Fall Management Conference Breakout Sessions: Cremation, Baby Boomers and Leading in Times of Change

Merington

Burn

Faccinto

The ICCFA Fall Management Conference, September 21-23 in Naples, Florida, will bring together hundreds of our profession's most influential executives—powerbrokers whose everyday decisions affect the future not only of their own businesses but of our entire profession—for an interactive program that will help you become a more effective, informed leader.

New this year will three breakout Café Collectives. Without a doubt, the most skilled, experienced and knowledgeable people at this conference are those seated in the audience. For one afternoon, we will break into smaller groups to examine the three most challenging issues facing us as cemetery and funeral home owners and managers as identified in a recent survey:

• Marketing to Baby Boomers: Moderator Larry Merington, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Stewart Enterprises. What is the best way to reach and engage the baby boomer generation? What are you doing to attract them, meet their needs and desires and encourage loyalty among them.
• The Cremation Value Proposition: Moderator Julie Burn, CCrE, CSE, ICCFA director of cremation services. How do you convey the value proposition of cremation both to staff and families as it relates to memorial services, personalization, alternative disposition, permanent placement and memorialization?
• Leadership in Times of Change: Moderator Vinnie Faccinto, CCFE, owner, Oak Lawn Funeral Home, Cremation Center and Memorial Cemetery, Cookeville, Tennessee. How do you leverage your leadership style, communicate with staff, develop your organizational culture, ensure accountability?

The result will be a facilitated, collaborative conversation that will allow you to take advantage of the collective wisdom and experience in the room. Come share your problems and your best practices and work together with some of the best minds in the business to brainstorm for new solutions. The results of these discussions will be compiled and presented on Friday morning so you will know the best ideas shared in all of the sessions.

Set at the luxurious Ritz-Carlton Beach Resort in beautiful Naples, Florida, the Fall Management Conference offers you a mini-retreat, allowing you to step away from the pressures of your daily responsibilities and enjoy a rare opportunity to focus on yourself and your ability to successfully lead your organization. This year's streamlined format offers nine hours of educational programming as well as several excellent opportunities to network (including our annual Fall Management Golf Tournament), yet it requires less than three full days away from your home and office. Best of all, our reduced room rate for this event is an incredible $179 per night.

Full program and registration information is now available at www.iccfa.com.

ICCFA University: 21st Century Funeral Services College Sold Out; Hotel Block Sold Out

A record crowd has already registered to attend ICCFA University, July 22-27, at the Fogelman Executive Center at the University of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee. The College of 21st Century Funeral Services has sold out, and several other colleges are near capacity. In addition, our room blocks at the Holiday Inn University of Memphis and the Fogelman Conference Center Hotel have sold out. Lodging is still available on campus and at several nearby hotels:

For lodging on campus in one of the University of Memphis dormitories, please contact Karen Gray directly at 1.800.645.7700.

Embassy Suites Memphis
1022 S. Shady Grove Rd. (approximately 5 miles from campus)
901.684.1777

Holiday Inn Express
1180 Union Ave. (approximately 5 miles from campus)
901.276.1175
Note: If a sufficient number of attendees stay at this Holiday Inn, the hotel will run a complimentary shuttle to and from the Fogelman Conference Center in the morning and evening.

Hampton Inn Memphis
I-240 at Thousand Oaks (approximately 5 miles from campus)
2700 Perkins Rd. South
901.367.1234

Each year, the University is rated as the best educational and networking opportunity available. Students are welcome to come for one or two years, but many continue on through four years to become ICCFAU "graduates." From front-line maintenance workers, counselors and funeral directors through top executives and owners, the program offers something for everyone. Find out for yourself what draws our students back year after year. Funeral directors can earn up to 24.5 CE credits, pending state approvals.

Again, the College of 21st Century Funeral Services has sold out. Several other colleges are near capacity. Please register today to reserve your spot. The complete program, registration materials and online registration can be found at www.iccfa.com.

Certified Pet Loss Professionals Training Program

The Pet Loss Professionals Alliance will offer its inaugural session of the Certified Pet Loss Professional (CPLP) certification program October 2-4, 2011, in Forth Worth, Texas.

The training is geared toward those who wish to increase their companies' professionalism and expand their pet loss businesses and is a requirement for achieving the Pet Loss Professional Alliance's newly created CPLP designation. Applications for the CPLP designation will be available later this summer. Sessions include:

• Becoming the Best at What You Do, Joe Dwyer
• Achieving Personal and Professional Success, Rena Tarbet
• Grief Management: Helping Families Deal with the Loss of a Pet, Claire Chew
• Operating a Pet Loss Business: Best Practices, Dewayne Cain and Marty Dumas
• Best Practices for Pet Cemeteries, Bill Remkus
• Providing Pet Funeral Services: The First Call and Beyond, Kate Moore, CFSP, and Terry Branson, CFSP
• The Devil is in the Details: Customer Loyalty is Not Built from 30,000 Feet, Doug Gober
• Increase Your Sales Using Social Media, Zachary Garbow
• Unraveling the Mysteries of Marketing, Coleen Ellis
• Improving the Efficiency of Your Pet Crematory, Jon Remkus and Ron Salvatore

Your registration fee for this course includes:

• Two full days of training
• Numerous opportunities to network and share ideas with colleagues and suppliers
• Bus transportation, admission, dinner, line dancing and a photo opportunity at Monday night's Kickoff Party at Billy Bob's, the world's largest honky tonk
• Two morning coffee breaks
• Two lunches
• Afternoon refreshment breaks
• Happy hour

A full schedule and registration information is available at www.myplpa.com. Cost is $389. Registration will be limited to the first 60 applicants, so register early. The PLPA has secured a discount room rate of $139 per night at the Embassy Suites Fort Worth—Downtown. To reserve your room, call 817.332.6900 and indicate that you are with the ICCFA conference.

