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ICCFA 2007 Convention Speakers
 Dale Amundsen is the service celebrant and director of community education for Evergreen-Washelli in Seattle and Washelli at Bothell (also known as Bothell Funeral & Cremation Center in Bothell, WA). He is the former chief of chaplains for the King County Sheriff's Office, and served medical examiners, offices of emergency management and fire departments throughout the Puget Sound region. Dale has led training sessions for coroners, medical examiners, law enforcement, clergy, social workers and funeral professionals. He holds a graduate degrees from Seattle Pacific University and Fuller Theological Seminary, and he has officiated more than 2,500 funerals and memorials.
 Betty Breuhaus is a certified celebrant and author of the book "When the Sun Goes Down: A Serendipitous Guide to Planning Your Own Funeral." This book focuses on the celebratory aspects of a funeral, portraying it as the final celebration of a life, a life event or milestone, comparable to a wedding. Written in an upbeat and very readable style, the intention of the book is to get people to begin considering their own funeral. The importance of funeral homes and funeral directors is emphasized throughout. "When the Sun Goes Down" can be an important marketing tool for funeral homes in engaging potential clients in a more positive light. Betty has over 30 years of marketing experience running the company she started in 1974, the Marblehead Kite Company.
 Marty L. Byars is president of Byars Funeral Home & Cremation Services in Cumming, Georgia. A member of the funeral service profession for over 25 years, Byars has worked in every area, including cemetery, funeral homes and preneed sales. He is involved with many public and civic activities, and has served as president of the Cumming Kiwanis Club, and as a member of the Board of Directors for Keep Forsyth County Beautiful, Leathership Forsyth, and Shawnee Cultural Arts Center.
 Linda Darby-Sempsrott is manager of sales and marketing for Trigard/Greenwood Plastics in Danville, Illinois. Linda has served on various associations, including the Board of the Illinois Cemetery Association with its involvement in Legislation and Public Relations, as well as an Arizona Funeral Director's Association board member. Linda also sat on the Illinois State's Comptroller's Cemetery Advisory Board for two years, and has co-chaired the Women in Funeral Service Scholarhip Program for the ICCFA. Currently, she is a board member of the National Concrete Burial Vault Association as Marketing Chair, and is a committee person for the CANA Marketing Seminar. Linda has spoken both nationally and locally, from several national conventions and state shows to smaller area funeral homes.
 David Dassow is general/sales manager for Mount Sinai Cemetery in Phoenix, Arizona. He has sold private estates, mausoleum, cremation and ground burial, including designing all of the high-end burials at Mount Sinai. Previously, he managed sales for a combination cemetery/funeral home at Mariposa Gardens in Mesa, Arizona.
 Ross Davis is Chief Executive Officer of the Macquarie Park Cemetery & Crematorium in Sydney NSW, Australia. A member of the funeral service profession for over 27 years, he has been the Executive Secretary and consultant to various Trust Boards at Rookwood Necropolis the largest cemetery in the southern hemisphere (770 acres) in the Sydney metropolitan area. He was president of the NSW Cemeteries & Crematoria Association for six years and Chairman of the Joint Consultative Committee of Cemeteries and funeral directors. Ross is a fellow of the Australian Society of CPA's, the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia as well as an Associate Fellow of the Australasian Cemeteries & Crematoria Association. Ross has also contributed over 30 years of honorary service to disability services who provide residential and day programs for deaf/blind and multi disabled adults and was awarded an Honorary membership in Rotary International for services to the disabled.
 Shannon DeCamp is client services manager for TechneTrain, Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio. In her capacity with TechneTrain, she researches new OSHA safety issues and regulations, assesses their impact, and develops initiatives to help businesses get and stay in compliance. Prior to joining TechneTrain, Shannon worked for a Fortune 100 pharmaceutical company where she was responsible for developing drug research information systems. Her background in this area, along with other information systems consulting experience, has allowed Ms. DeCamp to effectively develop documentation and training materials that specifically target a wide variety of audiences. DeCamp has a B.S. in Computer Information Systems and a B.A. in English from the Ohio State University.
