|
|
ICFAU 2005 Faculty
Dr. Arnold Abrams of Newport News, Virginia, will be teaching at the College of Land Management & Grounds Operations, and at the J. Ashner Neel College of Sales & Marketing.
Mark Ballard is Vice President and General Manager of Memphis Funeral Home, Cemetery & Crematory.
Kevin Bean, president, Bean Funeral Homes and Crematory, Reading, Pennsylvania. Bean is a second generation licensed funeral director since January 1983 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 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. He is the chief operating officer and executive director of planning and development for Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary. 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.
John Bolton,CCE, is general manager for Heritage Family Cemeteries, Inc., in Johnson City, Tennessee. In addition to being responsible for cemetery operations, he is directly responsible for preneed sales programs and family service operations for all of the Heritage Cemetery properties, located in three states. John has conducted seminars and training for the states of Tennessee and North Carolina, Service Corporation International, Equity Corporation International and the ICFA. He is a past president of the Cemetery Association of Tennessee and serves on the board of directors for the Virginia Cemetery Association. He holds a master's degree in education.
Michael H. Burke has 24 years experience in cemetery/funeral operations, sales management, and landscape architecture. Mike is the Director of Planning Services for the Palm Mortuary Group in Las Vegas, Nevada which handle 6400 death calls per year. During Mike's career he has managed many locations nationally in total operational and sales fields with Carriage Services, The Loewen Group, and three major independent firms. He is the holder of over 40 architectural awards and has served the I.C.F.A. University for 13 years as a professor and as the Dean of The Land Management College. His high energy and experience make Mike a welcomed speaker at many industry events.
Julie Burn is cremation services manager for Wilbert Funeral Services Inc., Willowbrook, Illinois, where she is responsible for the marketing and sales of Wilbert's cremation products, along with the administration and promotion of its Cremation Choices program. Julie began her career with Wilbert in January 1991, as the Manager of Funeral Service Communications. She was promoted to the position of Regional Manager in September of 1996 where she served as a liaison between Wilbert Funeral Services, Inc., and its licensee network, as well as liaison between the licensees and their funeral professionals in the North Central Region. Julie is chair of the ICFA Personalization Committee and is a Certified Pre-Planning Consultant.
Tony Colson is director of National Accounts for Batesville Casket Company. He is responsible for providing and coordinating support in terms of merchandising, marketing planning and training and development. Tony has served a wide national account base for the last seven years and has extensive experience in many markets. During this time, he 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. Professionally, his background includes Sales and Marketing experience in the automobile industry with Mercedes-Benz. He also has Sales and Training experience in Life and Health Insurance and the Pharmaceutical industry, with Eli Lilly & Company. Tony has spoken to groups at the local, state and national level.
Jack Goodnoe, president, Jack C. Goodnoe Cemetery Planning and Design, Ann Arbor, MI. Jack 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. Jack 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 in Landscape Architecture from the University of Virginia.
Jim Hammond is Director of Sales of Mountain View Funeral Home & Memorial Park, Tacoma, Washington.
Mike Hays is Vice President for Advance Planning with Keystone Group Holdings, Inc., Tampa, Florida. He is a licensed funeral director who has personally served hundreds of bereaved families. He is an experienced salesperson and sales manager having worked directly with more than 200 funeral homes and 40 cemeteries to install or improve preneed systems. In addition to his advance planning role, Mike serves the Keystone Operations Team in the areas of training and performance management. Mike holds a Master of Divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary.
Ernie Heffner,CFuE, graduated March 1974 from Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science, Pittsburgh, PA after attending York College, York, PA. He is a funeral director who operates fifteen funeral home facilities and a crematory distanced in both Pennsylvania and New York. Heffner has owned and operated other related industry businesses including a monument company, which was sold in 1987, and two memorial park cemetaries, which were sold in 1989. He has received national recognition and has been a featured speaker on numerous occasions for a variety of state and national industry organizations and at local public speaking engagements for community education.
