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ICFAU 2003 Faculty
Barry Bamford, CCE, director of sales, Rolling Hills Memorial Park, Richmond, California. Bamford is a veteran of over 15 years of before need marketing. His experience includes marketing for stand-alone cemeteries, funeral homes, and combination facilities in states including IL, HI, NV, CA and AZ.
Kevin M. Bean, president, Bean Funeral Homes and Crematory, Reading, Pennsylvania. Bean is a second-generation licensed funeral director and registered securities representative and holds a life and annuity insurance license. He operates a cluster of five funeral homes and one crematory, where he has maintained an active preneed sales program since 1985. Bean studied both liberal arts and pre-med curriculums at Albright College and Penn State University. He graduated from the Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science in 1981.
Barry Berlin, coo and executive director of planning and development, Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary, Los Angeles, California. Berlin holds a B.S. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from New York University. He has over 43 years of experience in sales, marketing and operations for large national corporations. Barry holds positions in numerous organizations, including 2002-2003 president of the California Funeral Directors Association, 2002-2003 ICFA board of directors, the director of CFDA, director and treasurer for the Funeral Directors Service Corporation (California Master Trust) and a member of the Interment Association of California and the Los Angeles Funeral Directors Association.
Michael H. Burke, director of planning, Palm Mortuary and Memorial Parks, Las Vegas, Nevada. He has over 20 years experience in cemetery/funeral operations and landscape architecture. As regional manager with Carriage Services, Inc., Burke oversaw all operations in the Eastern United States. During his career, he has been the recipient of over 40 industry and architectural awards. Burke has been involved with the ICFA University as a professor and dean for eight years. His high energy level and knowledge of industry operations makes him a welcomed speaker at many industry seminars.
Keith E. Charles, president, Omega Counseling Services Inc., Long Beach, California. Charles has been in the funeral and cemetery business since August of 1989. His first year out of Valley Forge Christian College in Pennsylvania, he started as a family service counselor and moved up to family service supervisor in six months. From there Charles became a sales manager assistant and sales manager/trainer in a succession of Service Corporation International properties, including Rose Hills Memorial Park (the world's largest cemetery and funeral home). He has earned many awards for pre-need sales and training. In January of 1998, Charles started his own pre-need firm called Omega Counseling Services, Inc., located in Long Beach, California. He helps family-owned firms keep their market share by building pre-need teams. He is currently working with Miller-Jones Funeral Homes in Hemet, California, and Menifee Valley Memorial Park.
Wm. Anthony Colson, director of sales-mountain region, Batesville Casket Company, Batesville, Indiana. Colson is responsible for providing and coordinating support in terms of merchandising, marketing planning and training and development. He has served a wide national account base for the last eight years and has extensive experience in many markets. During this time, Colson has been involved with over 1,500 funeral homes throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico designing selection rooms and target market product assortments that meet the specific needs of the marketplace and accomplish a planned financial result. He is a frequent speaker at the local, state and national levels.
Patrick R. Downey, CCE, vice president of sales and marketing, Palm Mortuaries, Las Vegas, Nevada. Before joining Palm, Downey was president of Genesis SMS, a full-service sales and marketing consulting firm based in Houston, Texas. Previously, he was vice president of marketing and a regional vice president of sales for Carriage Services in Houston, Texas, and vice president of sales and marketing for Memorial Park Inc. of Memphis, Tennessee. Downey is a 24-year member of the ICFA and is currently president-elect and co-chair of the 2004 Sales Management and Marketing Conference. He has served as vice president of the ICFA's Products and Services Steering Committee, vice president of the Membership Steering Committee and member of the board of directors. Downey was chancellor of the ICFA University from 1995 to 2000 and co-chair of the 1998 ICFA Annual Convention. He attended the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee.
Suzanne T. Elkins, president, Pre-Smart Inc., Pinellas Park, Florida. Elkins has more than 13 years of experience, dedicated only to pre-need sales and marketing, and has designed, developed and implemented numerous pre-need database management programs and tools across the country. She holds a Master's in Business Administration in marketing and finance from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio and is a licensed funeral director in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Elkins has been a field sales representative and sales manager. She has particular expertise in strategic business planning, forecasting and budgeting, product development and delivery and implementing sales processes to increase customer sales and effectiveness.
