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ICFA Fall Management Conference
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
October 19 - 22, 2005
Kapalua Bay Hotel
Maui, Hawaii
Program Co-Chairs:
Vinnie Faccinto, CCFE &
Christine Toson-Hentges, CCE
Download the Registration Form
Download the Hotel Reservation Form
Program Schedule
CEO Network Program Details
Kapalua Bay Hotel
Spouse/Guest Program
Maui Attractions
2005 Fall Management Conference Sponsors
Aloha! This year's Fall Management Conference provides a unique program format: The early part of each day is open for you to enjoy the many excellent recreational activities at the Kapalua Resort and on the island of Maui. Then, the day's Educational General Sessions will begin mid-afternoon and continue until 6:00 p.m., at which time you'll enjoy an evening reception with friends and colleagues prior to setting out for dinner and other nighttime activities. This schedule allows you to take full advantage of your time on Maui, using the choice recreational hours for fun and relaxation.
Also new this year is a CEO Network program, which is similar to an executive retreat. It is available exclusively to company owners, presidents and chief executives and is open only to the first 36 attendees to sign up. Never has there been a better way to connect with your peers on both a personal and a professional level. As a CEO Network attendee, you'll enjoy a breakfast or lunch each day featuring presentations by three of our industry's most accomplished professionals, and then participate in roundtable discussions in which you and your colleagues will share your "trials and triumphs." If you wish to include the CEO Network golf option as part of your registration, you can also enjoy pre-arranged golf foursomes with your fellow CEO Network participants. (See below for more details and download the registration form for prices.) Questions? Call the ICFA at 1-800-645-7700
Program Schedule
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Welcome Reception
Thursday, October 20, 2005
7:30 - 9:30 a.m.
CEO Network Breakfast
See speakers and topics below.
10:00 a.m.
CEO Network Golf Foursomes
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Spouse/Guest Program:
Lunch and Shopping ... with the First Lady and a Kumu!
Join Vivian Frew, wife of ICFA President Ray Frew, for this luncheon and shopping trip.
A Hawaiian elder, called a "Kumu," will greet you with a fragrant lei as you board the bus. Then, as you travel to the elegant Shops at Wailea, the Kumu will serve as host and tour guide, relating captivating tales of the history and mystery of Maui and its people.
When you arrive, you'll have the morning free to browse the Shops at Wailea -- more than 60 stores and restaurants set in an award-winning Hawaiian architectural styling, with soothing fountains and pools and a spectacular courtyard surrounded by colorful tropical landscaping. The Shops at Wailea offers something for everyone, whether you are looking to splurge at upscale stores such as Cartier, Gucci and Prada, stock up on the latest fashions at classic shops such as The Gap, Banana Republic and Serendipity, or pick out the perfect island gifts at local boutiques such as the Honolua Elua, Na Hohu and the Honolulu Coffee Company.
Before heading back to the resort, you'll dine at Tommy Bahama's Tropical Cafe, where you can't help but embrace "the island state of mind" while enjoying a dining experience like no other.
3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Effective Strategies to Recruit, Retain, Reward and Retire Key Leaders
J. Daniel Vogelzang
Dan Vogelzang will offer techniques you can use to "lock in" and reward top management, sales, executives and directors at your organization, including supplemental retirement benefit and deferred compensation arrangements, as well as other benefit packages such as comprehensive disability, long-term care and life insurance programs.
Dan Vogelzang is president of M Advisory Group in Torrance, California, where he has built his expertise as an insurance consultant specializing in benefit plan design for entrepreneurs and executives. Known for his cutting-edge ideas, Dan provides business owners and their advisors with tax-efficient strategies to recruit top talent and retain, reward and retire key company game-breakers. He is a published author and has written several articles for CPA journals and other magazines on qualified retirement plan enhancements and innovative techniques companies can use to provide supplemental non-qualified benefits to their executive and management teams.
4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
The Succession Legacy
Dean R. Fowler, Ph.D.
Too often, CEOs design succession plans primarily to achieve estate tax planning goals, without enough consideration for the strategic needs of their businesses and their own personal needs for a lasting legacy. This presentation provides a framework for building on the personal goals and aspirations of the CEO and the need to create a strong management succession plan for the business. From this position of strength, tax planning may follow to support a successful transition in your privately held or family-owned business.
Dean Fowler is president of Dean Fowler Associates Inc. in Brookfield, Wisconsin. He is recognized as one of the world's leading experts specializing in the emotional dynamics that impact family members, managers and shareholders in family enterprises. His book, "Love, Power and Money," has won worldwide acclaim as one of the best books on integrated family enterprise planning. The Family Firm Institute recently honored Dean with its prestigious Award for Interdisciplinary Achievement.
5:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Panel Discussion: Bringing Up the Next Generation
A panel of top CEOs from within the cemetery and funeral service profession will discuss their experiences developing staff into top performers, including how to identify and nurture tomorrow's leaders.
6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Networking Reception
Friday, October 21, 2005
7:00 a.m.
ICFA Fall Management Golf Tournament
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
CEO Network Luncheon Roundtables
See speakers and topics below.
3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Legal & Legislative Session
ICFA's Government & Legal Affairs Committee will provide in-depth reports on the latest laws, court rulings and regulations to affect our businesses, as well as a heads up on potential actions coming down the pike.
4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Bringing in New Business Ideas
Quinn Eagan and Ken Varner
We've all heard the adage, "If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you've always gotten."
If only that were true for cemeteries and funeral homes! What we'd "always gotten" was steady business from a consumer base that saw value in what we offered. No, if our companies were to keep doing what we've always done, we'd slowly but surely lose business to direct or indirect competitors with more personal, relevant product and service offerings.
In this panel discussion, you'll hear from executives in our profession who have brought in untraditional business ideas to better meet consumers' needs.
Quinn Eagan, president of Preneed Funeral Program in New Orleans, Louisiana, will share a new way to change the product-based funeral into an experience-based event. Eagan's program adds value to the funeral experience through an audio/video innovation that captures the stories and memories of all who attend the service. It allows everyone to participate in remembering the deceased, promotes a desire and need to attend the service and refocuses the event on a positive basis.
Ken Varner, president of Cypress Lawn Cemetery and Funeral Home in Colma, California, has held executive positions both with independent and corporate-owned businesses within this profession, in addition to his experience as a certified public accountant. He will reveal how he has brought his varied experiences to bear on his company, engineering a complete turnaround designed to take the company to its full potential. Less than 10 years ago, Cypress Lawn generated $3.9 million in gross annual revenue with close to a $1 million dollar loss from operations; in 2005, the company is on track to do $25 million and generate a net operating margin twice its 1996 sales. How did they do it? By bringing in outside business ideas!
5:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Panel Discussion: Inside Looking Out
A panel of top CEOs from within the cemetery and funeral profession will discuss their successes in adopting and adapting "outside" business principles and out-of-the-box programs and services within their companies.
6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Networking Reception
Saturday, October 22, 2005
7:30 - 9:30 a.m.
CEO Network Breakfast
See speakers and topics below.
10:00 a.m.
CEO Network Golf Foursomes
3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Diversifying Your Business
Mark Krause, CFuE
Business plans and strategies are constantly evolving and so are our markets. Mark will discuss examples of how his company has used service differentiation and diversification as a way to deal with competition and how he has created an internal culture of change in his company. Hear how Mark set up a low-cost discount operation that competes with his own traditional funeral operation without fear of cannibalization and service conflicts. Listen to his firsthand account of how his company's analysis and interpretation of the Wirthin Report has led to the dismantling of its casket selection room in favor of a reception center.
Mark Krause, CFuE, is president of Krause Funeral Homes & Cremation Service and Informed Choice Funeral & Cremation Options in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A member of the cemetery, funeral service and memorialization profession for more than 20 years, heis vice president of the ICFA's Educational Steering Committee and a former vice president of the ICFA Products and Services Steering Committee. He also has served on the Board of Directors and is a member of the Sales & Marketing Committee. Mark is president of Preferred Funeral Directors International and is a past president of the Funeral Service Alliance of Wisconsin.
4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Both Sides of the Fence:
Insiders' Views on Independent Ownership vs. Corporate Affiliation
Kevin Daniels, CCE, and Vinnie Faccinto, CCFE
Independent vs. corporate-owned: Want to know what life is like on the other side of the fence? In this unprecedented panel discussion, cemetery and funeral service executives who have experience with both independent ownership and corporate affiliation will share their views on the advantages and disadvantages of operating within each model, as well as the lessons each can take from the other. Is the grass really greener over there? Get an honest appraisal from both sides and decide for yourself!
Kevin Daniels, CCE, is president of The Daniels Company in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. He is a former vice president of operations for Service Corporation International and regional manager for Gibraltar Mausoleum Corporation. A member of the ICFA since 1983, he is currently vice president of the Membership Steering Committee. He has served on the ICFA's Board of Directors and as a member of the Sales & Marketing Committee, and he is a former dean and professor of the ICFA University. Kevin is a past president of the Florida Cemetery Association and has served on the board of directors of the Texas Cemetery Association.
