Pub1-2022-Issue2

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT James Brown Welcome to the post-2022 Annual Convention edition of The Director’s Digest. As detailed in more depth herein, I am pleased to write that the MFDA annual state convention and tradeshow were held in Helena as an in-person for the first time in three years. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Association was forced to cancel the 2020 and 2021 conventions. But, with the lifting of the various government mandates and the drop in COVID-19 numbers, the MFDA restarted this popular and informative member benefit. And what a convention it was! This year’s MFDA Convention provided our attendees with a great lineup of presenters and programs. Distinguished convention speakers included Leili McMurrough, who covered the areas of FTC rules, Hiring and Retention of Today’s Employees, and the State of Funeral Service Education. In addition, at the request of our membership, Helena attorney Rose James covered the growing importance of estate planning. And Linda Cohen spoke on how kindness can transform the bottom line of a business. Finally, Todd Reinholt proved to be a very popular presenter with the convention attendees, speaking about the importance of funeral celebrants and what the appearance of your funeral home communicates to families and guests. And, of course, the annual convention always marks the change over of MFDA’s officers and board members. TJ Stevenson was elected to serve as MFDA’s President for the coming year. TJ takes over from Chris Holt, who may have had the most challenging presidency in the history of the MFDA, given all the business and financial-related changes arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. (You did a great The NFDA National Convention is always a fun and interesting experience, and MFDA encourages its members to attend this event. 6 Montana Funeral Directors Association

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