 Russell Demkovitz is an ordained deacon for the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Metuchen, New Jersey. He has extensive speaking experience as a deacon and the former mayor of his community. Russell serves on the board of directors for the New Jersey Cemetery Association, and is a former vice president of the New Jersey Cemetery Association.
 Quinn Eagan is president of Preneed Funeral Program in Metarie, Louisana. He grew up in the family funeral business that was started in 1854 and started a preneed program there. He also was a consultant and performed extensive preneed service with the two largest cremation societies in North America. In 1997, he worked with clients to develop Travel Protection Sales in excess of 150,000 contracts. Quinn developed and grew a unique "system oriented" preneed program into a national organization, which operates in 27 states and across Canada. Quinn has provided consulting services to the leading preneed insurance companies and started a preneed reinsurance company where funeral directors can share in the profits.
 John Earle, who recently started John Earle Consulting, has over 40 years of combined experience in funeral service, cemetery sales and property operations. In 1983, this former Senior Vice President at Toronto-based Arbor Memorial Services Inc. pioneered the then strictly cemetery company's foray into the funeral business. To date, the company owns 97 funeral homes with over 40 in-house reception centers, 41 cemeteries and 27 crematoriums across Canada. John's passionate results-driven attitiude has been at the forefront of Arbor's growth. In addition to his varied experience within the industry John draws from an education in Marketing and Business Management from the University of Western Ontario, London, and the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg. John has been a featured speaker at numerous conferences and educational seminars both in Canada and the United States. Visionary and innovative, he brings practical solutions you can see to current business needs. He specializes in revenue and profit enhancement, hiring, coaching and improving funeral operations, and he is recognized as a North American authority in developing reception, food and beverage centers.
 Coleen Ellis is president of the Pet Angel Memorial Center in Carmel, Indiana, the first stand-alone pet funeral home in the United States, on track to handle 500 calls in its first year, without significant veterinarian endorsement. Ellis formerly worked for Forethought Financial Services.
 Robert A. Gordon Sr., CCFE, is managing director for Eternal Hills Memorial Gardens and Funeral Home in Klamath Falls, Oregon. He is a former ICCFA president, former dean of ICCFA University's graduate program and a past chancellor of ICCFA University. He has spoken at numerous ICCFA events.
Marilyn Jones Gould is co-founder and president of MKJ Marketing in Largo, Florida, the leading management and consulting firm serving the funeral profession in areas of advertising, market research, public relations, and training seminars. With twenty years experience in funeral service, Marilyn has evolved as one of the industry's best known and most popular convention speakers and seminar trainers. She applies her counseling, communication skills and industry knowledge to the areas of professional sales training, cremation counseling, and customer service. She holds a Masters Degree in Communication from Purdue University and is Past President of the Tampa Bay Advertising Federation. Marilyn is a trustee of the National Foundation of Funeral Service and was recently recognized by CANA and ICCFA for advertising awards on behalf of MKJ clients.
 Robin Heppell, CFSP, is founder of Heppell Funeral Planning Ltd., in Victoria, British Columbia. A native Victorian with a four generation family legacy in the funeral profession, Robin M. Heppell is a licensed funeral director and an independent funeral consultant. Robin began his career at McCall Bros. Funeral Directors in 1986. He completed his education and became a funeral director and eventually the pre-arrangement consultant for McCall Bros. Robin started Heppell Funeral Planning Ltd. in 1998 and operates as an independent funeral consultant.
