This year’s Symposium will be our best yet. The committee and staff selected the theme, Connecting the Dots, to help attendees find success by combining critical elements of running a business into one comprehensive strategy. From beginning to end, we’ll build on the content presented, wrapping with a big picture view of how it all fits together.

In brief: The foundation comes from establishing and understanding the power of your story. From there, tell that story though your brand advocates or key staff and community members. Their online reviews leverage your position to improve your online reputation and get found.

Once you have their attention, keep it by transforming their interactions with you into something memorable, especially with the addition of a therapy dog. But none of this can succeed without evaluating these individual steps and making changes for continuous improvement.
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We are so excited to bring these experts together for you in Vegas, we know you’re going to love it!

Jennifer Head, CANA Education Director – I’m most excited for our Keynote Speaker, Kelly Swanson. Not only is she an award-winning storyteller who can take you right to the heart of a problem, she’s hilarious! Her message on crafting the right story is so critical for our industry right now. As I attended a presentation given by a different storytelling expert, I watched how, in a matter of minutes, she transformed a story that did nothing emotionally to one that tugged at my heartstrings and made me happy to buy.
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That’s how you create brand advocates- people who tell your story for you. Because at the end of the day, it’s not about you. It’s about them. And you have to let them know that through your story. Don’t believe me? Let Kelly explain it to you at the Symposium. She’ll present two dynamic sessions at the conference, and whether you own a business or work for one, whether you are a practitioner or supplier, her message will resonate with you. I promise.

Lindsey Ballard, Ballard-Sunder Funeral & Cremation – Our committee considers many options when selecting a hotel, and we’re excited to be returning to the Paris for a second year. The Paris Las Vegas Hotel is such a wonderful place to be when you're in Vegas. It's visually stunning, loaded with restaurants and entertainment, and the central location on the famed strip can't be beat. Our meeting rooms for the symposium are beautiful and provide the perfect ambience for our event.
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Of course, I’m really looking forward to the Therapy Pet panel presentation. My dog Fletcher has been going through training to become a therapy dog at our funeral home, and I’ve learned a lot over the last year. He won’t be coming, but I have lots of pictures! Fellow committee member Robert Hunsaker as well as CANA member J.P. Di Troia will join me as we share our therapy dog journeys with you and provide some guidance about adding one to your team. We’ll also host one of the roundtables during the Coffee Klatch. I hope to see you there!

Scott MacKenzie, MacKenzie Vault, Inc. – As supplier liaison for the CANA board and chair of the committee, my focus is usually on the exhibits. We have over 40 exhibitors committed to supporting you the same way you support families who choose cremation. CANA’s Symposium is the best place to learn about new cremation products and services.
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Vendors from almost every area – technology, products, supplies, equipment, personalization and more – will be on-hand to show you what’s new and talk about what families are asking for as the personalization and DIY trend continues to grow. Your vendors are your best partners as your businesses continue to evolve to meet the demands of an ever-changing industry.

Barbara Kemmis, CANA Executive Director – And don’t forget, just for owners and managers, a new kind of event! The Art of Selling Cremation: A Preneed Summit

This one-day, highly interactive workshop places you with marketers and experienced providers to answer your questions and find new solutions to your preneed challenges. We have experts on using demographic data and targeting the right markets, advice on selling value over price with the staff you have or specialists, and stories from experience on administering and selling across multiple brands online and in-person.
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We’re excited to see the discussions that emerge. Limited spots available, register now!

As we lay 2017 to rest and get used to writing 2018 on our paperwork, we asked a few CANA members what resolutions they have for 2018 and each said the same thing: I don't believe in New Year's Resolutions.

Instead, they strive to improve the performance and service of their company throughout the year by supporting their staff's professional development, by protecting the safety and well-being of their operators and their image, and by caring for themselves and their colleagues the same way they care for our communities everyday. These goals aren't something we can do in one day, but something we can continue to strive for throughout the year.
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So from our experts to you:

I don’t do New Year’s resolutions. When I’m motivated over a topic, I make a commitment and set timelines for accountability to follow through, timelines for myself included. These timelines may or may not coincide with January 1st.

As much as I’m flattered to be asked to contribute to CANA’s Cremation Logs and make recommendations for staff training in the new year, I’m not even sure I know what “improving staff training” means. I also flinch at the word “training” – I think we train dogs and we educate people.

Heck, for some employers, any training would be perceived as an improvement. My guiding principle, from the book Good to Great, is that you get “right people on the bus and wrong people off the bus.” If the wrong people snuck on the bus, either by acquisition of a firm, marriage to a relative or simply a wrong hire, then no amount of training will change the person. Instead, you need to do some top-grading and weed out the low performers.

Great people in end-of-life care sincerely want to do all they can for a family in grief. Every year they want to enhance their skills to serve. They want to be the very best informed and most knowledgeable caregiver they can possibly be. If those are not obvious traits, than the wrong person is on the bus!
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Top-grading is probably an excellent resolution. The right staff will rise to the top and the opportunities for improvement will be natural. The problem is, it may start with the owner – it’s up to management to decide what talents they need and what skills they’ll teach or have others teach for them by sending staff to appropriate seminars and continuing education.
In the end, the words don’t matter if there is no downside to refusing to be enlightened – make sure the right people are on the bus and get the others off. Not just January 1st, make a point of doing this continuously.

Generally, I think New Year's resolutions are ridiculous. We try to solve all of our perceived problems at the stroke of midnight only to fail miserably, usually before Valentine's Day. The key to true success is to declare broad-based, realistic resolutions and work on them all year long. Baby steps, if you will. For instance, a cremationist could resolve to focus on improving three important facets of cremation operations: safety, the environment, and the public’s perception of a crematory.

