ICCFA Educational Foundation Names Gino Merendino as President

STERLING, VA (June 19, 2023) – The International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) Educational Foundation has named Gino Merendino as President following the departure of Jim Price, CCFE, CCrE in May of 2023.

Price has dedicated over 50 years of service to the deathcare profession, embodying the idea of giving back and paying it forward. He was elected as President & Chairmen of the ICCFA Educational Foundation in 2015. During his leadership, the Foundation saw a tremendous rise in donations, scholarships awarded, and initiatives undertaken. One such initiative is the Honored to Share website (www.honored2share.org), which highlights advice and life stories from luminaries in deathcare with the purpose to educate and inspire. Another groundbreaking initiative that Price was instrumental in creating was Journey to Serve (www.journeytoserve.com), a program designed to engage, recruit and hire more military veterans to careers in the funeral service profession. Price will continue his service as a Trustee for the ICCFA Educational Foundation, as well as a member of both the Government & Legal Affairs Committee and Veterans Committee.

After attending his first ICCFA Annual Convention & Exposition in 1996, Merendino changed the mission of his family’s landscaping company to specialize in the maintenance, garden construction and preservation of cemeteries as Merendino Cemetery Care. In 2011, he accepted the position as Dean of the ICCFA University Land Management College. He has led several initiatives to help veterans join and excel in the cemetery profession as co-chair of the ICCFA Veterans Committee, served a two-year term on the Board of Directors, and currently sits on the Finance Committee. Last month, Merendino assumed the role of President of the ICCFA Education Foundation at the 2023 ICCFA Annual Convention & Exposition in Kansas City, Missouri.

When asked about his new role, Merendino said, “The educational opportunities offered by the ICCFA have been a huge contributor to my family’s business success. It is an honor to serve in this role to make those same opportunities accessible to as many future leaders as possible.”

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The ICCFA Educational Foundation, founded in 2005, seeks to make education
accessible to the future leaders of the deathcare profession. It does this by awarding
scholarships to the educational programs of the International Cemetery, Cremation and
Funeral Association, as well as advancing initiatives designed to promote the profession
and support the individuals who answer the call of service.

Founded in 1887, the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association is
the only international trade association representing all segments of the cemetery,
cremation, funeral and memorialization profession. The association is comprised of more
than 10,000 members in the cemetery, funeral home and crematory industries, as well as
supplier and related businesses worldwide.