 Thomas B. Holland, Ph.D, vice president of sales for Assurant Preneed, is responsible for development and implementation of sales, marketing and training programs throughout Canada and the United States. Formerly, Tom worked for The Liberty Corporation as director of training and national accounts development. He has held positions as agent, account executive, sales manager, district manager, regional training director, regional sales director, director of conservation and training director - field development. Tom is a certified pre-planning consultant and has held life and health insurance licenses in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri and Illinois. Before joining the insurance industry, Tom spent five years with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
 Dan Isard is a consultant to more than 1,000 funeral homes and 300 cemeteries on all aspects of operations. He has managed more than 20 funeral homes and 10 cemeteries, including their advance sales. For 11 years, he published Preneed Perspective, an informational magazine on the aspects of preneed. He has addressed this industry over 200 times, including conventions and meeting sponsored by more than 40 different industry organizations, including the ICCFA.
Jeff Johnson has over 25 years sales experience and currently is Regional Director of Sales for Carrier Mausoleum Construction, where he has been responsible for developing new clients across North America for almost 10 years in the mausoleum & columbarium industry. Jeff speaks on a regular basis to Cemetery Boards. Presented a cremation education seminar at the ICFA Nashville Edition and has performed several Regional, Provincial and State Associations Seminars and soon to be presenting at the upcoming ICCFA annual conference in Las Vegas. Jeff recently finished an on site sales program with one of his clients to better understand today's consumers needs and expectations. He also specializes in working with our industry to create and market new internment alternatives to meet the ever changing trends within our industry.
 Dave Jones is vice president of Sales and Marketing for the Bronze Division of Matthews International Corporation, Pittsburgh, PA. In this position, he is in charge of sales, marketing, customer satisfaction and product design and development. Prior to joining Matthews, Dave served in the chemical industry for 13 years, ten of those years with Proctor & Gamble's Industrial Chemicals Division. He has a BA in Chemistry from Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, PA, and a Masters Degree in Management from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA. Dave has been with Matthews since 1993 and is a frequent speaker on topics related to sales and marketing.
 Dan Katz is president of Dan Katz Inc. in Northridge, California. He was one of the founders of PKPF (formerly Potter/Katz) and the originator of that agency's fresh approach to deathcare advertising. An award-winning copywriter and creative director for more than 30 years, Katz began developing unusual and provocative deathcare advertising campaigns in 1994. His groundbreaking work immediately garnered the attention of deathcare providers around the country. He has worked with such prominent companies as Mount Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuaries, Green Hills Memorial Park, Huber-Moore Funeral Homes, The Neptune Society and Stewart Enterprises, and many others. Mr. Katz has been a frequent speaker at deathcare conventions and seminars and has contributed articles to industry publications. He is known for his expertise in reaching the "50+ Baby Boomer," which he considers the primary market for funeral service providers. As a pilot and airplane owner, Mr. Katz is also licensed as a cremated remains disposer, and his company Airway to Heaven is quickly becoming Southern California's busiest aerial ash scattering service.
 Henry Keizer is the Secretary-General of the International Cremation Federation (ICF).
The ICF was founded in 1937 and has Roster status with the United Nations.
Henry Keizer serves as President & Chief Executive Officer of 'the Facultatieve Group'. This Dutch group has several international subsidiaries, active in the management of six crematoria, two cemeteries, an insurance company, a software company, a publishing house and communication advise. Keizer is a (non-) executive board member of a number of international organizations, both inside and outside the death care industry.
He was awarded the Medal of Merit by the Czech Cremation Society and was given the title of Honorary Vice President by the Institute of Cemetery and Cremation Management in the U.K.
 Rick Kelner is the president of aegis in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company offers a complete monument system, encompassing all aspects of selling of memorial products. The aegis application eliminates the headaches associated with selling memorials while providing higher satisfaction for the family and greater rewards for the counselor or funeral director. The company is an International Order of the Golden Rule Golden Services Supplier of monuments and monument services. Along with his more than 20 years of sales experience, which includes a wide variety of tangible and intangible products, Rick also brings a unique perspective to the industry by virtue of having led an investment banking concern working with businesses ranging from general manufacturing to selling monuments.
 Pam Kleese is senior marketing analyst for Homesteaders Life Company in West Des Moines, Iowa. She began her professional career at Gateway and most recently worked as a senior marketing research analyst at Maytag Corporation. She presented at the Ohio Funeral Directors Association convention in 2006.
