Summit Agenda
7:30 – 8:30 AM
Welcome Breakfast, Networking, & Vendor Parlor
8:30 – 8:45 AM
Opening Remarks
8:45 – 9:15 AM
Morning Keynote
- Trey Morgan, President & CEO — The Morgan Companies
- Michael Schimmel, CEO — Sympathy Brands
9:20 – 10:00 AM
Burial: Cemetery Tech & the Evolution of Cemetery Sales
- Ashlinn Goodman, Director of Cemetery Sales — SNL
- George Ownes, Owner — Fortitude / Guidant
- Mark Kittnar, Chief Operating and Technology Officer — Cemetery.com
- Billy Eaton, VP - Strategic & National Accounts — Matthews
- Eric Brown, Owner — Rest Haven Funeral Home & Cemetery, Hagerstown, MD
10:00 – 10:20 AM
Break + Johnson Consulting Spotlight
Jake Johnson, Owner
10:20 – 11:00 AM
Finance Fireside Chat
Financial Operations & Succession: Building a Funeral Home That Survives You
- Chris Cruger, Owner / CEO — Foresight
11:00 – 11:10 AM
Dead Ringers
Brent Thomas, Director of Sales
11:10 – 11:30 AM
Profession Within an Industry
Prelude to the cremation conversation: where profession and industry are being commoditized to reduce services.
- Anthony Kaniuk — NFDA
- Michael Schimmel — Sympathy Brands
12:20 – 1:20 PM
Impacts of Cremation: Optimizing Options & Experiences for Dignified Service
- Carlton Maye, Jr., MBA, CFSP, CCO — NFDA / Serenity Funeral Home & Cremations
- Mandy Stafford, Funeral Director & Preneed Specialist — Return Home
- Jeni Bryant — TN Funeral Home, Crematory, Mortuary Owner
- Philip Flores, Jr., Owner — Cremation by Water
- Tonya Scales-Haynes — NFDMA District Governor for TN
- Tryphina Wiseman — NFDMA Corporate Clerk of the House
1:20 – 1:30 PM
Funeral Women Lead
Patty Neuswanger
1:30 – 2:20 PM
Preneed Focused: Technology, Marketing, Digitalization & the Future of Service Delivery
- Michael Schimmel, CEO / Owner — Sympathy / Shiva / eCondolence
- Beau Jarrell, Owner — Fintra
- Justin Crowe, Founder / Owner — Parting Stone
2:20 – 3:10 PM
Merchandising for Success: Guiding Consumer Expectations with Pricing Transparency
- Jennifer Blakely, Founder / Owner — Life’s QR
- Katey Houston, Director of Relationships — Parting Stone
- James Fletchler, VP of Marketing — Matthews
- Tryphina Wiseman — Wiseman Mortuary, Fayetteville, NC