For Immediate Release: July 23, 2012

Association announces the date and location of a fourth Meet the Mentors event

Brookfield, Wis. – Last week, the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) announced the names of the 50 funeral professionals who will have an opportunity to learn from three leading funeral directors and network with like-minded peers during the Association's third Meet the Mentors Program on August 27 and 28 at the Harvard Faculty Club in Cambridge, Mass. Meet the Mentors is being held in cooperation with the Funeral Service Foundation.

NFDA-member licensed funeral directors and embalmers under the age of 40 had an opportunity to enter a drawing for a chance to participate in this exclusive program. The names of the 50 participants were announced the week of July 16 through video drawings posted on the NFDA website and social media sites. The attendees are:

• Tony Aguilar, R. W. Owens & Son Funeral Home, Wolfe City, Texas
• Joshua Allen, Allen Funeral Home, Bloomsburg, Penn.
• Daniel Armstrong, Boles Funeral Home & Crematory, Southern Pines, N.C.
• Timothy Burns, Burns-Garfield Funeral Home, Syracuse, N.Y.
• Truett Calvert, Rhoton Funeral Home, Carrollton, Texas
• Bradley Chute, Newark, Ohio
• Adriana Corral, Miami, Fla.
• Jeremy DeBord, Kearney A. Snyder Funeral Home, Lancaster, Penn.
• Misty Echevarria, Cremation & Burial Society of the Rockies, Missoula, Mont.
• Scott Erickson, Mansfield-Hertz Funeral Home, Malvern, Iowa
• Justin Ford, Jenkins-Soffe South Valley Funeral Chapel & Cremation Center, South Jordan, Utah
• Adam Goss, Spears Funeral Home, Enosburg Falls, Vt.
• Jamie Grossman, Flanner and Buchanan Funeral Center Broad Ripple, Indianapolis, Ind.
• Jason Guest, Hall Funeral Home, Waldoboro, Maine
• Jeff Hagel, McInnis & Holloway Funeral Home, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
• Anthony Hanke, St. Pierre-Phaneuf Funeral Chapels, Springfield, Mass.
• Tiffany Hanson, Eernisse Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Port Washington, Wis.
• Amanda Hasara, Alaska Cook Inlet Funeral Services, Anchorage, Alaska
• Dominic Hasara, Alaska Cook Inlet Funeral Services, Anchorage, Alaska
• Lisa Heath, Legacy Funeral Center at Morris Street, Indianapolis, Ind.
• Matthew Hollebeek, Heritage Life Story Funeral Homes – Van Strien Creston Chapel, Grand Rapids, Mich.
• Andrew Hurst, Hurst Funeral Home, Greenville, Mich.
• Tiffany Hofer, Miller, S.D.
• Jenna Krenz, Pflanz Mantey Mendrala Funeral Home, Portage, Wis.
• Michael Lee, Saint Leonard, Md.
• Michele Linder, McGuinness Funeral Home, Woodbury, N.J.
• Shaun P. J. Martin, McGuinness Funeral Home, Woodbury, N.J.
• Brendan McKeon, Leo P. Gallagher & Son Funeral Home, Stamford, Conn.
• Thomas McNamara Jr., Campbell-Lee, Moody, Russell, Beverly, Mass.
• Clinton Micke, Cline & Hanson Funeral Home, New London, Wis.
• Jason Moody, Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Home, Ocean Springs, Miss.
• Veronica Moreno, Memorial Funeral Home, San Juan, Texas
• Jayde Murray, Stockham Family Funeral Home, McPherson, Kan.
• Michael Neff, Flanner and Buchanan Funeral Centers, Indianapolis, Ind.
• Anthony O'Donnell, Henry J. O'Donnell & Sons Funeral Home, Salem, Mass.
• Ryan Olmstead, Atoka, Okla.
• Tiffany Pettus, Fort Mill, S.C.
• J. Tyler Pray, Pray Funeral Home, Charlotte, Mich.
• Seth Presley, Carter-Trent Funeral Home, Kingsport, Tenn.
• Scott Moyes, Ratterman & Sons Funeral Home, Louisville, Ky.
• Michael Rominski, Kolbus-May Funeral Home, Chicago, Ill.
• James Sedlmayr, Rhiel's Funeral Home, Elmwood, Wis. (Sedlmayr is unable to attend; Scott McBrayer of the Jones-Wynn Funeral Home in Villa Rica, Ga., was selected as an alternate to attend in his place.)
• Matt Shannon, Holman-Howe Funeral Home, Lebanon, Mo.
• Brad Sheppard, Westfield Chapel, Springdale, Ark.
• Justin Smith, Smith Family Mortuaries, Derby, KS
• Stephanie Swogger, Routsong Funeral Home, Kettering, Ohio
• Richard Tull, Mansfield, La.
• Mark Van Roekel, Garden Chapel Funeral Home, Pella, Iowa
• Ralph Williams II, Bowie, Md.
• Andrew Yaggie, Glende-Nilson Funeral Home, Fergus Falls, Minn.

About Meet the Mentors

The 50 selected attendees will have an opportunity to meet and learn from three of the country's leading funeral directors: Robert J. Biggins, CFSP, CPC, of the Magoun-Biggins Funeral Home in Rockland, Mass.; John J. Horan, CFSP, of Horan & McConaty Funeral Service/Cremation in Denver, Colo.; and Christie C. Whitaker, MSW, CFSP, of Whitaker Funeral Home in Newberry, S.C.

There is no cost to participate in the program itself; the 50 selected attendees only pay for their transportation to and from the program. The cost of the registration fee, access to the mentors, one night of lodging, a reception and dinner the night before the program, and continental breakfast and lunch the day of the program – a $599 value – has been generously covered through a grant from the Funeral Service Foundation.

Complete details about the NFDA Meet the Mentors program, including the videos announcing the winners, can be found on the NFDA website, www.nfda.org/mentors.

Meet the Mentors Program Planned for 2013

During the final attendee announcement video, NFDA announced that its fourth Meet the Mentors event would take place March 18-19, 2013, at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. Information about that program, including details on how young funeral professionals can enter for an opportunity to attend, will be posted on the NFDA website, www.nfda.org/mentors.

NFDA is the world's leading and largest funeral service association, serving 18,500 individual members who represent nearly 10,000 funeral homes in the United States and 43 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 www.nfda.org.

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Note: Individuals selected to attend Meet the Mentors who have questions about the program should contact the NFDA Meetings Department at 800-228-6332.

Contact: Jessica Koth, 262-814-1536, jkoth@nfda.org