Mark Klingenberger has been business development manager for Wilbert Funeral Services Incorporated since July 2005, working with a network of licensees to help train salespeople at both funeral homes and cemeteries throughout the United States and Canada. Prior to joining Wilbert, he was general manager of Estate Security General Agency and Premier Preneed General Agency.
 Chris Kuhnen is director of marketing for The Outlook Group in Franklin, Ohio, where he provides comprehensive consultation and support to funeral directors nationwide to help them coordinate and develop their funeral prearrangement advertising, marketing, image, sales and public relations strategies. He is a licensed funeral director and insurance agent; he has earned his Certified Preplanning Consultant designation from the Funeral Service Foundation and his Certified Marketing Specialist designation from the National Marketing Academy.
 Tim Lancaster, CCFE, is executive vice president for Eternal Hills Memorial Gardens and Funeral Home in Klamath Falls, Oregon. He has been a speaker and professor at ICCFA U for over 12 years and a member of the ICCFA Sales & Marketing Committee.
 Steve Lang is founder of Global Recruiters of Batesville in Batesville, Indiana. Prior to that, he spent 19 years with Forethought Financial Services, Inc. In 1987, He helped manage the start-up of this new financial services company, leading it to become the 88th largest life insurance group in the United States. Steve was named President and CEO in June 2001. He also served as President of three life insurance companies and a federal savings and loan. In addition, Mr. Lang served as a member of the Board of Directors. Steve also served as a corporate Vice President for Hillenbrand Industries, a Fortune 1000 diversified manufacturing enterprise until July, 2004. Steve spent 10 years as a human resource management professional, holding positions of increasing responsibility with Amoco Corporation, Superior Oil Company, Schlumberger and Tenneco. His achievements included extensive professional and managerial recruiting, management of compensation and performance systems, organization development, employee development, and client support and management consultation.
 Harvey Lapin is an Attorney from Northbrook, Illinois. He specializes in the Mortuary, Crematory, Cemetery, Tax and Corporation legal areas. He is the General Counsel to the Illinois Cemetery and Funeral Home Association and has provided legal services to numerous other state, local and national associations in the industry. He was the General Counsel of the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) for over 30 years. He presently is special cremation counsel to the International Funeral and Cemetery Association. He drafted the CANA Model Cremation Law that has become the standard for the cremation legislation enacted in many states. He has been the primary draftsman or assisted in the drafting of industry related legislation in 37 states.
Lapin is a frequent speaker at industry meetings and has written numerous articles on the subject of cremation, cemetery and funeral law. He presently is the primary writer for the "Cemetery and Funeral Service Business and Legal Guide" published by CB Legal Publishing Company in Northbrook, Illinois.
Mike Leaf is sales and projects manager for Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio. He has 16 years of experience in cemetery sales, seven as sales manager. Prior to joining Gate of Heaven, he worked at Rest Haven Memorial Park, Cincinnati. He manages two inside sales staff and five outside independent counselors.
 Thomas Lynch is a writer and a funeral director. He owns and operates the firm of Lynch & Sons in Milford, Michigan. His award-winning books include The Undertaking, Bodies in Motion and at Rest, Booking Passage and Still Life in Milford. Thomas Lynch has written for Time and Newsweek, Harper's and The New Yorker, Oprah and the AARP Magazine. His regularly appears in The Christian Century, The U.S. Catholic, Beliefnet.com and major newspapers. His work has been broadcast by NPR, the BBC and RTE Radio in Ireland and he has appeared on the Today Show, PBS's Religion and Ethics Newsweekly and the Bill Moyers series, On Our Own Terms. He is an internationally renowned speaker and an adjunct professor of writing with the Graduate Department of English at the University of Michigan. He also serves on the Michigan Board of Examiners in Mortuary Science.
