Linda and I had a fantastic time at the Ohio Funeral Directors 130th Convention. The booth traffic was constant almost throughout the entire three days. After last year's exhibiting schedule and the concomitant inconveniences of business travel this year is going to be quieter on that front, but the OFDA Convention is truly an expo not to be missed.

Thanks to the staff and officers of OFDA for putting on such a successful event for the exhibitors.

Below, ICCFA's Julie Burn was faced with a travel predicament when a ride did not materialize - but at a Convention for funeral directors a resourceful gal can find herself a ride. She drove off in a hearse. What a life.

It was a great though somewhat exhausting time exhibiting at the NFDA Convention in Boston this week. The turnout in the Expo Hall was terrific - we got to meet a ton of new people - and the NFDA staff and officers I met were extremely gracious and welcoming.

Special thanks to my booth-mates Julie Burn (ICCFA Director of Cremation Services), Nancy Lohman (ICCFA VP and 2010 Convention Program Chair), Fred Lappin (ICCFA VP) and Alan MacKinnon (longtime ICCFA friend and ICCFAU graduate). It was a wonderful team effort all three days.

Traffic at our booth was almost nonstop. Above are Nancy Lohman (r) and Paula Staab Polk, who is chairing the Event Planning track of The Next Step program.

Nancy with PLPA Chair Coleen Ellis (heading up the PLPA Conference being held in conjunction with The Next Step program)

Julie Burn with ICCFA member Richard Tetrick, President of Tetrick Funeral and Cremation Services.

We gained a lot of new friends and acquaintances among the attendees and exhibitors which was wonderful, and I also appear to have gained a broken toe which was slightly less wonderful and hampered my mobility the final day - however I did get out this morning to walk around the block of my hotel. Above is the Old South Meeting House, where Benjamin Franklin was baptized and where the Boston Tea Party plot was hatched. Seems like an appopriate image for the current era for reasons I can't quite put my finger on.

This is the gravestone of Mary Goose, died 1690, erroneously called the true "Mother Goose."

And with the click of a button, voila, each day of my trip is now fully tax deductible.

Tomb of Paul Revere in the Granary Burying Yard. Very cool.

Now to quickly pack and leave for the airport. Each time I exhibit at one of these trade shows I gain a newfound respect for our exhibitors and all they go through. It would be hard to do this as a career.

We are at the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Convention. Great group of people.

Here are ICCFA's Linda B. and Julie B.

Our booth neighbors, Dan and Anita

In keeping with the rigors of our busy year, ICCFA was well-represented at the Arizona Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ACCFA) Annual Convention last week in Scottsdale, Arizona.

This time up: President Gregg Williamson and Director of Cremation Services Julie Burn were our ambassadors to this great state organization (which I hear is in the process of a merger with the Arizona Funeral Directors Association).

Thanks to the ACCFA for the warm welcome.

Bill Addison thanks Gary Brown for his service as ACCFA President. The plaque (provided by Matthews International) was given to Gary in appreciation for his role as president of the association. Gary has agreed to continue as acting president while the merger with the Arizona Funeral Directors Association is worked out.

ICCFA President Gregg Williamson and ICCFA Director of Cremation Services Julie Burn at the ICCFA Booth during the ACCFA 2009 Annual Convention.

Julie reported the ACCFA had a fantastic Convention, which is no surprise as it's one of the state organizations with stellar leadership.

Looking ahead, Julie (along with our VP of Membership Nancy Lohman and Allied Industry Chair Allen Dave) is in Texas for the Texas FDA Convention this week. Next week Linda and I will be at the Virginia FDA Convention in Roanoke and the following week at the Kentucky FDA Convention in Louisville. In July Bob Fells will be at the Florida combined meeting of the FCFCA and FFDA in Naples, Florida. In August Allen will be at NFDMA in Detroit. That is just skimming the surface because there are quite a few more before the "Convention season" is over for 2009. In fact, if there are any industry Conventions or Conferences ICCFA is not already scheduled to be at it is solely because we haven't managed to set it up yet or because it is logistically impossible. Getting out in public more has been a wonderfully rewarding experience we plan to build on going forward.

