PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE T.J. Stevenson Members of the Association: It has been a busy fall, and I do not know where the time goes! Winter sure came in with a bang today, and we had to postpone our district meets in both Great Falls and Missoula due to the winter storm. We were able to hold the district meetings in Miles City, Billings, and Butte. I want to thank all the firms that took the time to give me a tour of their funeral homes in those areas – I thoroughly enjoyed it. The meetings had great turnouts, and it was fun seeing everyone again. Attendees should have received an email with their continuing education certificates; if not, please let us know. A couple of things that the board is looking for feedback on is whether or not we should go from a one-year term to a two-year term. We have also tossed around the idea of holding the summer convention every other year with a larger scale midwinter conference on the off years. We handed out sheets at the district meetings for those in attendance on thoughts on those two issues. We would certainly appreciate everyone’s thoughts on those two topics, so feel free to email us. The NFDA Convention in Baltimore was well attended. One topic of discussion is the FTC Funeral Rule. The FTC is looking at revising the funeral rule. They recently had a panel discussion with several participants that can be watched on the NFDA website. From what I gathered, the NFDA’s stance on it is yes. There are a few things that could be revised with the funeral rule, such as presenting a GPL immediately to a family when they walk in the door in sensitive situations. However, they do not feel that the FTC should add more regulations to the funeral rule – something to keep an eye on for sure. We also hosted the MFDA dinner while there and had 12 members attend a restaurant right on the harbor. Thank you, Terri, for lining that up for us. I wanted to give a shout-out to Jim Brown. Even though the results did not go in your favor for the election, we are proud of the professionalism you upheld during your race for Montana Supreme Court Justice. I look forward to getting the district meetings rescheduled in Missoula and Great Falls and to visiting your funeral homes in those areas. I hope everyone has a warm and safe Holiday Season! Sincerely, T.J. Stevenson 4 Montana Funeral Directors Association
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