The 2021-2022 Board of Directors and Executive are extremely excited to welcome all of you at our annual convention this year. It is going to be an amazing event full of great educational opportunity, recognizing outstanding achievement, years of service, and of course networking with fellow funeral service professionals. It is important to review each section of The Standard as there is pertinent information that is important to you, your staff, and your business. As always please reach out if you have any questions or if we can help in anyway.
In this issue you will find:
- Conference Registration
- Conference Program
- Speakers
- Awards
- Partnership Program
- CPP Death Benefits
Warm regards,
Chris G. Jong
President
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Are you planning to attend the Conference this year?
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April 21 - 23, 2022
Deerfoot Inn & Casino | Calgary
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The AFSA Board formally invites to attend the 2022 AGM & Conference!
We have an exciting schedule of speakers and social events scheduled.
We are also looking forward to honoring all of our award winners at the President's Banquet & Awards Gala. After 3 years there is lots to celebrate! So pull out your glitziest formal wear and come dressed to impress.
Registration is now open, see you soon!
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Gary Freytag: Authentic Leadership, Crisis Management Corporate Culture (lessons from COVID). |
Gary M. Freytag, President and Chief Executive Officer of Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum, joined the organization in 2003. Since joining Spring Grove, he has led transformational growth that has tripled the revenue of the organization. Spring Grove is now the dominant death care provider in the Cincinnati market providing 1,700 cemetery and 1,800 funeral services annually.
Mr. Freytag holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Dartmouth and an MBA from the Harvard School of Business. He joined the Spring Grove Family after previously serving as Treasurer of Eagle-Picher, a public diversified manufacturing company with one billion dollars in worldwide revenue. His other business experience includes information technology, manufacturing, management consulting and venture capital. He currently sits on the Boards of Directors for Skidmore Sales (food ingredient distributor) and Passare (funeral home arrangement software).
Since joining the industry, Freytag has become a CCFE (Certified Cemetery and Funeral Executive) and has been very active in ICCFA. He has spoken at a variety of industry events including the ICCFA Fall Management Conference, Wide World of Sales, ICCFA Annual Convention, and the OACFP. He has served as an ICCFA Board member on the Strategic Planning and Finance Committees. He served as Treasurer for 6 years before becoming President in May 2021.
Mr. Freytag is the Dean of the College of Leadership, Administration and Management at ICCFA University. He is also an active member of Cemetery Council (Chair), Death Care Management Council, and the Historic Cemetery Alliance.
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Todd Van Beck: What is Funeral Service all about in the 21st Century and tangible service enhancement ideas
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Todd W. Van Beck is one of the best known and most well-regarded educators, writers and speakers in the funeral profession. His book, “Winning Ways,” and the articles he frequently contributes to trade magazines illustrate Van Beck’s seemingly limitless ability to come up with simple yet innovative ways to improve a funeral home and his knack for explaining good business practices in a down-to-earth, step-by-step way.
Want to feel good about the funeral profession? Go to a seminar where Todd Van Beck is speaking. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and most important, you’ll learn. His style is humorous and self-deprecating, his language often “colorful,” but what always shines through is his passion for and belief in the importance of funeral service.
But before the commentary comes the background — how Van Beck got into funeral service, the jobs he’s had and what he’s learned from them. These are the stories he tells on himself, the ones that make him seem approachable to even the most neophyte funeral director attending his or her first educational seminar.
Unlike many in the funeral and cemetery business, Van Beck was not born into it — at least not in the sense of having had parents who were funeral directors. But perhaps the most telling words uttered by a man of many, many words, the ones that should comprise the title of his autobiography, should he decide to write one, are these: “I came out of the womb an undertaker.”
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Jeremy Allen is a licensed funeral director/embalmer and owner of Gregory's Funeral Home in Provost, Alberta.
In addition to his passion for serving families and his profession, Jeremy shares an equal desire for death education and helping individuals better understand, grief, loss and mourning.
DeathEd.ca is intended to establish a sense of direction for those experiencing grief, whether that is walking through your own grief or walking alongside someone who is experiencing loss.
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Todd Reinholt: Benefit of a Funeral Celebrant |
Todd received his funeral service education through Mount Royal University, Calgary, AB. He has served as a Licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer and in 2009, began serving families as a Certified Funeral Celebrant. He has worked with hundreds of families since then providing gentle guidance and comfort during one of the most difficult journeys of their lives. Todd then completed his certification as a Grief Recovery Specialist and in addition to his service as a Funeral Celebrant, provides individuals and groups with the tools and support necessary to work through unresolved grief. Todd provides community and public education about grief and has spoken at universities, community groups and conferences.
Todd is the trainer for Life Celebrants International and has trained and certified many individuals as Funeral/Life Celebrants. He is a member of the Funeral Service Association of Canada (FSAC) Continuing Education Committee, Canadian Funeral Celebrant Peer Support group and volunteers his services for individuals who die alone and without family.
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LONG TERM FUNERAL SERVICE
DISTICTION AWARD
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Are you a Member Firm that knows an individual with 25 years or more of service in the funeral profession? Submit a nomination for the Alberta Funeral Service Association Long Term Funeral Service Distinction Award.
Submission deadline is March 15th, 2022
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Robert Snodgrass Memorial Award |
The Robert Snodgrass award is an annual award, presented at the time of convention for the Annual General Meeting of the Alberta Funeral Service Association. The recipient may be a person working in the funeral profession in Alberta. The recipient may also be a person associated with the funeral profession in Alberta.
The individual may be nominated for:
1. Outstanding Customer Service
2. Outstanding Contribution to AFSA
3. Outstanding Contribution to the Funeral Profession at Large
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AFSA INTRODUCES PARTNERSHIP PACKAGE |
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The Alberta Funeral Service Association is excited to announce that we have developed a Partnership Package.
This package was developed with you, our sponsors in mind. Utilizing this package will encompass your sponsorship contributions for the entire year. It is your one-stop-shop for Membership, the annual convention, and the golf tournament. Sponsors of AFSA will receive recognition throughout the course of the year via virtual and/or in-person platforms such as our monthly newsletter, The Standard, brand exposure at AFSA events, social media spotlights, etc.
Should you have any questions, please contact the AFSA office.
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The Funeral Services Association of Canada (FSAC) has been actively working on increasing the amount of the CPP Death Benefit that has been unchanged since 1998.
We ask all Members to take action and write to your provincial and federal representatives. FSAC has made this easy by using the Push Politics Tool.
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The AFSA Board of Directors have reviewed the updates to the restrictions announced yesterday by the Government of Alberta. It remains unclear what changes are upcoming for funerals, other than information will be provided soon.
The Board has asked for clarification and will provided an update to Membership as soon as it is received.
Continue to review the website for up to date information.
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T 780 412 1310
F 780 413 0076
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