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For Immediate Release: August 19, 2024

Brookfield, Wis. – The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) is proud to announce the finalists for the prestigious 2024 NFDA Innovation Award: 1Director, Clear View Caskets and Nemu. These cutting-edge products and services have been recognized for their remarkable contributions to advancing funeral service, with the winner set to be revealed on October 21 during the Opening General Session of the 2024 NFDA International Convention & Expo. The Innovation Award is sponsored by ASD – Answering Service for Directors.

Since its inception in 2009, the NFDA Innovation Award has celebrated and promoted creativity, innovation, and excellence among funeral service suppliers and vendors. This year, the award continues its tradition of highlighting the funeral service profession’s most forward-thinking solutions.

The finalists for the 2024 NFDA Innovation Award (in alphabetical order) are: 

1Director: A groundbreaking all-in-one funeral home management software, 1Director redefines efficiency in funeral service operations. This platform streamlines the planning process with features such as case management, personalized websites, real-time family collaboration, stationery design, memorial video creation, calendar coordination, online arrangements, custom documents, payments and accounting. With 1Director, funeral directors can seamlessly handle every aspect of their services in one integrated experience, allowing for greater organization, communication and family satisfaction.

INVISION TECHNOLOGY by Clear View Caskets: Revolutionizing the funeral experience, Clear View Caskets introduces INVISION TECHNOLOGY, a state-of-the-art switchable technology that allows families to control the visibility of a casket’s interior with a single click. This innovative feature provides families with the unique ability to switch between privacy and full visibility during visitations or services, without the need for funeral staff intervention. This breakthrough sets a new standard in funeral service quality, offering unparalleled flexibility and emotional comfort to grieving families.

Nemu: Navigating the emotional and complex process of dividing family heirlooms, Nemu’s intuitive app offers a streamlined solution for families. Whether in pre-need or at-need situations, Nemu enables users to catalog, divide, price and sell items with ease. The app’s AI-enabled recognition tool speeds up the process, while the ability to add descriptions and voice notes allows families to preserve the history of cherished items. Nemu’s thoughtful design simplifies an often overwhelming task, ensuring that memories are handled with care and respect.

Funeral service suppliers were invited to submit innovative products or services that became commercially available after January 1, 2023, for consideration in this year's competition. A distinguished panel of judges evaluated the entries based on criteria such as originality, quality and design, ultimately selecting the finalists that exemplify the future of funeral service.

Finalists and more than 20 additional contenders will be showcased in the Expo Hall at the NFDA International Convention & Expo, taking place from October 20-23 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about these pioneering products and engage with the companies driving innovation in the profession. Additional details about the finalists and the convention are available online at NFDA.org/InnovationAwards and NFDA.org/Convention, respectively.

NFDA thanks ASD – Answering Service for Directors for sponsoring the Innovation Award. NFDA also extends its gratitude to the 2024 Inspiration Award judges:

• Benny Capaul, Capaul Funeral Home, Ida, Michigan
• Brian Van Heck, Posey Funeral Directors, North Augusta, South Carolina
• Katey Houston, Return Home, Auburn, Washington
• Kevin Smith, Berceuse Funeral & Cremation Traditions, Hampton, Virginia
• Matt Bailey, Bailey Family Funeral Homes, Wallingford, Connecticut
• Mike Burns, Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Timothy McLoone, William R. May Funeral Home Inc., Glenside, Pennsylvania
• Valerie Janusz, Prasser-Kleczka Funeral Home, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Welton Hong, Ring Ring Marketing, Las Vegas, Nevada

NFDA is the world's leading and largest funeral service association representing 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 NFDA.org.

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Media Contact: Jessica Koth, 262-814-1536, JKoth@NFDA.org