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.

Joe, Julie and I have had a lot of fun exhibiting this week at the Ohio Funeral Directors Convention. I could regale you with stories of the speakers we've listened to, folks we've met, members we've hung out with, etc., but I'm going to skip to the silly stuff: Tony and Tina's Wedding, the OFDA banquet entertainment troupe.

If you haven't seen this interactive dinner theater show, be sure to check it out when it comes to your town.

Here's Joe with the wedding planner himself. If this guy ever decides to start doing funerals, he's gonna have a certain demographic cornered. Just sayin'.

Here's our good friend, Frank Rosenacker enjoying a dollar dance with the lovely bride herself.

And here are two of our tablemates, Diane and Susan from National Mortuary Shipping. I only wish they could've loosened up a bit and enjoyed themselves....

Exhibiting at the Ohio Funeral Directors Association 129th Convention has been a great time, because the people have been fantastic and there are just so darn many of them here. Traffic at our booth today was fantastic - we gave away hundreds of pieces of literature and are going to run out of much of it.

It has also been rewarding to be at a trade show and actually have time to talk with attendees and exhibitors. Typically, at the ICCFA shows, if I even get a change to look at you it would be considered meaningful social interaction between us. Here, it's absolutely heavenly to be able to converse at length without having to be somewhere in 45 seconds.

As a side note, my wife Linda and I were talking about how running a Convention and attending a Convention are so utterly different.

I noted: "Running a Convention is more like washing a boat than it is like attending a Convention."

She responded: "And attending a Convention is more like riding on a boat, than it is like running a Convention."

Among the many great people we've gotten to hang out with are OFDA Secretary (actually Treasurer by the time you read this) John Evans (l), here with Lincoln Heritage guys Chuck and Joe (will get last names tomorrow - sorry, I should be more observant of the people in the booth next to ours!)

Wilbert had a "Harley" themed booth with the obligatory biker chicks as decor.

Official Friends of ICCFA (l - r): Poul Lemasters, Larry Stuart, Mark Pennington

I just met Richard Steele of Eckels, and he told me that our show last month in Vegas was as good a Convention as he has ever attended in his life, and that he would be buying double the booth space at our Convention next year in San Antonio. That, my friends, is how you get your photograph on the front page of Joe's blog.

Here's the lovely Linda at the ICCFA Booth, from whence we gave away piles of paper and handfuls of chocolate. Judging by how much we have left I estimate we got to make contact with over 220 people so far. Tomorrow the attendee traffic is supposed to be slower so we will have a few hours to spend visiting with all the other exhibitors.

All I can say is - GREAT JOB OFDA. You guys really know how to put on a Convention, and your attendees really do take advantage of the opportunity to visit the booths.

Tom Routsong was born to ride a motorcyle with that plate on the back.

Tonight's pre-event reception for early attendees of the Ohio Funeral Directors Association 129th Convention was held at the magnificent A.D. Farrow Harley-Davidson dealership outside Columbus, Ohio (and generously hosted by A.D. Farrow, the oldest continually operating Harley dealership in the world). And even though Tom rides a Honda, he was definitely among the cooler folks in attendance because the vast majority of the rest of us travel strictly in vehicles with windows.

Linda and I got to meet a bunch of the OFDA leadership and staff, along with many other great folks from all around Ohio.

President-elect and Program Chair Tom Fleming is an avid Harley fan - thus the Convention theme "Life is short .. Enjoy the ride!" - and while I likely will continue to require those two extra wheels for personal transportation needs, I have to thank Tom for the opportunity to hang out around dozens of spectacular machines.

The evening actually began with a trip to the American Motorcycle Association Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum.

Photo above is OFDA Treasurer Terry Reardon, President-elect Tom Fleming, and an Arlen Ness cycle that costs more than your average college education.

Steve Jenkins and Linda Budzinski in front of another Ness creation: Two Bad, the Most Impractical Motorcycle Ever. Another look here. But what do I know, I'm a seat-belt guy.

Definitely a rousing start to Convention week! Looking forward to the kick off tomorrow and hanging out at the ICCFA booth and spending time with the whole Ohio crowd over the next few days.