Heffner testified in Washington, D.C. at the Federal Trade Commission hearings in favor of the Funeral Rule, a national law that protects consumers. He has also testified at both Senate and House of Representatives hearings in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania regarding pending legislation.
Since the mid '80's, Heffner has been a member of the Cemetery Association of Pennsylvania (CAP) and active in educational efforts on behalf of CAP. On November 12th, 1996, Heffner had the honor of an appointment to become the first funeral director to serve on the Board of Directors of the re-named Pennsylvania Cemetery Funeral Association (PCFA) and currently serves as 1st V.P.
In September 1996, Heffner was appointed to serve on the ICFA Board of Directors. Heffner became the first funeral director not affiliated with a public company to serve on the ICFA Board. Heffner served as a V.P. of ICFA from March 2000 to March 2001 and has recently been elected to continue serving on the Board of Directors.
Christine Hentges is vice president of Pinelawn Memorial Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Restlawn Memorial Park in Wausau and Fort Howard Memorial Park in Green Bay. She was elected to the ICFA Board of Directors in 2002. A fourth-generation cemeterian, Hentges is president of the Wisconsin Cemetery Association and represents the Cemetery Consumer Service Council in the state of Wisconsin.
Bob Horn is the chief executive officer of Keystone Group Holdings in 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.
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 to our industry.
Jeff Kidwiler, CCE, is president of FuneralAssistant.com, a website that offers information on funeral homes, cemeteries, products, laws and other information needed when planning a funeral. He was also vice president of United Memorial Products, Inc., vice president of United Park Services, Inc. and on the board of directors with Heritage Park in the Philippines. Jeff is a 1988 graduate of Chapman University, a 1995 graduate of the ICFA University and earned the prestigious Certified Cemetery Executive designation in 1999.
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, Krause is vice president of the ICFA Products and Services Steering Committee and serves on its Board of Directors. He is also a vice president of Preferred Funeral Directors International and is past president of the Funeral Service Alliance of Wisconsin. Krause has dedicated time to his community as a former vice president of Family Support for the National Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Foundation, Greater Wisconsin Chapter. He attended Worsham College of Mortuary Science and has a master's degree in Business Administration.
Matt Kreidenweis is a partner at Independent Funeral Planning Alliance (IFPA), a preneed marketing and management firm serving more than 100 independent funeral homes in Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina. As one of two owners of the company, he 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, with a major in marketing.
Tim Lancaster, CCFE, attended the Oregon Institute of Technology before he chose to join the funeral industry. He 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 Klamath Falls, Oregon. Tim moved to Eternal Hills Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens in 1989 and currently is the Manager/Chief Operating Officer. He is licensed as a Funeral Service Professional, embalmer and insurance agent in Oregon. Tim graduated from the ICFA University in 1999 and has been an instructor since 1997 in the Graduate College/Executive Management Symposium. He has also attended numerous seminars, including Life Appreciation Training by Bill Bates, Sales and Marketing meetings sponsored by ICFA and the Cremation Association of North America (CANA), and the Annual Conventions of ICFA, CANA. Tim is also a member of the National Funeral Directors Association.
Harvey Lapin, Esq., is an attorney located in Northbrook, Illinois. He 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. He 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, Funeral and Cemetery Law and is presently the Editor of, as well as the primary contributor to, the Cemetery and Funeral Service Business and Legal Guide.
Shale Lapping, Esq., serves as President of IPEX, Inc. - Investment Performance Evaluation Xperts, a fee based investment-consulting firm located in Royal Oaks, Michigan. 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.
Gwen Mooney, CCFE, is Director of advanced planning for the Jon Deitloff Funeral Centre in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Centre currently has nine preneed counselors selling pre-planned funerals. Prior to joining the company in July 1999, she worked from December 1996 to June 1999 as a Preneed Sales Manager at a Funeral Home in Dayton, Ohio. From May 1994 to November 1996, she worked in the sales department at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati. Gwen graduated from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science in March 1992 with a bachelor's degree in Mortuary Science. She became a licensed Funeral Director in November 1993 and became a licensed Embalmer in May 1994. She also is a licensed Insurance Agent in the State of Ohio.