So, for 2018, repeat after me: "I resolve to be an even better cremationist by working to improve Operational Safety, Environmental Impact, and Public Perception regarding cremation.
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Working on these three goals in progressive steps will be much easier to accomplish than resolving to “never leave the crematory during the cremation,” because we know that there will be times that, sooner or later, this will happen. Then, you will feel defeated and risk scrapping the whole thing. Instead, implement the following procedures throughout the new year. Here are a few examples of things that will help to succeed with your New Year’s resolution.

1. Improve Operational Safety: Don’t bypass or short-cut the cool-down step of the process. If your equipment is meant to cool-down between cremations (and most are) you should never bypass this to rush the process. Typically, operating procedures call for a cool down period between cremations to approximately 600ºF before the chambers can be safely swept out. Waiting until the unit is cool to perform the next cremation also helps prevent premature ignition as you load the next case — which can be extremely dangerous. Waiting can also help to prevent a “run away” cremation; the cremation is better controlled with less heat at the start, and the likelihood of overheating is decreased. And remember, regardless of the unit, operators must always wear personal protective equipment to safeguard against harm from the heat.
2. Reduce Environmental Impact: No matter how new and advanced your equipment is, failure to operate it properly can and will produce hazardous emissions and harm our environment.
   1. Scrutinize. Examining the materials included with the remains assures operator safety and reduces the volume of pollutants released into the atmosphere. Often friends and loved ones will place objects in the casket as a token of remembrance or as a personal gesture. Items like stuffed animals, picture frames, bullets, plastics, etc., are not meant to be cremated and could damage the unit, cause unnecessary toxic pollution, or even compromise the safety of the operator.
      NOTE: In some parts of North America, the operator is not legally allowed to open the casket prior to cremation due to regulatory laws. Confirm compliance with all relevant laws and take reasonable action to ensure the safety of yourself and your community.
   2. Any new policy implemented in effort to improve operator safety and improve environmental impact will help to paint cremation in a better light with the public. News stories that feature cremation fires or YouTube videos that show dark billowing smoke being emitted from a cremator stack do more harm than just to the environment and the safety of the operator. They tarnish our credibility and creates a negative perception with the public.
3. Improve Public Perception: The easiest resolution is to assure that your facility is always clean and tidy. As cremation becomes even more popular, so will the public’s desire to visit crematories before deciding on which firm to use, which will increase your visitation and witnessed cremation services. Open and clean facilities with an engaged and knowledgeable staff are going to win every time. Clean your place daily. Wipe up any spills with a sanitary solution of 1:10 bleach and water as they happen. Sweep the floors and mop as appropriate. Dust off all surfaces on a regular basis. Treat your crematory like a funeral home is treated. It should be a showplace just as nice as any other room in your business.
4. Resolve to get CANA Certified: Even if you are not an actual operator, the knowledge, information, and insight presented at a CANA Crematory Operations Certification class will not only improve the safety of your operation, our environment, and public perception, it will improve the service of funeral professionals toward their families.

As a fellow cremation professional and so-called expert, I will join you in the resolution to implement strategies and programs to help increase the safety of the crematory operator, lessen the environmental impact of cremation, and to continue to educate the public with facts, science, and emotional realities, all in the hopes of improving their perception of what goes on inside a crematory. Happy New Year!

Ours is a difficult job. We meet people at the worst moments of their lives and guide them through this period of initial hurt until their mother, child, grandfather, loved one is laid to rest. And then we say goodbye. They continue on their grief’s journey, we take the next call. Our journey stops, or never stops as the phone keeps ringing, without any satisfying conclusion.

So in 2018, I want us all to make a New Year’s Resolution to take better care of ourselves.
I need to take my own advice here. We are too often a profession in which we put others’ needs before our own. This work selects those who have so much to give and who are determined to carry on through terrible situations. We continually respond in a professional and dignified way to national tragedies, horrific accidents, or acts of violence and serve our communities while grieving ourselves while our own family awaits our return.

We must take care of our mental and spiritual health and watch for warning signs in ourselves and our colleagues. We must know when it’s enough and when to reach out and ask for help. That may mean reaching out to a colleague for help with a difficult case, or for professional help to avoid or cope with a breakdown. Yes, was as death care providers can hurt too.
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Your network inside the profession, your social groups outside, your hobbies and passions, your family and friends all serve important functions to ground you in life when our career surrounds us is death. This year, let’s resolve to celebrate these groups, to take stock of our physical, mental and spiritual health, and to reach out to others when we need it or we feel they do.

Ernie Heffner shares 40+ years of professional funeral service. He has a diverse background in the operation of end-of-life care related enterprises including funeral homes, cemeteries, a monument company, 10 funeral business relocations and 5 new replacement facility constructions. Ernie has received national recognition and has been a featured speaker on numerous occasions for a variety of state and national industry organizations, related industry organizations as well as his local public speaking engagements for community education.

Larry Stuart is a graduate of Kent State University and is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) as Supplier Liaison. Through his experience Larry has seen first-hand the negative impact that poor crematory maintenance and improper operating procedures can bring about. Larry has spoken at numerous industry events and has conducted crematory operator training classes across North America with a mission to advance the safety of cremation facilities and their employees and to more positively impact our community and our environment.
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Michael Sheedy has been a funeral director for over 20 years and currently serves as President of the Board of Directors for the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) and is a member of the Ottawa District Funeral Association. In his tenure with Pinecrest Remembrance Services, he has been part of the creation of Ontario’s first full service facility with onsite visitation and receptions.