Podcast

On "A Brush With Death: 5 Minutes On...," we spend 5 minutes providing listeners with quick insights into various funeral trends, events, organizations, and goings-on. On this episode we are talking about NGL and the 2024 Inspiration Award with Jessica Grann, NGL's Chief Culture and Communications Officer. If you have someone you'd like to nominate for the 2024 Inspiration Award, you can do so at https://nfda.org/inspiration.

While women working in the funeral profession is nothing new, the incredible job done by many of them to serve families to the highest standards is something that cannot be overstated. The tasks performed, the detail with which they are done, and the empathetic care behind them have provided us all with examples of what we should strive for in our own work. In episode 66, host, Gabe Schauf, sits down with Ellen Wynn McBrayer, licensed funeral director and embalmer and President and CFO of Jones-Wynn Funeral Homes and Crematory in Georgia, to learn more about her experiences in the funeral profession. The 2023 Inspiration Award Winner discusses the leadership and mentorship roles she has found herself in throughout her career and shares the importance and results of leading by example. The NFDA Inspiration Award is generously sponsored by NGL.

“The times they are a-changin’.” As the new generation of funeral directors finds its way into the profession, a lot can be said about the challenges that can exist as far as workplace relations go. Debates about “the new way” vs “the old way” arise. Both the definition and style of communication take new meaning to different individuals - which can give way to miscommunication and misinterpretation. Struggles with technology, new ideas, and even levels of respect can also contribute to conflict and frustration. So how do we bring harmony to the multigenerational workforce at our funeral home? In this episode, host, Gabe Schauf, sits down with funeral director and author, Antonio Green to discuss just that. Antonio shares some of what he has learned from personal experience, presenting on and writing about professional collaboration, specifically with the millennial generation.

Is staffing an issue for your funeral home?  How are we as a profession addressing the needs and demands of our employees and ensuring that the workforce challenges of the funeral home are taken care of?  Dr. Jzyk Ennis joins host, Gabe Schauf, to talk about his article, "My Manifesto", published in the October 2022 issue of NFDA's The Director.

Do you have tasks in your life that are very necessary for success but not always at the top of the list in terms of things you really want to do?  In this episode, host, Gabe Schauf sits down with Tyler Anderson, Vice President of Business Development at Precoa, to talk about the importance of creating a preneed strategy for your funeral home.  Why don’t we embrace it as much as we should?  How do we approach it and help those we serve understand its value?  Learn all of this and more in episode 61.

Do you have plans for September?  They should include attending the NFDA International Convention and Expo the 10th through the 13th in Las Vegas.    -       Exciting keynote speakers.  -       Thirty Workshops full of incredible content.  -       A huge expo floor.  -       5 preconvention seminars -       And so much more   In this episode, host, Gabe Schauf, is joined by 3 of the workshop speakers, Dr. Tashel Bordere, Chris Costello and John T. Hill, to share a little about what you have to look forward to in Vegas.

Do you have plans for September?  They should include attending the NFDA International Convention and Expo the 10th through the 13th in Las Vegas.   -       Four days of workshops  -       Thirty plus sessions -       A huge expo floor -       5 preconvention seminars   And what about those keynote speakers?  In this episode, host, Gabe Schauf, sits down with two of them – musician, Mark Schulman and CEO, Dennis Yu to talk drumming, attitude, the future, and artificial intelligence.  Hear what they are all about now and get ready to learn from them during their incredible presentations in Las Vegas.

What does it mean to be an influencer in the funeral profession? Should we as funeral directors add that responsibility to our day-to-day task list? In this episode, host, Gabe Schauf, talks to funeral director and social media influencer, Kari the Mortician, about how she works to educate the public and the importance of transparency and communication with those who want to learn more about what we do and why we do it.

In this episode, host, Gabe Schauf, is joined by 3 members of the mortuary college class of 2023. Kyle Dunn, from Arapahoe Community College, Suzanne Wyckoff, from Northeast Texas Community College, and Sunshine Smith, from Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Service share their experiences of the past year and provide some great advice for new students just starting out.

Personalization has become a standard of funeral service.  Many funeral directors embrace the challenge of coming through for families and finding unique ways to honor and tell the story of their loved ones.  Often the casket or urn is the first place they look to go above and beyond.  In this episode, host, Gabe Schauf, is joined by Trey Ganem, owner of Soulshine Industries, who has taken custom urn and casket design to the next level.