WHEELING, IL— The Cremation Association of North America (CANA) celebrated the 107th Annual Cremation Innovation Convention with over 250 of its dearest friends – including 70 exhibitors – last week in Phoenix! The event attracted professionals from across funeral service and welcomed many new faces. Participants enjoyed connecting with colleagues, viewing innovative supplier solutions, and hearing inspirational presentations.
“What a great event! The CANA Convention really delivered on the promise of providing insights and great ideas to support businesses of all kinds,” remarked Judy Olson, NGL Vice President of Sales and Business Development and elected CANA Supplier Liaison. “I always appreciate connecting and collaborating with folks I know and I made so many new connections because of the great networking environment CANA encourages. I’m already looking forward to CANA’s Symposium in February.”
Emcee Jessi Booker, Regional Vice President at National Guardian Life Company — whose appearance was sponsored by that organization—ably guided the proceedings. The CANA stage hosted several experts who helped the gathered business leaders calibrate their current company practices to flourish in the future.
Joan Fox, President of Inspired Solutions, delivered the keynote address, asking Are You Creating or Killing Customer Loyalty? She proved that culture and customer loyalty are connected and that it really takes a change in mindset to succeed with customers and grow your business. Her methods included the development of strategies for participants to measure service.
Then, Faith Haug, Program Director of Arapahoe Community College Mortuary Science Program took a close look at Ethics in Cremation: A Colorado Case Study. Faith offered a detailed analysis of the three pivotal Colorado cremation cases (2015-2023) that exposed significant gaps in regulations and addressed strategies for regaining public trust.
Sharing the stage for Data-Driven Digital Marketing Fundamentals, Scott Jensen, Co-owner of FirstCall Marketing, defined and explained the three steps that funeral homes owners can take to enable themselves to clearly understand if their marketing is working or not. Then, Zack Moy, Co-founder/CTO of Afterword, explored how technology can create exceptional funeral planning experiences and significantly streamline operations to promote productivity without sacrificing quality.
Succession planning and driving enterprise value should always be in our minds as owners, managers, and key stakeholders in a business. That’s why Jake Johnson, President & CEO of Johnson Consulting, showed how to Exit with Success: Succession Planning and Your Business. Jake outlined the steps to consider when developing a succession plan and communicating with frontline employees.
Regina Harrison, Director of Sales of Mount Auburn Cemetery, encouraged cemeterians—and anyone who cares about memorialization—to think more creatively and sustainably about cremation. In her session on Historic Cemeteries Facing the Future, she shared practical strategies for highlighting options for memorialization, whether you’re managing historic grounds or guiding families through end-of-life choices.
Closing with a favorite session – research – Barbara Kemmis, Executive Director of the Cremation Association of North America and Chance Parker, Chief Research Officer of Fortitude Research + Marketing, presented the Cremation Practitioner Benchmarking Study. The research measured practitioners’ currently held beliefs about cremation and cremation product offerings against consumer viewpoints, providing insight into current practice and strategies to address future challenges. Look for more results of this research to be published in the coming months.
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, Ryan Wiseman passed the gavel to Lindsey Ballard to lead CANA as Board President for the coming year. The Funeral Service Foundation and CANA also celebrated the attendees who won scholarships to attend the 107th Annual Convention and Phoenix! The event made the most of the resort experience with a Golf Outing on the Estates Course, an exclusive Yoga experience, and a Walking Tour of the Historic Arizona Biltmore.
This event would not have been possible without the generous sponsorship of 23 companies. From the open bar to the inspiring sessions to the 9-hole scramble to the coffee breaks that fuel us—we thank them for making this event a success!
