STERLING, VA (May 11, 2015)—The International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association’s Annual Convention & Exposition, April 8-11 in San Antonio, Texas, drew 2,147 total attendees and 582 supplier booths. The convention also attracted at least 371 first-time attendees.
The breakdown for the 2015 attendance numbers is as follows:
- Total cemetery, funeral home, crematory and allied business representatives: 1,072
- 24 percent representing combination cemetery/funeral home operations
- 23 percent representing stand-alone cemeteries
- 31 percent representing stand-alone funeral homes
- 5 percent representing stand-alone pet loss providers
- 15 percent “other,” including insurance agents, mortuary school faculty, representatives of industry associations and others
- Spouse/guest registrations: 129
- Exhibitor and supplier registrations: 1,020
Attendees classified their positions as follows:
- Owners: 41 percent
- Managers: 47 percent
- Staff: 12 percent
- Final purchasing authority: 58 percent
- Make purchasing recommendations: 39 percent
- No purchasing authority: 3 percent
The convention hosted 136 international attendees representing 17 countries outside of the United States.
Attendees rated the event highly, with 84 percent indicating their overall convention experience was “excellent” or “very good,” and 81 percent indicating they “definitely” or “probably” will attend the ICCFA 2016 Convention, April 13-16, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Among the comments:
- “The format was much improved: later start for the annual meeting; moving the memorial service to the last day; earlier start time on first day; more time with the exhibitors.” Frank Milles, StoneMor Partners, LP, Levittown, Pennsylvania
- “This was the first time I have the ICCFA Annual Convention. As an HR professional and proud cemeterian, I was very impressed by the variety of products, people and was especially delighted by the various courses that covered human resources.” Monica Brache-Hernandez, Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California
- “Great convention! ICCFA provides some of the best education in our industry. Thank you for your focus on quality speakers.” Marla Noel, Fairhaven Memorial Park, Santa Ana, California
More than 87 percent of exhibitors rated their overall exposition experience as favorable. Asked about their plans for the 2016 Convention & Exposition, 97 percent indicated they planned to exhibit.
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. Its membership is composed of more than 9,100 rooftop locations and 20,000 professionals in the cemetery, funeral home and crematory industries, as well as supplier and related businesses worldwide.