Jack C. Goodnoe, president, Jack C. Goodnoe Cemetery Planning and Design, Ann Arbor, MI. Goodnoe has been involved in cemetery planning for 17 years. He began his career as director of site planning for Harley Ellington Pierce Yee in the mid-1980s, and began his own firm in 1998. His company focuses almost exclusively on cemetery master planning, strategically bringing land resources and market opportunities together. He was invited by the Chinese Minister of Civil Affairs to speak at China's First Funeral Arts Exposition. Goodnoe is a member of the ICFA and the National Catholic Cemetery Conference and has been a speaker at a number of industry conferences. He earned his B.F.A. at the University of Colorado and his Master's in Landscape Architecture from the University of Virginia.
Robert A. Gordon Sr., CCFE, managing director, Eternal Hills Memorial Gardens, Klamath Falls, Oregon. Gordon has over 30 years of experience in the industry and has held a number of positions at various properties including executive vice president of Mt. View Cemetery in Tacoma, WA; executive vice president of Oakdale Memorial Park & Mortuary in Glendora, CA; vice president of LaVerne Cemetery Corporation in LaVerne, CA; and executive vice president/general manager of Hillcrest Memorial Park and Mortuary in Bakersfield, CA. Gordon also does extensive work for ICFA. He is a past president and has served as the Dean for the Executive Management Symposium and chair of ICFA's Strategic Planning Sub-Committee for Funeral Director Education and Acquisition.
Charles Harrison, CFSP, MBIE, president, Harrison's Orange Mound Funeral Home, Memphis, Tennessee. Harrison has over 30 years of industry experience and worked his way up from manager/mortician to managing general partner and finally president and ceo at Orange Mound. He is president of the National Funeral Directors and Morticians Association and has served as national vice president and national secretary. Harrison is a past president of the Tennessee State Funeral Directors and Morticians Association and received its Funeral Service Professional of the Year Award in 1999. He holds degrees from Memphis State University and the John A. Gupton College of Mortuary Science. Harrison is a graduate of ICFA University's College of Funeral and Commemorative Services, as well as the Fountain National Academy of Professional Embalming Skills.
Mike Hays, vice president of advance planning, Keystone Group Holdings, Inc., Tampa, Florida. Hays previously served as a regional vice president for the company. He earned his B.A. in Education from Berea College. Hays has managed advance-planning programs for more than 175 funeral home locations and 25 cemeteries. He is a licensed Kentucky funeral director and has served as sales director for all Keystone Advance Planning locations.
Ernie Heffner, president, Heffner Funeral Homes and Crematory, York, Pennsylvania. Heffner is a second-generation funeral director and owns 14 locations in Pennsylvania and three in New York State. He has owned and operated other related industry businesses, including a monument company, which was sold in 1987, as well as two memorial parks, which were sold in 1989. Heffner is a 1974 graduate of the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science, served his internship in the family business and became a licensed funeral director in 1975. He has received national recognition and has been a featured speaker on numerous occasions for a variety of state and national industry organizations, as well as public speaking engagements for community education. Heffner testified in Washington, D.C., at the Federal Trade Commission hearings in favor of the Funeral Rule and was instrumental in re-writing the testing requirements for interns seeking licensure in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Bob Horn, chief executive officer, Keystone Group Holdings, Tampa, Florida. Horn began his funeral service career more than 40 years ago with a small family-owned mortuary. During the mid-1960's, he was an organizer of International Funeral Services (IFS) and served as vice-president of the pioneer "multi-unit" funeral-cemetery company based in San Diego, California. Prior to co-founding the Keystone Group in 1996, Horn was chief operating officer and partner of Prime Succession, Inc., following ten years as executive-vice president of Pierce Brothers, Los Angeles. In addition to various industry memberships, he also serves as trustee of the Funeral Service Foundation and Loyola Marymount University Clavigerii Society.