 Dan Morris is a partner in the San Jose CPA firm of Morris & D'Angelo, and a founder of the VeraSage Institute, a think tank dedicated to promulgating and teaching Value Pricing to professionals and businesses around the world. As a frequent speaker at seminars and conferences, and a consultant to professional service firms and businesses on implementing Total Quality Service and Value Pricing, his work takes him around the world. He has been an instructor with the California CPA Education Foundation since 1998 and has authored five courses for them. Dan's business consulting has included members of the Fortune 50 along with several members of the S&P 500 and top NASDAQ listed companies. Dan is active with the California Society of CPAs, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Professional Pricing Society.
 Don Murphy became the Chief of Operations of the National Cemetery Administration's (NCA) Memorial Programs Service (MPS) on March 19, 2006. He oversees the day to day operations of NCA's Headstone & Marker and Presidential Memorial Certificate Programs. Prior to his current appointment, he served as the staff assistant to the director of MPS. Mr. Murphy began his career with the Department of Veterans Affairs in May 1992. He served nine years in the U.S. Army and is a native of Kentucky. He has spoke at various conferences throughout the US on NCA Burial and Memorial programs available for our Nation's veterans.
 Marie Neel is vice president of Historic Riverside Cemetery Foundation in Macon, Georgia. She has more than 15 years experience in non profit work that has focused on grant writing, education, marketing and fundraising/endowments.
 Marla Noel, CPA, is President and Board Member of Fairhaven Memorial Park and Mortuary in Santa Ana, California. The firm serves approximately 1,250 families a year from two locations. They recently opened two new facilities to serve broader markets. Marla has an MBA from Chapman University and her CPA license. She also holds a Cemetery Brokers License and a Cemetery Managers License. Marla has served as President for the Rotary Club of Santa Ana and the Saddleback Sunrise Toastmaster Club. She initiated the first Mortuary Explorer’s Club in the United States and takes an opportunity in working with the students to emphasize the importance of continuing their education.
 Dave Norton, Ph.D., principal of Stone Mantel, is internationally recognized as the cutting-edge thinker on what makes brand experiences meaningful. He has spoken to thousands of people nationally and internationally. He has lectured at Harvard, Columbia Business School and at FORTUNE magazine's annual summits. His seminar series, Strategies for Creating Meaningful Brand Experiences has been praised by attendees from companies like Microsoft, Royal Caribbean International, Kraft, and Disney.
Dave's research capabilities have been embraced by entities as diverse as FORTUNE 500 Internet businesses, small countries, and multibillion dollar consumer goods companies. Numerous household brand companies have engaged him for ethnographic research, or have brought him in for team consulting. Stone Mantel, the company he founded, is an insights agency focused on finding the marketing experiences that matter most to customers. The organization helps companies identify the marketing and innovation strategies to create meaning brand experiences.
 Gary O'Sullivan, CCE, is president of the Gary O'Sullivan Company in Greenville, South Carolina, a consulting firm specializing in the cemetery and funeral profession. Gary is also a nationally recognized speaker, trainer, and author. From entering sales at the age of eighteen and selling door-to-door for family-owned businesses to a senior vice president for a publicly traded company, Gary has experienced most every aspect of the business environment. This exposure has granted him an inimitable knowledge base which allows him to be effective at all levels in an organization. In his consulting practice Gary works with private businesses from coast to coast. He helps organizations enhance their sales performance, improve customer service, and strengthen internal communication. With over thirty years of experience in the cemetery, funeral, and memorialization profession, Gary has been associated with some of the top firms and organizations across the nation. He has also, appeared on the speaking platforms with some of the top sales, marketing, and motivational experts both in and out of our profession.
 Frank Rosenacker owns and opersates Rosenacker & Associates Inc., in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company is an international consulting firm offering a wide range of services including business appraisals and evaluations, succession and estate planning, management and employee issues, legal services, buy/sells and law suit representation. Rosenacker is a fourth generation licensed funeral director/embalmer and serves as the secretary of his family funeral home corporation. He is also a practicing Attorney specializing in all areas of estate planning, probate, and corporate-business matters.