Gary O'Sullivan, CCE, is President of the Gary O'Sullivan Company, a consulting firm providing sales and marketing services to the cemetery and funeral industry. Prior to forming this company, Gary was the Senior Vice President of Marketing for Carriage Services in Houston, Texas. He is a Past President of the Southern Cemetery Association (SCA) and has been very involved in both SCA and ICFA for over 15 years. Gary entered the cemetery industry in 1971 and in 1990 received the American Cemetery Association's designation of Certified Cemetery Executive. He has served as instructor at several ICFA sales conferences and the ICFA University, and has been featured keynote speaker at numerous states, regional and national meetings. Gary has produced several audiocassette series, including "ServiceSelling" and "The Basic Approach to Preneed Selling." He is featured on several industry video-training tapes and has appeared nationally with such notables as Zig Ziglar and others.
Michael Pepperman, Esq., is a partner in the Labor Relations and Employment Law Department of the law firm of Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP (ORM&H). Mike's practice is restricted exclusively to the representation of management in every phase of labor relations. He 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. Michael is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Georgia. He is a member of the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York and the District of New Jersey. Pepperman 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. He has also authored several articles for the International Cemetery & Funeral Management magazine on topics such as termination of employees, workplace privacy, arbitration of employment claims and violence in the workplace.
Dick Perl is a veteran of the funeral service industry. He 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. Dick is President of Eagle Training and Communications Systems. 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 his untiring commitment to developing people.
Devon Pero is the Account Executive for Adfinity in Oldsmar, Florida. She will be speaking at the College of Cremation Services.
Don Price is the Cemetery and Archives Manager for the City of Orlando, Florida. In addition to overseeing the day-to-day operations of the historical 100-acre Greenwood Cemetery, he oversees the City's Archives department. He has over 19 years of experience in document management and imaging. He is the past president of the Central Florida chapter of ARMA and has been a presenter at their conferences on an international level. Under his direction, Greenwood Cemetery boasts a completely digital office. He is a contributor to ICFA Magazine and due to his high-energy is a frequent speaker on the digitalization of documents, merits of a virtual cemetery and reaching your goals through a "low-key" marketing approach. He attended Florida Southern University with his emphasis on communications. He is currently enrolled in the ICFA University and St. Petersburg College, School of Funeral Services.
Tom Roberts, CCE, has been with Allegheny Cemetery since March 1974, initially holding the position of Treasurer for the Cemetery. In June 1989, he was promoted to the position of General Manager and in October 1995, elected President. He was also one of the founders of the Allegheny Cemetery Historical Association 15 years ago and retains the position of Treasurer. Roberts is vice president elect of the Membership Steering Committee, a position that he also held in 2001. He holds a B.S. in Accounting from Susquehanna University (PA) and an M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh (PA). He is a member of the PA Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He is a staunch supporter of cemetery association involvement and a national speaker for the industry.
Mitch Rose began his career in the industry in 1988 as an Assistant Area Superintendent. Following a steady series of promotions, Mitch joined Carriage Services and was named Area Manager for the City of Ft. Lauderdale Municipal Cemetery contract. Using his solid marketing expertise, he developed and coordinated a multi?layered lead procurement program using a targeted marketing technique and exceeded cemetery monthly quotas. In addition to his job duties, Mitch has been Chairman of the Moving Wall and the Florida Maintenance Rodeo programs. He also earned Fiscal Awards in 1992, 1994 and 1995. Rose has 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.
Ron Salvatore has been with Matthews Cremation Division-consisting of Industrial Equipment & Engineering, ALL Crematory, and Elder Davis Caskets-for over 17 years. He has held a number of sales management positions and has worked closely with their engineering department on new product development, environmental permitting and other environmental related matters.