Robert Inman, president, Inman Shipping Worldwide, Cleveland, Ohio. Inman has spent 53 years in funeral service after graduating from the Cleveland College of Embalming in 1950 and has been a trade embalmer for over 45 years. He was a restorative artist for many years in Cleveland, has owned two funeral homes and also operates the largest crematory in Ohio. Inman began shipping bodies out of the Northern Ohio area in 1963 and formed Nationwide Shipping eight years later. The name was subsequently changed to Inman Shipping Worldwide because the company ships approximately 8,000 bodies annually all over the world. Inman conducted embalming seminars for the Champion Company for over 20 years, doing practical demonstrations and lectures across the United States and in New Zealand. In 1995, he went to Osaka, Japan to embalm victims of the Kobe earthquake. Inman is chairman of the board of directors of the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science, a past president of the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) and former chairman of the North American Division of the British Institute of Embalmers.
Melissa Johnson, CFSP, embalmer and restorative artist and founder, American Society of Embalmers, Chicago, Illinois. Johnson 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 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 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 is the founder and executive director of the Midwest Forensic and Mortuary Support Foundation and a co-founder of the American Society of Embalmers.
Nick Jones, CFuE, CFSP, president, Miller-Jones Mortuary and Crematory and Menifee Valley Memorial Park, Southern California. Jones served as program chair of the ICFA 2003 Convention and Exposition in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was awarded the industry's first Certified Funeral and Cemetery Executive designation in 2002. Additional professional accomplishments include the 1980 State of California Business Award for helping establish uniform organ donor laws and an Executive Award from the National Funeral Directors Association in 1996. Jones has been on the advisory board of Cypress Mortuary College and a treasurer of the Cremation Association of North America (CANA). He is a past president of Preferred Funeral Directors International and the Orangebelt Funeral Directors Association.
Mark J. Krause, president, Krause Funeral Homes and Cremation Service, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Krause is vice president of ICFA's Products and Services Steering Committee and has served on its board and as a member of its Sales and Marketing Committee. He is a fourth-generation funeral director and has worked in funeral service since 1976. Krause is a founder and past president of the Funeral Service Alliance of Wisconsin and is an officer for Preferred Funeral Directors International. He is also a former vice president of family support for the Greater Wisconsin Chapter of the National Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Foundation. He holds degrees from both the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and Worsham College of Mortuary Science. Krause has taught at the National Foundation of Funeral Service and helped to establish Wisconsin's first pre-arrangement counselor certification program.
Matt Kreidenweis, partner, Independent Funeral Planning Alliance (IFPA), Brentwood, Tennessee. IFPA is a preneed marketing and management firm serving more than 100 independent funeral homes in Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina. As co-owner, Kreidenweis handles implementation of clients' marketing programs and coordinates all counselor training. Before joining IFPA in 1997, he was a national account representative with Forethought Financial Services. He is a graduate of Wilmington College of Ohio.
Tim C. Lancaster, CCFE, executive vice president, Eternal Hills Memorial Gardens, Klamath Falls, Oregon. Lancaster graduated from the San Francisco College of Mortuary Science in 1979 and worked as a funeral service professional, embalmer and manager of Ward's Funeral Home in Oregon before joining Eternal Hills in 1989. He is licensed as a Funeral Service Professional, embalmer and insurance agent in Oregon. Lancaster graduated from the ICFA University in 1999 and has been an instructor since 1997 in the Graduate College/Executive Management Symposium. He is also a member of the National Funeral Directors Association.
Harvey I. Lapin, Esq., attorney, Northbrook, Illinois. Lapin specializes in mortuary, cemetery, tax and corporation law. He is and has been general counsel or special counsel to various national, state and local industry associations. He is licensed as an attorney in Illinois, Wisconsin and Florida, and is registered as a CPA in Illinois. Lapin is a graduate of Northwestern University, Northwestern University Law School and has a Master's in Tax Law from Georgetown Law Center. He has written numerous articles on the subjects of taxation and funeral and cemetery law and is editor of the Cemetery and Funeral Service Business and Legal Guide.
Shale P. Lapping, Esq., president, IPEX, Inc., Royal Oaks, Michigan. Investment Performance Evaluation Xperts is a fee based investment-consulting firm. Shale has been actively involved in the investment-consulting field for the past 12 years. During this time he has specialized in developing trust fund investment programs for death care industry clients. Shale obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, his M.B.A. from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and his law degree from the University of Chicago.
