For Selected President Barbara Risher Welch, “Better Together” is More Than a Tagline
After 18 months of steering committee meetings, due diligence research, and thoughtful option-weighing, the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) and Selected Independent Funeral Homes (Selected) announced on July 29 that their boards had signed a Letter of Intent to merge.
If eligible members of both associations approve the action in a vote later this year, Selected will become a distinct designation and community inside a unified NFDA, with both organizations continuing to operate separately through 2027 before a combined membership structure launches in 2028.
“We feel that this is the best path forward,” shared Selected Board President Barbara Risher Welch, owner of Risher Mortuary & Cremation Service in Montebello, California. “It really allows Selected to remain Selected. I love the tagline ‘Better Together.’ Both associations have much to offer, so this partnership will indeed be better together.”
Questions, answered
Prior to the announcement, Welch and her fellow board members reached out to past Selected officers to share the news, and several offered to provide statements in support of the merger. In the weeks since, board members have begun calling every current member firm — not only to encourage them to vote, but to answer any questions they may have. So far, Welch says, the response has been “overwhelmingly positive.”
“The majority do favor this merger,” she says. “And that’s what’s giving us the fortitude to continue. We are doing the right thing.”
In anticipation of the announcement, Selected and NFDA created a “Better Together” webpage, complete with letters from each team’s leadership and FAQ sections that are updated almost daily as conversations with members bring up new questions.
Not an unprecedented option
One question that arises often is whether the proposed joining is actually a merger of the two associations or the acquisition of Selected by NFDA. In response, Welch turns to Selected’s history to show that this move is not unprecedented — and the results can absolutely be beneficial for all involved.
Welch explains that nearly 30 years after its founding in 1917 as National Selected Morticians (NSM), Selected realized that its charitable arm, the NSM Foundation, couldn’t sustain itself. NFDA took it on as a partner — and that organization, now the Funeral Service Foundation, is thriving today.
“It’s kind of an ironic thing,” Welch said, “that it has been done before, and with our own foundation.” NFDA, she added, isn’t treating this as a rescue: leadership there approached Selected about combining years before Selected’s board was ready to explore this option.
The name means something
Another concern raised by members is whether Selected could eventually lose sight of the two most important words in its name: “Selected” and “Independent.”
According to the FAQs, a Selected designation within the new structure will still require a firm to meet the association’s current regulations and high standards.
“It’s important to our members that we get the best of the best,” Welch explains. “We want them to be of high ethical standards, with nothing derogatory to their name. At the end of the day, we are all in one accord that taking care of families is our highest priority.”
Welch is optimistic about the opportunity to educate current NFDA members about Selected and grow Selected membership. This outlook ties in well with questions about the “Independent” distinction, as the vast majority of NFDA’s current membership is already independently owned. Additionally, about 70% of Selected’s own membership already belongs to NFDA, meaning most members would simply be consolidating a dues-paying relationship they already have, not choosing a new one.
Not an easy decision
Welch and the other members of the steering committee and board of directors understand Selected members’ concerns and are eager to answer their questions. They also want members to know that this recommendation is what they truly feel is best for the long-term health — and, perhaps, the survival — of the association.
“[The proposed merger with] NFDA is the path forward, for sure.” says Welch, adding that the committee and the board exhaustively explored many options, including merging with smaller organizations and engaging an association management company.
Welch says that following the July 29 announcement, the board was questioned about the transparency of their process. She explains that the conversations with NFDA were sealed under non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), which greatly limited how much information could be shared.
Selected members who have been engaged with the organization and have attended annual meetings are aware that declining membership has been an ongoing concern, she says. About 30% of lost memberships have been due to the firms being acquired by larger organizations, says Welch, while others have not been able to engage in a way they feel justifies their dues. Declining membership is a problem that is affecting all sorts of organizations, not just Selected.
Looking to the future
With the positive outcome of an NFDA merger on the horizon, Welch doesn’t dwell on the downside case, but she doesn’t dodge it either. Members who love Selected exactly as it is are the ones most likely to hesitate, and she meets that head-on: without a change, she says, Selected’s staff and programming will keep shrinking along with its membership until there’s little left to preserve.
For Selected members, the practical timeline runs through Welch’s own final weeks as president; her term ends at Selected’s Annual Meeting in Louisville, Sept. 2–5, and ballots go out roughly two weeks after that, giving members time to sit with the town-hall discussion before they vote.
Welch hopes that when the vote comes, Selected members will come to the same conclusion that she and the other members of the steering committee and board of directors reached: Selected and NFDA are truly better together.
