NFDA Members Elect New Leaders to Guide Profession’s Future
Dan Ford to serve as 2025-26 NFDA President
Brookfield, Wis. – Eligible voting members of the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) elected the following individuals to serve as officers on the Board of Directors: President-elect Chris E. Christian, CFSP, CCO, of Rogersville, Tennessee; Treasurer Steven Spann, CFSP, CCO, of Dickson, Tennessee; and Secretary Ellen Wynn McBrayer, CFSP, CPC, CCO, CCSP, of Villa Rica, Georgia. Additionally, a proposed change to the NFDA bylaws passed.
The NFDA Board of Directors guides NFDA’s mission of providing unmatched support, resources and advocacy for members, their businesses and the funeral service profession. These visionary leaders will serve one-year terms of office that begin immediately following the 2025 NFDA International Convention & Expo, which will take place October 26-29 in Chicago, Illinois.
From June 12 through 25, 2025, 1,252 votes were cast by eligible voting members. Votes were cast online through a secure balloting system run by YesElections. Winners of the officer elections are determined by a plurality vote. The results were:
- President-elect
- Chris E. Christian, CFSP, CCO – 100% (1,215 votes)
- Treasurer
- Steven Spann, CFSP, CCO – 100% (1,190 votes)
- Secretary
- Ellen Wynn McBrayer, CFSP, CPC, CCO, CCSP – 61.15% (754 votes)
- Homer E. Elwood Jr., CFSP, CCO – 38.85% (479 votes)
Following his term as the 2024-25 President-elect, Daniel J. Ford, CFSP, CCSP, of Cheshire, Connecticut, will lead NFDA as the 2025-26 President.
Current NFDA President Christopher P. Robinson, CFSP, CCO, of Easley, South Carolina, will continue his service on the Board with a one-year term as Immediate Past President.
Also continuing their service on the Board of Directors are 2024-26 At-large Representatives Carlton Maye Jr., MBA, CFSP, CCO, of Statesboro, Georgia; and Ladd Pulliam, CFSP, CCO, of Richton, Mississippi.
During the 2025 NFDA Leadership Conference, taking place August 3–6 in Napa, California, state association representatives will elect two additional At-Large Representatives. The candidates, who will serve two-year terms that commence following the 2025 NFDA Convention, are:
- Carlos D. Black, Mobile, Alabama
- Christopher Costello, New Orleans, Louisiana
Information about the officers elected to the Board of Directors can be found on the NFDA website, NFDA.org/Elections.
Proposed Bylaws Change
Along with electing officers to serve on the NFDA Board of Directors, qualified association members were also responsible for voting on a proposed change to the NFDA Bylaws that would allow for election by acclimation when only one or two candidates are running for at-large representative seats on the Board of Directors. This provision would eliminate election formalities and create a streamlined voting process. The NFDA Bylaws already have a provision allowing for election by acclimation for Officer positions when only one candidate is running for a position.
Bylaws changes require a two-thirds affirmative vote to pass. This proposal passed with 91.21% (1,142 votes) votes in favor of the change.
Details about the proposed changes can be found online at NFDA.org/Vote.
NFDA is the world’s leading and largest funeral service association, serving 20,000 individual members who represent nearly 11,000 funeral homes in the United States and 49 countries around the world. NFDA is the trusted leader, beacon for ethics and the strongest advocate for the profession. NFDA is the association of choice because it offers funeral professionals comprehensive educational resources, tools to manage successful businesses, guidance to become pillars in their communities and the expertise to foster future generations of funeral professionals. NFDA is headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., and has an office in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit NFDA.org.