Christopher C. Layton, instructor, Commonwealth Institute of Funeral Service, Houston, Texas. Layton teaches mainly in the area of Funeral Service Arts. He is chairman of the Education Committee for the Texas Funeral Directors Association, vice-president of the Houston Metropolitan Funeral Directors Association and has served as a board member of the Los Angeles County Funeral Directors Association. Layton was a training director for Pierce Brothers Mortuaries in Los Angeles and worked in the training department of Service Corporation International in Houston, Texas. He has presented many continuing education programs at regional and state funeral directors association conventions and is a licensed funeral director and embalmer holding licenses in Arizona, California, and Texas. Layton is a graduate of Cypress Mortuary College, and received his Bachelor's degree from Arizona State University and a Master's degree from the University of Houston.
Robert Mayer, author, Embalming: History, Theory and Practice, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mayer has been active in the funeral service industry for over 44 years. He is a graduate of Youngstown University with a degree in biology and the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science and holds licenses in both Ohio and Pennsylvania. Mayer was a full time faculty member at the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science for thirteen years where he taught Embalming, Restorative Art and Mortuary Law. He has owned and operated a trade embalming service since 1968 and currently services nine area funeral homes. Mayer is a member of the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA), British Institute of Embalmers, Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice, Ohio Embalmers Association and the American Society of Embalmers. He does frequent seminars both in the United States and abroad. Mayer has received several awards, including the NFDA's "Outstanding Service Award," the Distinguished Service Award from the American Board of Funeral Service Education and an Honorary Doctor of Professional Studies degree from the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science.
Tom McDowell, national sales manager, bronze division, Matthews International Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In this position, McDowell works closely with customers, as well as Matthews' sales and marketing departments. He has extensive experience in the memorialization industry and has held sales and sales management positions with Matthews for 23 years. During the 1990s, he held sales and marketing positions with Gibraltar Mausoleum Construction Company and York Bronze before rejoining Matthews in 2000. He is an active member of ICFA, the National Catholic Cemetery Conference, the Southern Cemetery Association and many state associations.
Jeff Merriam, facilitator and vice president, Winninger Resource Group, Inc., Edina, Minnesota. Merriam develops and promotes support materials to be used in combination with Winninger's Cremation Arranging Program. He has successfully facilitated CANA's Cremation Arranging Program with many funeral directors, cemeterians and cremation providers throughout the United States and Canada. Merriam has also conducted breakout sessions for many large companies in various industries including: Fleetwood Folding Trailers, Fleetwood's RV division, Lawson Industries and Patterson Dental, in addition to many others.
Nathan C. Minnich, CFSP, funeral director, Hoover Funeral Homes Inc., Millersburg, Pennsylvania. Minnich is a fifth-generation funeral director and licensed, practicing embalmer. He graduated from the New England Institute at Mt Ida College with a Bachelor's degree, where he specialized in bereavement studies. Minnich is a Certified Funeral Service Professional with the Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice and a member of the British Institute of Embalmers. He is also a member of the National Funeral Directors Association, Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association, Pi Sigma Eta National Morticians Fraternity and the International Federation of Thanatologists Association. Minnich is a guest lecturer in embalming for the New England Institute and a published author in the area of death education.
F. Daniel Moloney Jr., partner, Moloney Family Funeral Homes, Long Island, New York. Moloney owns and operates Moloney Family Funeral Homes, consisting of five funeral homes and a crematory with tribute center, along with his two brothers. He is a graduate of Johnson and Wales College, the Chubb Institute of Technology and the American Academy of McCallister Institute, where he graduated with honors. Mayer received the Mu Sigma Alpha award from the National Association of Colleges of Mortuary Science. He served in the United States Navy. Moloney Family Funeral Homes has been awarded the National Funeral Directors Association's (NFDA) Pursuit of Excellence award for the past seven years and its Pursuit of Excellence "Eagle Award" for the past three, as well as Long Island's "Business of the Year" award.
Blair H. Nelsen, CFSP, president, Nelsen Funeral Homes Inc., Richmond, Hopewell and Williamsburg, Virginia, and president, Cremation and Burial Society of Virginia. Nelsen oversees the operations of the 110 year-old family firm's four locations. A retired Air Force pilot, Blair holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia, a Master of Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and an Associate in Funeral Science from John Tyler Community College. He has served on many funeral service and non-profit association boards.