Vinnie Faccinto, CCFE, is owner of Crest Lawn Funeral Home, Memorial Cemetery & Mausoleums in Cookeville, Tennessee. He is a former assistant vice president of sales with SCI and the former senior vice president of sales for SCI's Southeast Region. In January 2002, Vinnie struck out on his own, purchasing two cemeteries and starting a new funeral home in Tennessee. In addition, he became president of Generations Management, a consulting firm that provides management and sales leadership services to cemeteries and funeral homes. He is a member of the ICFA Board of Directors and is a co-chair of the 2005 ICFA Fall Management Conference.
5:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Panel Discussion: Diversify or Decline
Are increasing cremation rates, changing consumer preferences and society's movement away from tradition taking a bite out of your business? In this afternoon's panel discussion, a group of top CEOs will discuss their experiences and ideas for finding new, innovative ways to serve your community and build your business.
6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Networking Reception
CEO Network Program Details
The CEO Network program is available exclusively to company owners, presidents and chief executives and will be limited to the first 36 registrants to sign up. It is a separate registration in addition to your Fall Management Conference registration.
As a CEO Network participant, you'll share a breakfast or lunch each day with your fellow CEOs while listening to presentations by three of our profession's most accomplished leaders. Speakers are:
- Bill Rowe, CCE: Leadership Development—It has been said that we judge ourselves mostly by our intentions, but others judge us mostly by our actions. Join retired corporate executive Bill Rowe as he explores the leadership qualities that are essential to success, including the secrets to empowering and growing your people and preparing them for a successful succession. Bill was formerly chairman of the board and president and chief executive officer of Stewart Enterprises Inc., the third largest provider of funeral home and cemetery services and products in North America.
- Gary Freytag: An 'Outsider's View of the Business'—What business principles do cemeteries and funeral homes uphold well, and where can we improve? Gary Freytag joined Spring Grove Cemetery and the Jon Deitloff Funeral Centre in 2003, bringing a diverse business background and a fresh perspective to the profession. In this session, he'll offer an "outsider's view" of the business, including financial, strategic, marketing and operational considerations. Gary Freytag is president and chief executive officer of Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum and Oak Hill Cemetery and is on the board of directors of Jon Deitloff Funeral Centre in Cincinnati, Ohio. He brings a variety of experience from other industries and responsibilities, having served as president of two technology consulting companies, president/COO of an industrial products company and treasurer of a diversified manufacturing company with nearly $1 billion in revenue. His other business experience includes management consulting and venture capital.
- Jack Kidwiler: Diversification in the Cemetery and Funeral Business—From his efforts to build a highly successful memorial products company to a cemetery in the Philippines and even a winery in Australia, Jack Kidwiler has a proven track record for thinking "outside the box," taking calculated risks and diversifying his business interests. What opportunities exist in your market, and how can you capitalize on them? Jack is president and chairman of The Heritage Park—Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines, a full-service memorial park with a mortuary, crematory and state-of-the-art chapels.
Following each speaker, you'll participate in a roundtable discussion of "Trials and Triumphs," sharing the challenges you've faced at your location and how you've turned those challenges into successes. You will receive a package of information to prepare for this portion of the program prior to the conference.
In addition, if you wish to sign up for specially reserved golf tee times, you will have an opportunity to participate in golf foursomes with your fellow CEO Network participants. See your registration form for details.
Kapalua Bay Hotel
With just 210 guest rooms, suites and villas set on 18 oceanfront acres, the Kapalua Bay Hotel serves as an exclusive and luxurious getaway, ideal for both a CEO conference and a relaxing family retreat.
Kapalua is situated on "America's Best Beach" and is known for its excellent restaurants and attentive service. Among the property's amenities are a heated swimming pool, a 24-hour fitness room, two tennis complexes, yoga and Pilates classes, garden tours, shops, massage by the sea, a children's program and a Beach Activities Center offering snorkel gear, kayaks, rafts, body boards and cabanas.
The hotel's three award-winning championship golf courses provide the finest golf experience on Maui. The Plantation Course, host of the ICFA Fall Management Golf Tournament, is a 7,263-yard, par-73 course that GolfDigest.com says is "bigger, wider and steeper than any course you've ever played."
For more information on the hotel, visit www.marriotthawaii.com/kapalua.html. For reservations, download the Hotel Reservation Form or call 1-800-367-8000 and identify yourself as an ICFA Conference attendee.
For more information, call the ICFA Meetings Department
at 1-800-645-7700
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