Katherine Scimmi is the General Manager/ Bereavement Counselor and Community Outreach Co-ordinator in Sarnia, Ontario. She is the Chair of Bluewater Health Hospital Board, and a member of the board for Victim Services. In her spare time she presents topics for students and teachers in local schools, as well as for local community groups and cemeteries. She is a member of Selected Independent Funeral Association, ICFA, CANA, and Bereaved Ontario Network. Katherine is also a recipient of the Women In Funeral Service Initiative Award from NFDA. She graduated from ICFAU in 2004 and is a 2002 ICFAU scholarship winner.
Tom Smith is Senior Vice President of Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum in Cincinnati, Ohio. Joining the organization in 1972 as Assistant Horticulturist, he was elected to his present position in 1987. Tom holds Bachelors of Science in both Botany and Horticulture from the University of Cincinnati, and a Masters in Forest Science from Yale University. He has taught at various colleges in the greater Cincinnati area since 1973. Active in numerous professional organizations, he recently served as president of the national Professional Grounds Management Society. In 1999 Tom was awarded the Professional Grounds Management Society's highest honor, Gold Medal Award.
Jim Starks of Tampa, Florida is the Vice President of Compliance for the Keystone Group Holdings. He will be teaching at the College of Cremation Services with Bob Horn.
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 is an Associate Professor of Management for the Fogelman College of Business and Economics at the University of Memphis, where he teaches in the Executive M.B.A., International M.B.A. and PhD programs. Bob 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. He consults and trains extensively 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 Van Beck is president of Commonwealth Institute of Funeral Service in Houston, Texas. He is a consultant in the funeral service industry and a speaker in high demand who has spoken in Scotland, Ireland, England, Canada, Mexico and throughout the United States. He is an author known for his series of Funerals of the Future, as well as having published four books and 50 training manuals. Todd is a past director of the New England Institute of Mount Ida College. Prior to this, he was the 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. Todd earned his undergraduate degree at Mt. Mercy College and his Master's of Arts in Pastoral Ministry from Mt. St. Mary's Seminary. He 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.
John Welshons is the founder and President of Open Heart Seminars, an organization born in 1981 and dedicated to enhancing spiritual education and awareness in our society. Since the early 1970's, John 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 a frequent lecturer to businesses, churches, hospitals, synagogues, colleges and universities throughout the United States. John is the author of the critically acclaimed book, Awakening From Grief: Finding the Road Back to Joy, published by Open Heart Publications on April 1, 2000. He 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. John 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." He has also taught at Ramapo College in New Jersey. John is an active member of ICFA and is a member of the American Academy of Religion and the Association of Death Education and Counseling.
Rick Wesner is a consultant, speaker and author that helps Cemetery and Funeral organizations develop and implement effective marketing and sales programs. Organizations that have used Rick's services have experienced an increase in sales, profits and market share. Sales and Marketing Executives International, the largest association for the sales and marketing profession in the world, has awarded Rick the dual designation Certified Sales and Marketing Executive. Rick is also a Certified Professional Values and Behavior Analyst. He holds degrees in Business Administration and Civil Engineering. Rick is the author of the highly acclaimed book "Complete Guide To Successful Family Services" and developer of MarketSystem 2000, the top selling marketing and lead management software system.
Nicole Wiedeman is approaching a 14-year career with Forethought Financial Services. She has partnered with many funeral firms to help them build an active pre-need program. Her current assignment is providing strategic and tactical guidance to two large national funeral firms.
Nicole is a graduate of Ball State University with a degree in Journalism and Marketing. She is a professionally trained facilitator and has received the Strategic Account Manager of the year with Forethought for the past two years.
John Williams is the Vice President for Venice Memorial Gardens and Farley Funeral Homes & Crematory of Venice, Florida. He will be teaching in the College of Cremation Services.
back to top
|
|
