For Immediate Release: December 17, 2018

Brookfield, Wis. – The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) is now accepting entries for a chance to participate in the 2019 Meet the Mentors program, March 10-12 at the Emory Conference Center Hotel, located on the campus of Emory University, in Atlanta, Ga. Meet the Mentors has been wholly funded by the Funeral Service Foundation since the program’s 2011 inception.

During Meet the Mentors, 50 funeral professionals who are age 40 or under or new to the profession (first licensed within the last five years) will have an opportunity to meet, learn from and talk with innovative and successful funeral professionals. It’s also an opportunity to network and form relationships with other new professionals.

Meet the Mentors attendees will spend time with three of the profession’s most respected funeral professionals:

• Rosemarie Forsberg, CFSP, owner and operator of Heritage Funeral Home in Nipawin, SK, Canada, and Tisdale Funeral Home in Tisdale, SK, Canada
• Mark Krause, president of Krause Funeral Homes and Cremation Services, which has several locations in the Milwaukee, Wis. area
• Jeff Smith, owner of Smith Family Funeral Home, which has several locations in the Little Rock, Ark. area

During the program, the mentors will share career advice and lessons they have learned while building rewarding and fulfilling careers in funeral service. Attendees will be able to connect with the mentors and their fellow mentees during small group discussions, interactive exercises and meals.

“I found Meet the Mentors to be a great opportunity to meet with other funeral service professionals from all over the country,” said one of the 2018 Meet the Mentors attendees. “It gave me the ability to see and hear what other firms are doing to engage with the public and their community. I would gladly recommend this program to new funeral directors looking to learn how they can best serve their families.”

“The most valuable part was the inspiration I gained by being surrounded by peers in my same shoes, with the same hardships ahead,” said another participant in the 2018 program. “Being able to brainstorm solutions to these problems was extremely helpful.”

There is no cost to participate in the Meet the Mentors program itself. The Funeral Service Foundation’s grant provides exclusive, career-transforming access to three mentors, and covers attendees’ registration fees, two nights’ lodging and select meals (reception and dinner on March 10; breakfast, lunch and dinner on March 11; and breakfast and lunch on March 12). The 50 individuals selected to attend only pay for their transportation to the program.

Nearly 600 young professionals and emerging leaders have benefited from the Meet the Mentors program, which underscores the Foundation’s mission to support funeral service in building meaningful relationships with the families and communities it serves. The program is part of the Foundation ‘45 Awards, which are designed to transform the careers of funeral service professionals through scholarships, awards, resources and mission-focused outreach.

The names of the 50 participants will be randomly drawn from among all who enter via the NFDA website, www.nfda.org/mentors. Entries will be accepted through 11:59 p.m. CST on January 4, 2019. Entrants must be NFDA members in good standing, licensed funeral directors and/or embalmers, and age 40 or under or new to the profession (first licensed within the last five years).

The names of the 50 participants will be drawn the week of January 21, 2019, from among all entries received. The names of 10 attendees will be revealed every day, Monday through Friday via the NFDA website and social media channels.

Complete details about the NFDA Meet the Mentors program, including all eligibility requirements and an event schedule, can be found on the NFDA website, www.nfda.org/mentors. Members can call NFDA at 800-228-6332 with questions.

About NFDA – www.nfda.org

NFDA is the world’s leading and largest funeral service association, serving more than 20,000 individual members who represent nearly 11,000 funeral homes in the United States and 49 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.

About the Funeral Service Foundation – www.FuneralServiceFoundation.org

Since 1945, the Funeral Service Foundation has served as the profession’s philanthropic voice. As the charitable arm of the National Funeral Directors Association since 1997, the Foundation receives operational support from NFDA and donors across the profession to help advance its mission to support funeral service in building meaningful relationships with the families and the communities it serves.

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