The 2025 Funeral Directors Convention and Expo, held from September 16 to September 18 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, will feature a varied and interesting array of speakers for attendees.
The seminars, which are all approved for one elective continuing education credit toward licensure, will delve into relevant topics such as the growing market for green funerals, digital marketing methods designed to promote your funeral home and handling the funerals of law enforcement officials who die in the line of duty.
Each seminar will be held twice during the Convention, which allows those attending the event some flexibility in scheduling their activities. All seminars have been approved for one elective CEU toward licensing renewal.
This article will outline the three of the six continuing education seminars scheduled during the Convention. A second article in a future edition of The FORUM will feature the other three speakers.
In Green Light on Green Funerals, Darren Crouch will explore the rising preference for environmentally responsible funeral options and how funeral homes can successfully adapt.
Crouch is the cofounder, president and CEO of Passages International, which helps funeral homes meet the needs of less traditional consumers, including the growing clientele that chooses cremation, scattering or more natural end-of-life rituals. He has been published in several funeral industry magazines and has spoken at national and international conventions.
Crouch holds a degree from the Manchester Metropolitan University in Manchester, England, and is the president of the Green Burial Council.
This seminar will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 16 and from 9:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday, September 17.
John Horan will present Final Salute: The Funeral Director's Role in Line of Duty Deaths, which will give attendees a roadmap for navigating the legal, ceremonial and logistical responsibilities following the death of a police officer in the line of duty.
The owner of funeral homes in Colorado, Indiana and Kentucky, Horan is the cofounder and board member of the Colorado Fallen Hero Foundation which coordinates law enforcement officers’ line-of-duty death funerals. Horan has led or assisted on more than 30 line-of-duty funerals.
Horan holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado and an associate’s degree from the San Francisco College of Mortuary Science. He is senior vice president of the Park Lawn Corporation in the Denver area.
This seminar will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 16 and from 9:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday, September 17.
In Staying Ahead of the Game: Using Digital Marketing to Generate Preneed Leads, Glenn Gould III, MS, will provide marketing strategies that funeral service practitioners can apply to managing a deathcare business, with the goal of long-term profitability.
Gould was CEO of MKJ Marketing for 35 years. The deathcare industry marketing firm served funeral homes, cemeteries and death care industry vendors in areas of digital marketing, market research, advertising and training programs.
Through MKJ, Gould assisted funeral homes and deathcare industry vendors in establishing marketing and advertising plans. Gould holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees. His articles appear regularly in funeral service publications, and he has written two books that are used at mortuary colleges nationally.
This seminar will be held from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on Tuesday, September 16 and from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, September 17.
To take advantage of these informative seminars, register for the 2025 Convention. Visit convention.njsfda.org/speakers for more information on these seminars and others.
Descriptions of more speakers and their seminars will appear in a future edition of The FORUM.