funeral director can master the web today to engage the community and convert more leads. Join Legacy.com’s John Heald and Mike Beck and discover 5 easy ways you can leverage these channels to win more families, seize control of your online brand identity, and amplify your lead generation pipeline. (1 CE hour)

Although the death rate will soar in the next 30 years, the cremation rate will also climb and eat into funeral home revenue. Is this the time to buy your first funeral home or to go on a buying spree to gobble up your competitors? The answer to both questions is YES, but only if you know what you're doing. Gilligan will examine how to evaluate possible deals and the steps necessary to protect the yourself as a buyer during and after the sale. Bridgers will discuss financing options and what a bank wants to see before extending financing. If you're thinking of buying, this workshop is a must. (1 CE hour)

Many social and cultural trends are working against the sustainability and growth of cemeteries. Funeral directors and cemeterians need a new game plan to respond to these trends. During this session, Gibson and Troyer will wrap-up their research from last year's convention workshop as they re-examine long-standing assumptions about cemetery service and report on one bold experiment that seeks to respond to these trends. (1 CE hour)

Take Your Leadership Commitment to the Next Level
Douglas "Dutch" Nie, 2017-19 NFDA At-large Representative
Ashley Cozine, 2016-17 NFDA Past President

Wondering what it takes to serve on the NFDA Board of Directors? Join us for this informal presentation and open Q&A session as Cozine and Nie provide an overview of the expectations and commitments involved, such as financial, travel and time, and the process for seeking an at-large position. (No CE)

Families, sales reps, hairdressers and the clergy see the "behind the scenes" working of your funeral home. Have you ever wondered what they say about your firm? They don't paint a very favorable image of our profession in many instances. For years, Hooker listened intently as those folks shared "horror stories" with him to ensure he didn't make the same mistakes or oversights. He's also worked the front door during visitations and funerals at his firm and listened as guests shared what they saw and experienced. This led him to conclude: "Owners and managers, multi-generational owners and corporate firms get mired down in 'running the business' and, in many instances, aren't seeing the forest for the trees!" (1.5 CE)

Navy Pier
Aon Grand Ballroom
840 E. Grand Avenue

Joliet meets Chicago – NFDA-style! – at this Blues Brothers-inspired kickoff bash! Channel your inner Jake or Elwood and reconnect with old friends (or make some new ones) while enjoying Chicago’s most requested tribute band – The Blooze Brothers, Chicago-inspired snacks and a cash bar.

Dress Code: Casual

Complimentary motor coach shuttles begin at 6:15 p.m. from hotels in the NFDA room block and return starting at 7:30 p.m.