He has lectured extensively on the national, state and local levels. He also conducts forums on current issues in funeral service. Previously, Rosenacker was President and General Counsel of Trust 100, and has served on the faculty of Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science. He has written numerous articles on Mortuary Law for legal publications.
 MaryAnne Scheuble is a sales representative for Cressy Memorial Group, a company which markets cremation and memorial products. She has been a self-employed business owner for five years and has three years of experience as a sales manager in the funeral industry. Her background in teaching plus her many years in sales helps her to be an effective sales trainer. She devised a national training program for Howard Miller to increase urn sales and has written articles for trade publications as well as having been a presenter at OFDA two years in a row.
Gerard Schoen is general manager for Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home & Cemeteries in Matairie, Louisiana.
 Wang Ji Sheng is general manager of Shanghai Fu Shou Yuan Industrial Development Co., Qingpu Area, Shanghai, China. He is also the director of the China Funeral and Cemetery Association and the president of the China Cemetery Committee for the China Funeral and Cemetery Association.
Jon Shults is vice president and general manager of the largest combo location of the Buchanan Group in Indianapolis, Indiana. He has more than 18 years of experience in cemetery operations, sales management, marketing and advertising. He performs as a guest speaker at industry seminars, and many social and fraternal organizations promoting the concepts of our vision in total family service and care. Jon was a stuntman in motion pictures and television for many years, appearing in movies such as "Born on the Fourth of July" and "Robocop," as well as the television series "Dallas" and "Walker Texas Ranger."
 Susan Spadafora is a sales representative for Mutual Distribution Systems. Initially employed in a public relations capacity for a Fortune 500 company, Susan Spadaofora will share her marketing expertise. She has helped to grow a family business from a fledgling company into a solid performer and will share her marketing and creative presentation ideas. Susan has been a speaker at state conventions and has co-written articles for trade publications. Understanding trends and knowing how to use them to your advantage will be part of her presentation.
Paul Seyler is president of Competitive Resources, Inc., a marketing firm with core strengths in researchy, strategy development, brand management and creative services. The firm specializes in understanding customer buying decisions and creating the tools to influence them. Prior to forming Competitive Resources, Paul spent 10 years in marketing and strategic planning with firms in real estate and financial services.
John Vickers is manager for Verrette and Dornan Funeral Home in Chalmette, Louisiana.
John D. Warren is vice president of Kenyon International Emergency Services, the worlds leading provider of disaster management services.
 Melissa Johnson Williams, CFSP, is an embalmer and restorative artist and founder of the American Society of Embalmers, Chicago, Illinois. Johnson Williams is a licensed funeral director and embalmer with over 30 years practical experience. She is a graduate of Governors State University in Illinois and Worsham College of Mortuary Science. Johnson Williams has published over 75 articles in trade publications, as well as medical journals and is the editor of the International Shipping Section in the Blue Book. She contributed several new chapters to the 3rd revised edition of Embalming: History, Theory, and Practice and was also a chapter contributor to the new Textbook of Thanatology. Johnson Williams serves on the Ethical Practice Committee of the Illinois Funeral Directors Association and sits on the boards of the Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice and the Funeral Director Services Association of Greater Chicago. She is acting secretary of the Funeral Ethics Organization, a member of the Cook County Medical Examiners Disaster Response Team and a member of the Autopsy Committee of the Institute of Medicine of Chicago. Johnson Williams is the founder and executive director of the Midwest Forensic and Mortuary Support Foundation and a co-founder of the American Society of Embalmers.
 Justin Zabor is a funeral director at The Zabor Funeral Home in Parma, Ohio, a business founded by his grandfather, Charles L. Zabor, a past president of the Ohio Funeral Director's Association. He is a licensed insurance agent and holds a bachelor of science in organizational communication and business management from Ohio University. Justin also is president of Justin Zabor Enterprises, a professional speaking firm specializing in programs for the funeral profession. He has entered speech competitions since a very young age and has won 130 individual awards, including three state championships and two national titles. He is a professional actor and model for television, radio and print.
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