The Funeral Service Foundation (FSF) awarded three scholarships for attendance at the 2010 NFDA Professional Women?s Conference, held April 9-11 in Savannah, Georgia. Recipients of the 2010 honors were Adriana Corral, a mortuary science student at Miami Dade College; Jessica Liston, a mortician at the University of Wisconsin-Madison?s hospital; and Kristan McNames, owner and funeral director at Grace Funeral and Cremation Services in Rockford, Illinois.
?The NFDA Professional Women?s Conference was a wonderful opportunity to share ideas and information with other people in our profession,? scholarship recipient Kristan McNames said. ?We were able to bounce ideas for improving our businesses off each other and share new ideas to take back to our businesses. I was most impressed by the life experiences of the attendees and speakers ? the environment allowed women – whether students ? or those with many years of experience – to enlighten and encourage each other.?
?My participation at the NFDA Professional Women?s Conference was truly an awe-inspiring experience,? said Jessica Liston. ?I feel honored to have been a part of the conference and to have shared ideas with so many other talented women in funeral service. My spirit was renewed, my passion for my work awoken, and I left the conference ready to be a better professional.?
Recipients were recognized by FSF Executive Director Celi Clark Haga at an awards luncheon on April 10. Bios of scholarship winners are posted on FSF?s Web site, www.funeralservicefoundation.org.
This year?s Funeral Service Foundation Professional Women?s Conference scholarships were made possible through the generous support of Messenger, Nomis Publications, Trigard, and Wilbert Funeral Services, Inc., as well as attendees of FSF Fund Day, a pre-conference program that supports both the PWC scholarships and the FSF Women?s Fund.
Applications for scholarships to attend the 2011 NFDA Professional Women?s Conference in Washington, DC will be available from FSF in early 2011.
The Funeral Service Foundation, through grants, scholarships and research initiatives, supports career and professional development in funeral service, the advancement of funeral service and allied professions, public awareness and education, and the improvement of children?s lives. For more information, visit www.funeralservicefoundation.org.