Gary O'Sullivan, CCE, president, Gary O'Sullivan Company, Greenville, South Carolina. O'Sullivan's consulting firm provides sales and marketing services to the cemetery and funeral industry. Prior to forming this company, he was the senior vice president of marketing for Carriage Services in Houston, Texas. O'Sullivan is a past president of the Southern Cemetery Association (SCA) and has been very involved in both SCA and ICFA for over 15 years. He entered the cemetery industry in 1971 and received the American Cemetery Association's designation of Certified Cemetery Executive in 1990. O'Sullivan has served as instructor at several ICFA sales conferences and the ICFA University, and has been a featured keynote speaker at numerous state, regional and national meetings. He has produced several audiocassette series, including "Service Selling" and "The Basic Approach to Preneed Selling." O'Sullivan is featured on several industry video-training tapes and has appeared nationally with such notables as Zig Ziglar and others.
Michael S. Pepperman, Esq., partner, labor relations and employment law department, Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP (ORM&H), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pepperman's practice is restricted exclusively to the representation of management in every phase of labor relations. Prior to joining ORM&H, he worked as an associate at Proskauer Rose in Clifton, New Jersey, and Stokes & Murphy in Atlanta, Georgia. Pepperman received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Delaware and is a graduate of Brooklyn Law School, where he was awarded his Juris Doctorate. He is co-author of "Securities Industry Leads the Way in Arbitrating Employment Disputes," New Jersey Law Journal, August 12, 1996, (145 NJLJ 648) and "Violence in the Workplace," Philadelphia Enterpriser, September/October, 1998. Pepperman is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Georgia.
Richard "Dick" F. Perl, director sales and marketing, Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens and Funeral Home, Nashville, Tennessee. Perl is a veteran of the funeral service industry and began his career in the early 1970s selling property and memorialization pre-need. He has been a manager of a funeral home/cemetery combination as well as a cemetery owner in Florida. Perl was previously president of Eagle Training and Communications Systems and is an outstanding speaker and trainer. He is best known for his motivational style and is admired throughout the funeral service industry for his high level seminars and untiring commitment.
Paul Rahill, president, Matthews International Cremation Division, Orlando, Florida. Rahill's involvement with the cremation industry began in 1973. He has worked in various capacities in the design, manufacturing and service of cremation equipment, as well as research, development, environmental and regulatory issues. Rahill also develops and implements seminars, training and certification programs for the cremation industry.
Thomas G. Roberts, CCE, president, Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Roberts began working at Allegheny Cemetery in 1974, initially holding the position of treasurer. In June 1989, he was promoted to the position of general manager and was elected president in October 1995. Roberts is vice president of the ICFA Education Steering Committee and has served as vice president of both the Membership and Services and Administration Steering Committees. He is a founder and treasurer of the Allegheny Cemetery Historical Association and a member of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Roberts holds a B.S. in Accounting from Susquehanna University and an M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh.
Mitchell J. Rose, area manager, Carriage Services, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Drawing on his solid marketing expertise, Rose developed and coordinated a multi-layered lead procurement program using a targeted marketing technique to consistently exceed monthly cemetery quotas. He has been chairman of the Moving Wall and the Florida Maintenance Rodeo programs and earned fiscal awards in 1992, 1994 and 1995. Rose holds an Associate of Science in Horticulture from Santa Fe Community College and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Central Florida.
Thomas L. Smith, senior vice president, Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum, Cincinnati, Ohio. Joining the organization in 1972 as assistant horticulturist, Smith was elected to his present position in 1987. He holds Bachelors of Science in both Botany and Horticulture from the University of Cincinnati and a Masters in Forest Science from Yale University. Smith has taught at various colleges in the greater Cincinnati area since 1973. He has served as president of the National Professional Grounds Management Society and was awarded the Gold Medal Award, its highest honor, in 1999.
