Lohman	Freytag

College of Leadership, Administration and Management
Deans Nancy Lohman, CCFE, and Gary Freytag

The cemetery, cremation and funeral service profession is changing, and so are the skills needed to manage and lead effectively. You'll receive solid, relevant, results-focused training targeted at today's required core competencies. 

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW!

Friday, July 20

2:00 - 5:30 p.m.
Registration and Check-in

4:30 - 5:00 p.m.
Freshman Orientation

5:00 - 6:00 p.m.
University Reception

6:00 p.m.
University Dinner

Saturday, July 21

8:00 - 9:00 a.m.
Breakfast

9:00 - 9:30 a.m.
Welcome and Class Introductions
Nancy Lohman, CCFE, and Gary Freytag

9:30 - 10:30 a.m.
Developing a Leadership Style That's Right For You
Lowell Lohman
If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders develop through a never-ending process of self-study, education, training and experience. Learn how to develop the leader within you by exploring various facets of leadership, including attitude, motivation, vision, self discipline, character and handling change. This course will enable you to benchmark your leadership effectiveness and help you develop your leadership ability.

10:30 - 11:00 a.m.
Break

11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
A Critical Look Into the Future: Adjusting to Issues, Trends and Changes
David Nixon
What are the critical issues, trends and changes in our marketplace and in our profession? David Nixon will uncover and examine these and provide the strategic ideas and adjustments you need to embrace to maintain your success.

We'll examine threats and opportunities and specific programs to help you compete both in the short term and the long term. Learn how to build a stronger, more viable business with the knowledge of these future trends, and discover programs you can implement now to prepare yourself and your business for success in the future.

12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
Lunch

1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Establishing Culture and Purpose Within Your Organization
Jim Price, CCFE, CCrE
In the "new norm," fostering innovation will be the future driver of your company's relevance. Organizations must have critical steps in place in order to be successful, and you, as a leader within your organization, must recognize the best ways to implement those strategies. Defining your position in the marketplace, your purpose within the community, and your employees' purpose within your organization will help you differentiate your brand and will ultimately lead to your organization's long-term success.

3:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Break

3:30 - 5:00 p.m.
Community Outreach: Setting Your Company Apart
Gary Freytag
Are you doing everything you can to build your company's ties into the community? Is your organization the first one families think of in a time of need?

Spring Grove Cemetery gets between 20,000 and 30,000 visitors per year—for reasons other than funerals and burials. This course will explore the variety of ways Spring Grove builds its presence and positive awareness, including everything from grief programs, events and tours, to car shows, Segways and Facebook.  

5:00 p.m.
Dinner

7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Annual Sports Tournament
Join your ICCFAU colleagues for a friendly game of volleyball.

Sunday, July 22

8:00 - 9:00 a.m.
Breakfast

9:00 - 10:30 a.m.
Becoming "Best in Class:" Operational & Administrative Best Practices
Nancy Lohman, CCFE
You'll learn winning management systems, including:

• phone answering—the top 10 deliverables essential on every call
• arrangements—how to engage families and earn their trust
• forms—ensuring personalization and customization rather than simply gathering statistical information
• follow-up—it's all in the details and the system
• recovery—gaining back customer satisfaction and loyalty when something goes wrong

In addition, you'll discover how to achieve administrative and operational effectiveness through "snapshot" monitoring and how to strengthen and maintain consistency in your operations. 

10:30 - 11:00 a.m.
Break

11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Employee Reviews, Evaluations and Incentives, and Effective Morale Boosting Programs and Events
Christine Toson Hentges, CCE
Ever wonder how you can involve all your employees in helping your business grow? It can be done effectively and objectively by motivating staff through performance reviews that make an impact and through programs that boost morale.

This course teaches you how to create an employee review process that management and employees will cherish rather than dread. It offers effective techniques, tools and templates for conducting effective employee reviews and appraisals. In addition, you'll walk away with ideas for incentives and company programs that help employee morale, retention and enthusiasm while increasing workforce engagement and productivity.  

12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
Lunch

1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Onboarding: Employee Orientation and Training That Works
Tim Lancaster, CCFE
Well trained employees are the key to every business' success. A structured onboarding process offering orientation and formal training of newly hired employees can make the difference between success and failure.

