Join Alan Deutschman to learn how you can create a real, lasting transformation within your company. Author of several books on management and leadership, Alan has gained his expertise from years of researching the high-tech, advertising, automotive and health care industries, as well as individual corporations such as IBM, Apple, Sony and Southwest Airlines. Alan will share which tactics do and do not work in transforming corporate culture.

This session is not about a adopting a quick fix or about following fads or feel-good trends. It’s about creating deep-seated, fundamental shifts that will increase your company’s productivity and profitability.

Alan Deutschman is author of "Change or Die: The Three Keys to Change at Work and in Life" and "The Second Coming of Steve Jobs," as well as "Walk the Walk: The #1 Rule for Real Leaders," to be published in September. He is a leading business writer and columnist, having served as a senior writer for Fast Company, the Silicon Valley correspondent for Fortune, the "Profit Motive" columnist for GQ and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and New York Magazine.

In this session, Batesville Vice President of Human Resources Anthony Casablanca will share his expertise on how to become "union resistant" through effective employee management and development practices.

Batesville Casket Company employs 3,400 employees in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Casablanca is responsible for the company’s overall labor, employment and talent acquisition as well as its employee development strategy. In May 2009, he was named Human Resources Professional of the Year by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce for "implementation of best practices, organization design and effectiveness, and alignment and accomplishment of the strategic direction of his company."

Attendees will also enjoy lunch at the Women In Military Service For America Memorial. The tour and luncheon are being made possible by Matthews International.

The Buchanan Group of Indianapolis, Indiana, is not your everyday cemetery and funeral service operation. In addition to its 14 funeral homes and eight traditional cemeteries and memorial parks, the company operates the Archdiocese of Indianapolis Catholic Cemeteries Association, the Forever Friends Pet Cemetery, the Cremation Center of Indiana, two community centers, Buchanan Financial Services and Family Legacies online memorials. Staff run management training programs at the firm's Community Life Center for companies ranging from cemeteries and funeral homes to industry suppliers, insurance companies and even a local health store.

Says Vice President of Sales Jon Shults: "Buchanan Group is really no different than any other organization. It’s just that when we see a need for change, we take action, realizing that being content and maintaining 'status quo' is the last thing we should do if we want to survive in today’s business world. We look at how funeral service is today and we challenge ourselves and our staff to see how it can be made better."

In this session, Shults will provide insights into The Buchanan Group's overarching business management philosophy as well as specific projects and initiatives they have undertaken to move the company forward, including examples such as technology solutions, the creation of work teams, financial decisions and the company's community outreach.

Jon Shults has more than 20 years of experience in cemetery operations, sales management, marketing and advertising. He has worked for The Buchanan Group since 2000. He was a stuntman in movies and television for many years and appeared in "Born on the Fourth of July," "Robocop," "Dallas," "Walker Texas Ranger" and many others.

In this two-part panel discussion, we'll hear from a cross-section of funeral service, cemetery and cremation executives on what they're doing, why they're doing it and how it's working. We'll cover a full range of operations and marketing issues related to today's challenging business environment, including topics such as:

• advertising
• lead development
• marketing messages
• preneed/at-need sales
• what customers are choosing
• competing on price, value
• staffing decisions
• benefits and compensation
• budgeting
• negotiations with suppliers
• investing decisions
• capital projects
• strategic planning

In addition, we'll review the results of the ICCFA Financial Tactics Survey (please take the survey now—even if you are not attending this conference!) to identify trends and best practices within our profession.

Each panel discussion will include extensive opportunities to join the discussion, so come prepared to share your specific challenges and solutions and to take notes.

Operations Panel

• Darin Drabing, Senior Vice President of Operations, Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries, Glendale, California
• Jim Price, CCFE, CCrE, Chief Executive Officer, Keystone Group Holdings, Tampa, Florida
• Dana Jones Wynn, Owner and President/CEO of Jones-Wynn Funeral Home, Inc. of Villa Rica, Georgia, Jones-Wynn Funeral Home of Douglasville, Georgia, and Meadowbrook Memory Gardens in Villa Rica, Georgia
• Cindy Thompson, CCFE, Chairwoman, Mountain View Funeral Home, Memorial Park & Crematory, Lakewood, Washington
• Moderator: Kevin Daniels, CCE, President, Daniels Family Funeral Services, Albuquerque, New Mexico

1 to 2:30 p.m.
Succeeding in Tough Economic Times: A Two-Part
Panel Discussion (with a Q&A/discussion session)

continued

Sales & Marketing Panel

• Kevin Daniels, CCE, President, Daniels Family Funeral Services, Albuquerque, New Mexico
• I. Frederick Lappin, CCE, President & CEO, Knollwood Cemetery Corporation, Sharon, Massachusetts
• Lowell Lohman, CCFE, President & CEO, Lohman Funeral Homes, Cemeteries & Cremation, Ormond Beach, Florida
• Gregg Strom, CCE, Senior Vice President, StoneMor Partners LP, Levittown, Pennsylvania
• Moderator: John Bolton, CCE, Regional Sales Manager, Matthews Internation Corporation, Johnson City, Tennessee