Jerry Sullivan, owner, Cremation Society of Illinois, Olson Burke/Sullivan Funeral Home & Cremation Center and Forest Crematory, Chicago, Illinois. Sullivan began his career in funeral service over 30 years ago. A graduate of Loras College and Worsham College of Mortuary Science, he became a licensed funeral director in 1973. Sullivan purchased his first funeral home in 1976 and owned the first funeral home in the Chicago metropolitan area to have a crematory. He is an international delegate on the Cremation Association board. Sullivan is a past president of the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) and a past officer and board member of both the International Order of the Golden Rule and the Funeral Director Services Association of Greater Chicago. He is a frequent industry speaker on the national and international level.
Robert Taylor, associate professor of management, Fogelman College of Business and Economics, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee. Taylor teaches in the Executive M.B.A., International M.B.A. and PhD programs. He graduated with a B.A. in Behavioral Science from Rollins College in Florida and went on to Louisiana State University to complete his doctorate in Industrial/Organizational Psychology with a minor in Management. Taylor does extensive consulting and training in the areas of management development, assessment centers, training needs analysis, employee theft, employee selection and appraisal, team building and motivation. Some clients include International Paper, Federal Express, Holiday Inns, Buckman Laboratories, St. Joseph Hospital and City of Memphis Government.
Todd W. Van Beck, president, Commonwealth Institute of Funeral Service, Houston, Texas. Van Beck is a consultant in the funeral service industry and a speaker in high demand who has lectured in Scotland, Ireland, England, Canada, Mexico and throughout the United States. He is an author known for his series Funerals of the Future, as well as having published four books and 50 training manuals. Van Beck is a past director of the New England Institute of Mount Ida College. He formerly was director of education for the Loewen Group and was responsible for implementing programs of professional and managerial training for funeral homes, cemeteries, preneed programs and after care programs. Van Beck is a licensed funeral director and embalmer and is dean of the Funeral and Commemorative Services College and the newly created Embalming and Restorative Arts College for ICFA University. He earned his undergraduate degree at Mount Mercy College and his Master's of Arts in Pastoral Ministry from Mount St. Mary's Seminary.
John Wahl, associate director of management services, Archdioceses of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana. Wahl served five years as facilities & services superintendent for the Catholic Cemeteries Association and also as a member of the Archdiocese Building Commission, both for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. He earned his Bachelors Degree in Structural Engineering from the University of Washington and went on to earn his Masters Degree in Engineering Sciences from Purdue University.
John Welshons, president, Open Heart Seminars, Little Falls, New Jersey. Open Heart Seminars is dedicated to enhancing spiritual education and awareness in our society. Since the early 1970's, Welshons has spent much time setting up lectures, workshops and retreats, many of which have been focused on people who are terminally ill and people in grief. He is the author of the critically acclaimed book, Awakening From Grief: Finding the Road Back to Joy, published by Open Heart Publications. Welshons is working on a number of other writing projects and has a series of cassette tapes and booklets on grief which are available to the general public. He holds a B.A. in Religious Studies from the University of South Florida and an M.A. in History of Religions from Florida State University, where he taught courses including "Death and Dying" and "Religion in America." Welshons has also taught at Ramapo College in New Jersey. He is an active member of ICFA and is a member of the American Academy of Religion and the Association of Death Education and Counseling.
Thomas J. Winninger, president, The Winninger Resource Group Inc., Edina, Minnesota. For the past 25 years, Winninger has produced effective training programs that create cultures out of learning and are key to advanced arranging needs. He is frequently referred to as "America's Market Strategist" for his proven targeted business growth strategies and the man who is reinventing the way America captures market share. Winninger is the author of four best selling books, most recently, Full Price-Competing on Value in the New Economy and is published in over 300 trade journals, publications and newspapers. His market strategies have been featured on CNBC, First Business, Boardroom Reports, Venture and Success Magazine. Winninger and his companies have received many national awards and commendations, including The Blue Chip Enterprise Award from the U.S. Chamber, Nominee for America's Entrepreneur of the Year Award; and the 1995 Cavett Award, the highest award given by the 4000 members of the National Speakers Association. In 1987 he was inducted into the CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame.He has been a featured speaker for CANA and the National Funeral Directors and Canadian Canadian Cemeteries.
Mary Ziegler, marketing consultant, Options by Batesville, Batesville, Indiana. In this capacity, Ziegler implements the company's cremation system solution with funeral professionals throughout North America. This includes 20 years of experience with Batesville in merchandising, marketing and training programs.
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