Selected Independent Funeral Homes Celebrates 2019 Annual Meeting in Nashville

Deerfield, Ill. – August 6, 2019 – Selected Independent Funeral Homes will host its 2019 Annual Meeting at the JW Marriot, Nashville, TN, September 23-26, 2019. 

The Annual Meeting serves as an incubator for generating ideas, inspired learning, compelling exchanges and developing impactful relationships. “With our solid foundation connecting leaders and transforming care, Selected is raising the bar for the independent funeral service profession with its mission of delivering innovative and pertinent resources, solutions and ongoing support necessary for enduring excellence,” said Kim Farris-Luke, President of Selected Independent Funeral Homes.

In addition to the usual offering of inspirational speakers, impactful sessions and fun activities, this year’s meeting will focus on growth and navigating change in the independent funeral service profession. Membership milestones will be presented including the induction of Stevens Mortuary, Inc. into the Selected Century Club, recognizing their achievement of 100 years of continuous membership. 

Here are a few of the meeting highlights:

Tuesday, September 24

• Keynote speaker, Dr. Mark DeVolder, will get the meeting started on the right foot with his presentation, Harnessing the Hurricane: Adapting Faster to Extreme Change. Dr. DeVolder is a three-time Top 25 Speaker Award winner, change-consultant for the NASA Space Shuttle Program and transition-advisor for $50 billion mergers and acquisitions.
• Conversation Café Selected Preferred Partners will offer insight during informal discussions:
  • Aftercare.com
  • C&J Financial, LLC
  • Facultatieve Technologies
  • Federated Funeral Directors of America
  • FrontRunner
  • Funeral Innovations
  • Johnson Consulting Group
  • Live Oak Bank
  • Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions
  • MKJ Marketing
  • Ring Ring Marketing
  • SRS Computing
• Meridith Elliot Powell will help Selected members discover how to tap into the power of staff engagement during her General Session, Leadership Redefined: Ownership, Engagement, Results.

Wednesday, September 25

• Concurrent Breakout Sessions will include:
  • “How the Family Manages Traumatic Loss” facilitated by Dr. Bill Hoy, Grief Connect
  • “Raise the Bar in Recruiting and Interviewing” facilitated by Todd Van Beck, John A. Gupton College
  • “The Best Ways to Market in a Digital World” facilitated by Courtney Gould Miller, MKJ Marketing and Welton Hong, Ring Ring Marketing
  • “Leverage Technology for Impactful Marketing” facilitated by Murray Levine, Internet Ad Pros and Zach Garbow, Funeral Innovations
  • “Success and Stress” facilitated by Davana Pilczuk, PhD, Consultant and Speaker
  • “Be a Gathering Place” facilitated by Marcy Breffle and David Moore, Historic Oakland Foundation

Thursday, September 26

• Futures Session, Ready for Change or Ripe for Disruption?, presented by Jonathan David Lewis, McKee Wallwork + Co., which will highlight key findings from an assessment 100+ Selected members completed in Spring ’19 and offer next steps to navigate The Disruption Cycle.

In addition to these sessions, the meeting includes a variety of members-only sessions and activities as well as an opportunity to meet with more than 40 of Selected’s Preferred Partners and engage with colleagues both in and outside the meeting rooms.

During the Annual Meeting, members will participate in a Community Service Project sponsored by Homesteaders Life Company. Selected members will pack backpacks with school supplies and create sets of flash cards and inspirational notes for students.

Funeral service professionals can participate in valuable educational sessions that have been approved for up to 10 hours by the Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice. Selected also has applied for credit to all states that require continuing education. All approved continuing education sessions are open to any funeral service professional.

In addition, a special thank you to all the Selected Preferred Partners participating with display tables and/or sponsoring events at the 2019 Annual Meeting.

For more information, visit selectedfuneralhomes.org or call 800-323-4219.