Thank you to our Corporate Partners: A Keepsake Company, Let Your Love Grow, Memory Vessels, Monarch Resources, Paradise Pictures and Terrybear Urns & Memorials. Suppliers interested in sponsorship should contact ICCFA at 1.800.645.7700 or via e-mail at hq@iccfa.com.

ALSO BEING OFFERED:
Pet Loss & Grief Companioning Certification Program
October 6-8 • Presented by Coleen Ellis, Two Hearts Pet Loss Center

Understand the basics of the grief process through the companioning skills needed for a mourning heart, and of self-care needed for this emotionally charged role. Attendees will hear firsthand this informative material, complete with stories of pet loss experiences to aid in the learning process.

Registration for this program is separate and can be made through Two Hearts Pet Loss Center. For more information and to register, visit www.twoheartspetlosscenter.com.

Crematory Operator Certification Programs

The ICCFA is offering its one-day Crematory Operator Certification programs on Saturday, July 23, in Memphis, TN, and Wednesday, October 5, in Fort Worth, TX.

July 23 in Memphis, TN, held in conjunction with ICCFA University
Registration for those who wish to attend only the Crematory Operator Training/Certification includes:

• Admission to the Friday night University Reception and Dinner
• The all-day crematory operator training and certification on Saturday
• Breakfast, lunch and refreshment breaks on Saturday

REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Cost is $429. You may register online or download and complete the One-Day Crematory Operator registration form.

LODGING
If you require housing, please contact the Memphis Doubletree (approx. 1 mile from campus) at 901.767.6666 or call ICCFA at 1.800.645.7700 for on-campus dormitory options.

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October 5 in Fort Worth, TX, held after CPLP Training Program
Presented by ICCFA cremation coaches Julie Burn, CCrE, CSE; Poul Lemasters, Esq.; and Larry Stuart Jr. in concert with Crematory Manufacturing & Service Inc.

The extensive training curriculum includes:

• professional terminology
• incinerator terminology
• principles of combustion
• cremation and the environment
• incinerator criteria and design
• basics of operating cremation equipment
• general maintenance and troubleshooting
• forms and record keeping
• handling and exposure control

All attendees will receive a comprehensive Operations Manual covering all aspects of crematory operation and maintenance.

Attendees are invited to join CPLP participants for the 40 on 40 event on Tuesday evening (a ticket must be purchased).

REGISTRATION
Cost is $369. You may register online by choosing to attend just the Crematory Operator Training on October 5 or by attending both the CPLP and Crematory Operator Certification programs (save $50 by attending both!). You may also download a registration form.

LODGING
For those attending the PLPA and Crematory Operator Program, they can extend their stay at the Embassy Suites for Tuesday night, October 4, for a rate of $169 (Tuesday night rate).

For those attending the COCP only, a discounted rate of $129 is being offered for the night of Tuesday, October 4, at The Holiday Inn Express* (a sister property). There is a complimentary shuttle between the two hotels. The Holiday Inn is approximately one mile from the Embassy Suites.

*Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Forth Worth Downtown
1111 W. Lancaster Avenue
Fort Worth, TX 1-817-698-9595
www.holidayinnexpressfw.com

Please contact Julie Burn if you have any questions at julieb@iccfa.com.

PLPA Offers Monthly Pet Loss & Grief Webinars

As a pet care professional, being comfortable with the grief process and knowing how to walk with a pet parent after the loss of a pet and in their grief journey requires special skills. Together, the Pet Loss Professionals Alliance and Two Hearts Pet Loss Center answer your need for this learning. Enhance your skills in helping a family through the loss of their beloved pet by participating in monthly pet loss and grief webinars.

Upcoming dates:

• August 16: Pet Loss Companioning Basics
• September 20: What the Grieving Pet Parent Needs
• October 18: Marketing Your Pet Loss Services
• November 15: Various Age Segments & Pet Loss
• December 20: How to Conduct a Pet Loss Support Group

Each session will be conducted via webinar from 5 to 6 p.m. Eastern time on the dates listed above. You will be contacted closer to the date of each event with instructions on how to participate in the webinar. The sessions are RACE Approved for one (1) hour credit. COST: $39 per session/$30 per session for PLPA Members. For more information, visit www.Pet-Loss-Grief.com.

Last Call For Member Record Updates

All ICCFA members should have received a form in the mail stating all company contact information. If any details are incorrect, please scratch through them, print the correct information and return it to the ICCFA office no later than Friday, July 8. This information will be printed in the association's Buyer's Guide and Membership Directory coming out this fall. You may submit changes via fax to 703.391.8416, via e-mail to scephas@iccfa.com or by calling 1.800.645.7700.

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