CANA’s 106th Cremation Innovation Convention A Success!
WHEELING, IL— The Cremation Association of North America (CANA) celebrated the 106th Annual Cremation Innovation Convention with nearly 300 of its dearest friends – including more than 70 exhibitors – last week in Chicago! The event attracted professionals from across the funeral service and welcomed many new faces to enjoy connecting with colleagues, viewing innovative supplier solutions, and hearing inspirational presentations.
“It was great to see so many in attendance and there was tremendous energy in the room this year,” said newly elected CANA Board President Ryan Wiseman. “The 106th Convention felt like a homecoming – old friends and new, lots of great conversation and laughter, and a real connection with the ideas from the presentations and the exhibit floor. The personal touch attendees experience at a CANA Convention really adds an extra dimension to the power of what meetings like these do for our profession.”
Guided by emcee Melissa Loose, Assistant Vice President of Marketing and Communications for National Guardian Life Company (and sponsored by NGL), the CANA stage hosted experts to help the gathered business leaders calibrate their current company practices to flourish in the future:
Robbie Pape, Senior Vice President & Regional Partner, Carriage Services kicked off the first morning with an empowering session by summoning our own potential and Being a Leader of Influence, sponsored by Carriage.
As businesses grapple with the changing workforce, Jolena Grande, CFSP and faculty in the Mortuary Science Program at Cypress College offered her unique perspective inDeath Becomes Her:The Changing Demographics of Funeral Service Practitioners.
Sara Murphy, PhD, FT, Death Educator & Suicidologist with the University of Rhode Island taught attendees how to differentiate between myths and realities of suicidality, recognize the signs for suicide risk and develop responses to prevent suicide death loss within the profession in her session Recognizing and Responding to Suicide Risk Within the Deathcare Profession. Dr. Murphy also led a special pre-Convention workshop with Aaron Pelchat, a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist on The Silent Problem: Talking about Mental Health and Funeral Service that helped registrants understand realities of common mental health issues.
With over 30 years of expertise in the technology sector, Lee Hovermale, Strategic Advisor to the CEO of KiZAN Technologies brought Cybersecurity Awareness: Recognizing a Threat and Protecting Your Data to securely and protect the many companies present.
The Cremation Historian Jason Engler, regional sales manager for the Wilbert Group took a moment to reflect on the past in a session (sponsored by Wilbert) The Eternal Value of Cremation Memorials/Avoiding Mistakes of the Past: Cremated Remains Belong in Cemeteries to promote profitability in the cemetery.
Information is Power: Updates from Industry Experts featured three presenters on topics that impact our profession.CANA President Robert Hunsaker showed how The Answer is in the Numbers with CANA’s 2024 Annual Cremation Statistics Report. He was followed by Assistant Vice President of Government & Industry Relations for Service Corporation International, Caressa Hughes with a Regulatory Update on the rules and legal landscape of the profession. Finally, Vice President of Cemetery Operations of Legacy Funeral Group, Stephen Bassett, offered lessons learned from the Cemetery Consumer Service Council (CCSC).
Sharing the stage for a look at The Power of Service & The Power of Human Connection, Dean of the InSight Institute, Glenda Stansbury, covered The Impact of Grief—The Power of Service on the healing power of hearing a life story. Then, Homesteaders Director of Consumer Marketing, Kelly Manion, addressed The Power of Human Connection: Elevating Your Grief Support & Aftercare Programs, offering valuable insights into diverse ways to support grieving people.
In recognition that the Convention opened on September 11, attendees took a moment to reflect on and remember that awful day in 2001. CANA provided an interactive tribute piece created by local artist Eddie Corkery, inspired by Spencer Finch’s work in the 9/11 Memorial Hall titled “Trying to Remember the Color of the Sky on That September Morning.” People wrote memories of that day and other reflections on squares the color of the bluest skies.
Glenda Stansbury served as celebrant for the annual In Memoriam service, recognizing family, friends, and notable people the profession lost this year. During the Annual Membership Meeting, Robert Hunsaker passed the gavel to Ryan Wiseman to lead CANA as Board President for the coming year. The Funeral Service Foundation and CANA also celebrated the attendees who won scholarships to enjoy the 106th Annual Convention and Chicago! The event closed with a post-Convention tour of the CANA offices and Worsham College of Mortuary Science.
This event would not have been possible without the generous sponsorship of 22 companies. From the open bar to the inspiring sessions to the cemetery tour to the coffee breaks that fuel us—we thank them for making this event a success!
For photos of CANA’s 106th Convention, click here.
To see the 2023-2024 In Memoriam video: https://youtu.be/VZt344A9TdI
To see the CANA 2023-2024 Year in Review video: https://youtu.be/C10NTr_Jzt4
Association leadership now turns its attention to the 2025 Cremation Symposium, when CANA returns to the Paris Las Vegas. This Symposium packs business planning and marketing into just two days of focused sessions on February 26-28, 2025. Plus – keep on the lookout for details about CANA’s 107th Cremation Innovation Convention at the Biltmore Arizona. Save the dates – August 6-8, 2025 – for Phoenix! Find more information when you visit cremationassociation.org/education
About CANA
Founded in 1913, the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) is an international organization of over 3,700 members, composed of funeral homes, cemeteries, crematories, industry suppliers, and consultants. CANA members believe that cremation is preparation for memorialization.
