Funeral service professionals from the United States and Canada convened in Louisville, Kentucky, February 24-26 for the 122nd Annual Meeting of the International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards (ICFSEB).
The meeting took place at the Seelbach Hilton and focused on timely regulatory trends and innovations within the profession. The Conference hosted more than 100 attendees from 32 states and provinces.
The first day featured premeeting sessions, including Regulatory Board Service 101 – led by Dale Atkinson, ICFSEB legal counsel – and the Administrators Forum for all board administrators and staff in attendance.
ICFSEB President Karen Carruthers officially opened the Annual Meeting with a delegate roll call, committee reports and board nominations.
The voting delegates approved revisions to the Conference’s Model Application and voted to adopt the Election Procedures Policy.
Six candidates ran for the board of directors. The delegate assembly elected three of them to the ICFSEB Board of Directors.
Amy Acord Elston (North Carolina) and Jonathan Rideout (Kentucky) were elected to their first terms on the board. Mark Evely (Michigan) was elected to serve his first three-year term after being appointed to the board to fill a vacancy in August 2025.
At the awards banquet, Jon Rettig Sr. (Ohio) and R. DeMale Bowden Jr. (Louisiana) were honored for their service on the board. Bobby Steven Spann, president of John A. Gupton College, was given the Partners in Professionalism Award for his article advocating for professional standards and the National Board Exam in the Tennessee Funeral Directors Association newsletter.
The opening presentation featured a panel with prominent figures of Colorado’s funeral service regulation overhaul. Alongside Sam Delp and Katie O’Donnell of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, Brian Tobias – the director of Colorado’s Office of Policy, Research, and Regulatory Reform – detailed the state’s upcoming licensure requirements.
Following the opening panel, Evely gave an interactive presentation on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Funeral Rule. Attendees were able to scan a QR code and join a live quiz with various scenarios related to the Funeral Rule.
Harry Samit, director of special investigations at Pearson, gave an insightful presentation on the
ever-evolving innovations in cheating on high-stakes licensure exams. And Atkinson concluded the
opening-day slate with an informative talk on titles and scope of practice within the funeral service profession.
The newly announced board of directors elected Chris Howard (Missouri) to serve as president and Kortney Adams (Nova Scotia) to serve as vice president. Matalie Mickens (South Carolina) was designated as secretary/treasurer.
The majority of presentations were reserved for Thursday, and they covered a variety of important topics. Rideout and Sidney Fogle, executive director of the Funeral Directors Association of Kentucky, gave a passionate presentation on organ-procurement
developments in Kentucky.
Atkinson followed up with a discussion on recent regulatory cases impacting funeral service. The Conference staff gave its annual presentation on the state of the organization and its overall mission, including updates on exam development, membership benefits and candidate experience.
Bradley Guye, business development executive at Ethics & Boundaries Assessment Services, discussed partnering with licensing boards to offer ethics-based assessment programs and disciplinary frameworks. A second panel of regulators – including Delp, Stephanie Gilman (New York) and Ben Parker (Michigan) – talked about unique disciplinary cases within their respective jurisdictions.
To close, Bowden Jr. hosted the “Conference Fishbowl,” which got participants moving. He gave attendees five minutes to discuss a certain topic before having them alternate to discuss a new topic with different people.
“I very much enjoyed that there were some different formats, such as the panel discussions and the Fishbowl,” said Rick Walter of the Montana Board of Funeral Service. “The Fishbowl had some excellent questions that really got people thinking. I also thought that the FTC training was excellent.”
The Conference’s Annual Meeting provides a valuable opportunity for those interested in furthering funeral service regulation to exchange information, problem-solving strategies and goals for the future of the profession. The 123rd Annual Meeting will be held February 23-25, 2027, at the Sonesta Resort in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.