2025-2026 MFDA BOARD MEMBERS BRI MULVANEY, President Axelson Funeral Home and Cremation, Butte Longfellow Finnigan Riddle Funeral Home, Anaconda bri@axelsonfuneralhome.com RICK WALTER, Vice President Longfellow Finnigan Riddle Funeral Home, Anaconda rick@anacondafuneralhome.com (406) 563-3371 JIM ASPER, Treasurer Asper Funeral Homes, Shelby, Custer, Cut Bank, Conrad jim@asperfh.com (406) 434-2172 CHRIS HOLT, Secretary, NFDA State Association Representative Anderson Stevenson Wilke Retz Funeral Home, Helena chris@aswfuneralhome.com KASSITY SORLIE, Southcentral District Governor Smith Funeral Chapels, Billings kassity@smithfuneralchapels.com FRED NELSON, Western District Governor The Lake Funeral Home, Polson flatheadpolson@centurytel.net JESSIE SATHER, Southwestern District Governor jesswldwmn@yahoo.com BROOKE GIEKE, Eastern District Governor Stevenson and Sons Funeral Home, Miles City brooke@stevensonandsons.com AUSTIN ASPER, Northcentral District Governor Asper Funeral Homes austinasper@gmail.com KATIE BACA, Future Development Leaders Director Just Cremation Montana, Missoula katie@missoulafuneralhomes.com STEVE KIRKEGARD, Immediate Past President Bullis Funeral Home and Cremation, Hardin skirkegard@yahoo.com TERRI JAMES, Executive Director info@montanafda.org ©2026 The Montana Funeral Directors Association (MFDA) | MBR Connect, formerly The newsLINK Group LLC. All rights reserved. Directors Digest is published four times per year and is the official publication for this association. The information contained in this publication is intended to provide general information for review, consideration and education. The contents do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied on as such. If you need legal advice or assistance, it is strongly recommended that you contact an attorney as to your circumstances. The statements and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of MFDA, its board of directors or the publisher. Likewise, the appearance of advertisements within this publication does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation of any product or service advertised. Directors Digest is a collective work, and as such, some articles are submitted by authors who are independent of MFDA. While a first-print policy is encouraged, in cases where this is not possible, every effort has been made to comply with any known reprint guidelines or restrictions. Content may not be reproduced or reprinted without prior written permission. For further information, please contact the publisher at (855) 747-4003. PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 4 Excitement and Gratitude By Bri Mulvaney, President, MFDA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT 6 Celebrating 125 Years of MFDA By Terri James, Executive Director, MFDA 8 Winning Local Search With Google A Practical Guide for Funeral Homes By Welton Hong, Founder and CEO, Ring Ring Marketing 12 Convention Schedule 13 Convention Speakers 14 Convention Information, Events and More 16 MFDA Legislative Report By Brad Longcake, Government Affairs, MFDA 17 2026 NFDA Advocacy Summit Report Advocating for Montana Funeral Directors in Washington, D.C. By Chris Holt, Montana State Representative, NFDA IN LOVING MEMORY 18 Niles Fredrick Nelson IN LOVING MEMORY 21 Alan J. Trainer 22 The Threshold of Life Memorial How You Can Support Montana’s Organ and Tissue Donors TABLE OF CONTENTS 6 18 https://montanafda.org DIRECTORS DIGEST | 3
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