Studies show that employees who have received extensive training become the cream of the crop, often having the strongest stake in the company's future. In this session, you'll discover how to successfully launch employee onboarding, orientation and training programs. Learn the fundamentals to effective training, create better customer service by developing effective training tools, learn effective ways in which to monitor training progress and learn how to train your employees to grow your business. 

3:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Break

3:30 - 5:00 p.m.
Business Law: Funeral Home and Cemetery Legal Outlook
Poul Lemasters, Esq.
When was the last time you reviewed your cemetery bylaws? Do they provide a foundation for consistent management? Do your rules and regulations support the management and appeal of your cemetery?

Is your funeral home federally compliant and shielded against liability by quality management practices? Are you using sound human resources practices to protect both management and staff? Gain solid legal education to help prepare you in all facets of cemetery and funeral home management so you can effectively communicate, manage and interact with your staff and today's consumers.  

5:00 p.m.
Dinner

Monday, July 23

8:00 - 9:00 a.m.
Breakfast

9:00 - 10:30 a.m.
Dynamics of the Organization
Robert Taylor
Every business requires an organizational structure appropriate to the nature and size of the company. Successful businesses operate according to certain organizational principles, and this session will cover the basic models as defined in current business educational programs.

10:30 - 11:00 a.m.
Break

11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Dynamics of the Organization (cont'd)

12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
Lunch

1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Best Practices in Internal Communications
Robert Taylor
We'll review standard business communications procedures and current technological innovations, including e-mail and other computer networking possibilities. We'll also examine various organizational structures with reference to lines of reporting and their respective implications for communication policies.

3:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Break

3:30 - 5:00 p.m.
Employee Engagement, Motivation, Hiring & Firing
Robert Taylor
Your employees are your most important asset. Today's business environment presents unique challenges because of the high level of inter-industry competition for quality personnel. This session will cover standard business rules for finding, keeping and removing personnel, as well as new ideas for engaging and motivating employees through effective communication.

6:00 p.m.
Dinner

7:00 p.m.
Cryptones concert

Tuesday, July 24

8:00 - 9:00 a.m.
Breakfast

9:00 - 10:30 a.m.
Funeral Home and Cemetery Accounting: Keys to Affecting Your Bottom Line
Bill Williams
Profit is all about increasing revenue and decreasing expenses. But what are the standards against which you can benchmark yourself? How often does your company truly analyze its expenses? Do you sometimes wonder whether there are line items you should be taking a keen look at but are missing? In this session, we'll examine critical expense items, including how to manage them, ideal ways to reduce them and industry norms to benchmark against them.  

10:30 - 11:00 a.m.
Break

11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Web Presence, Website Effectiveness and Social Media: Harness Today's Technology for a Successful Future
Robin Heppell, CFSP
Do you have a visible online presence? Is your website effective? How do you embrace social media to increase revenue? Learn the critical features of a website and a fan page that can increase your brand awareness and create revenue. Learn the keys to web and social media effectiveness, how to optimize your search engine results and how to measure your web presence. Learn specific ways to use technology to increase product offering and services, including e-commerce.        

12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
Lunch

1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Information Technology: Is It a Tool or a Toy?
Gary Freytag
IT touches all aspects of your operations, from your image to the customer experience to internal procedures. This course will examine all the ways IT can improve and streamline your company, eliminating errors and waste. We'll examine several real-world applications that have saved time and money, increased sales or improved customer satisfaction.

3:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Break

3:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Your Marketing & Branding Mantra: Building Customer Loyalty
Doug Gober
When someone hears the name of your business, what immediately goes through their mind? Unique logos? Clever taglines? Catchy jingles? Today, customer loyalty is developed with much more than that. Our image is formed through the process of interacting with our existing customers and their guests and often has less to do with what we say about our companies and more to do with what our customers say and think about us.

In this session, Doug Gober will pull together a variety of key branding considerations and apply them directly to cemeteries, crematories and funeral homes. We'll examine each potential point of customer contact within our businesses and delve into how each of these impacts our existing and potential customers. Discover how this integrated branding concept can help you differentiate yourself in your marketplace.

4:30 - 6:00 p.m.
Graduation/Reception for Students Completing Four Years

6:00 p.m.
Dinner

Wednesday, July 25

8:00 - 9:00 a.m.
Breakfast

9:00 - 10:00 a.m.
Best Practices
Nancy Lohman, CCFE, Gary Freytag and class
This is your opportunity to share challenges, solutions and best practices with your fellow classmates.

10:00 - 10:30 a.m.
Diploma and Class Pictures