Nothing beats meeting people in person when it comes to learning about what is really going on in our profession.

A number of ICCFA representatives participated in the American Board of Funeral Service Education (ABFSE) meeting in Springfield, Illinois, this week. The meeting, which just ended a couple hours ago, was a great learning experience, providing invaluable information about how we can best develop our educational programs going forward. It was also a chance to meet a bunch of great people and reconnect with some we had not seen in a while.

I will try to get some more photos posted later in the week. These are just a couple taken by our VP of Membership, Nancy Lohman.

Allen Dave, Mark Krause, Nancy Lohman, Julie Burn, Joe Budzinski at Lincoln's Tomb in Springfield, IL

ICCFA Immediate Past President Mark Krause and NFDA Treasurer Pat Lynch at Lincoln's Tomb

Julie A. Burn, CCrE, CSE, is ICCFA director of cremation services, leading the association's cremation-related programs and training. Prior to joining the ICCFA in December 2008, she was cremation services manager for Wilbert Funeral Services Inc. She worked at Wilbert from 1991 to 2008, starting out as manager of funeral service communications before being promoted to a regional manager position in 1996 and to the cremation services manager position in 2000. 

Julie is a professor at the ICCFA University College of Cremation Services and is chair of the ICCFA Personalization Committee, which administers the prestigious KIP (Keeping It Personal) Awards program. She has served as supplier liaison to the board of directors of the Cremation Association of North America and as a member of the National Concrete Burial Vault Association's Marketing Committee.

She holds the designations of Certified Cremation Executive (CCrE) and Certified Supplier Executive (CSE)  from the ICCFA, and she has received a Certified Celebrant designation from the ICCFA and the In-Sight Institute.

Poul Lemasters, Esq., is an attorney with Lemasters Consulting, a funeral profession consulting company. He serves as a special counsel to the ICCFA on cremation legal issues.

Poul holds funeral director's and embalmer's licenses in Ohio and West Virginia, and he teaches business law at the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science (CCMS). He formerly served as corporate counsel for the Alderwoods Group.

Poul graduated from CCMS in 1996 and from Northern Kentucky University's Chase College of Law in 2003. He is a member of the ICCFA Government & Legal Affairs Committee.

Ron Salvatore has been with Matthews Cremation Division consisting of Industrial Equipment & Engineering, ALL Crematory and Elder Davis Caskets for more than 20 years.

Ron is a certified crematory operator trainer and has trained more than 2,000 crematory personnel in the proper operation and maintenance of cremation equipment, exposure control and proper recordkeeping. He has published numerous cremation-related articles and writes a monthly column for Funeral Home and Cemetery News (published by Nomis Publications) entitled "Cremation Issues and Answers."

He has held a number of sales management positions and works closely with Matthews' engineering department on new product development, environmental permitting and various environmental issues.

Larry Stuart Jr. is President of Crematory Manufacturing & Service, Inc., a leading manufacturer of technologically advanced cremation equipment. Larry also is a graduate of Kent State University and currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Cremation Association of North America as the Supplier Liaison. Throughout his experience Larry has seen first hand the negative impact that poor crematory maintenance and improper operating procedures can bring about. Larry has spoken at numerous industry events and has conducted Crematory Operator Training classes across North America with a mission to advance the safety of cremation facilities and their employees and to more positively impact our community and our environment.

(A more casual photo is here)

Julie was, among other things, our lead interviewer for the "man on the street" video recordings of Conference attendees at the Wide World of Sales. A number of us on the staff are already very familiar with Julie because of her committee work (particularly chair of the KIP Awards) and as a speaker at ICCFA meetings, but it was a great experience to spend an extended time with her. I think I speak for the rest of the gang in saying the chemistry is excellent. Welcome aboard, Julie!