For Immediate Release: July 12, 2022

Bobby Steven Spann

Brad Walker

Brookfield, Wis. – Bobby Steven Spann, CFSP and Brad Walker, CFSP, CPC, CCO, were elected to serve as at-large representatives on the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) Board of Directors. They will begin two-year terms of service immediately following the 2022 NFDA International Convention & Expo.

On July 12, during the NFDA Leadership Conference in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, state association representatives elected the new at-large representatives. State association representatives are the voting representatives from each state who cast a ballot on behalf of their state for the at-large representatives on the NFDA Board of Directors.
  
Bobby Steven Spann, CFSP, has been a funeral director for more than 40 years and currently owns Spann Funeral Home in Dickson, Tennessee, and Humphreys County Funeral Home in Waverly, Tennessee. Spann has served as President of John A. Gupton College of Mortuary Science since 1994.

Spann is a dedicated volunteer leader in the funeral service profession. He has served in many leadership roles with the Tennessee Funeral Directors Association (TFDA), including as chair of the Education Committee and Chair of the Alkaline Hydrolysis Sub-Committee. His service to TFDA also included serving on the Board of Directors, culminating with a term as the 2016-17 President.

His national service is equally admirable, having served from 2018 to 2021 on the NFDA Convention Education Task Force. He has also been a member of the American Board of Funeral Service Education (ABFSE) since 1994 and has served on the Curriculum Review Committee as chair of the National Board Exam Liaison Committee and as chair of the Committee on Accreditation. Spann is a Past President of the University Mortuary Science Education Association and the current Treasurer of the University Mortuary Science Education Association. 

A third-generation funeral director, Brad Walker, CFSP, CPC, CCO, grew up working in his family’s firm, Walker Funeral Home, which has locations in Spanish Fork and Payson, Utah. Dedicated to his chosen profession, he has helped shape the next generation of funeral directors by teaching at Salt Lake Community College as an adjunct professor in the Mortuary Science program. 

Walker has also been an active volunteer leader with his state and national associations. He has served as chair of the Utah Funeral Directors Association (UFDA) Legislative Committee. His service to UFDA also includes serving as district director, secretary-treasurer, vice president, president-elect and president of the association’s Board of Directors. He currently serves as a member of NFDA’s Budget Task Force. 

More information about Spann and Walker can be found on the NFDA website, www.nfda.org/elections. 

NFDA extends its gratitude to the other at-large representative candidates who stepped forward and ran strong campaigns: 

• Anthony Guerra, Guerra & Gutierrez Mortuaries, Los Angeles, California
• Ellen Wynn McBrayer, Jones-Wynn Funeral Homes & Crematory, Villa Rica, Georgia
• James M. "Jimmy" Olson, Olson Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
• Timothy J. Schramm, Howe-Peterson Funeral Homes LLC, Dearborn, Michigan

NFDA Officer Elections

Officers on the NFDA Board of Directors will be elected by qualified NFDA members during an electronic election taking place August 1-14. Officers serve a one-year term that begins after the 2022 NFDA International Convention & Expo. The individual elected to the office of president-elect will automatically become president following the 2023 NFDA Convention. 

The following individuals are candidates for officer positions: 

Secretary Candidates

• Linda Allan Earl, Allan & Ciuferi Funeral Home, Collinsville, Illinois
• Daniel J. Ford, Alderson-Ford Funeral Home, Cheshire, Connecticut

Treasurer Candidates

• Larnique L. Mickens, Heritage Mortuary Inc., Las Vegas, Nevada
• Christopher Payne Robinson, Robinson Funeral Home, Easley, South Carolina

President-elect Candidates

• Nathan Morris, Morris Family Services & Haley McGinnis Funeral Home & Crematory, Owensboro, Kentucky
• Douglas R. "Dutch" Nie II, Nie Family Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Ann Arbor, Michigan 

Current NFDA President Randy Anderson, CFSP, CCO, will continue his service on the Board with a one-year term as immediate past president that commences at the end of the 2022 NFDA Convention. Also continuing their service on the Board of Directors are 2021-23 At-large Representatives Chris Christian, CFSP, CCO, and Beatrice Lewanduski-Lecesse.

Qualified member voters who have an email address on file with NFDA will receive their voting instructions and credentials by email on August 1 (individuals who do not have an email on file will receive information via U.S. mail). 

More information about the officer candidates can be found on the NFDA website, www.nfda.org/elections. 

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.

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