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!

In recent months, preplanning and preneed have become hotly discussed topics in the death care industry. CANA has plans to address them at the Preneed Summit, a special addition to the Cremation Symposium in February – a meeting for preneed professionals and those looking to learn how to improve their preneed strategy. Stay tuned for more details.
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In the meantime, consider CANA Executive Director Barbara Kemmis’s own experience with her parents

One morning, my dad called me at work, which was a first. I was immediately concerned that bad news was coming, however it turned out my parents had made a resolution to “get their affairs in order.” They were starting the process of prearranging their funerals and updating all of their end-of-life documents. My dad’s plan was to have everything in order before I visited in a couple of months. He was calling to confirm that the funeral home he had chosen was a CANA member.

CANA gets similar calls and web inquiries from consumers regularly and it got me thinking: What does a CANA membership and CANA certification mean to the consumer? The funeral home my parents chose is well respected in the community and is a CANA member that proudly displays the CANA logo on its website and front door. The crematory operators are all CANA certified, which means the employer saw value in providing continuing education for the staff. I contacted the funeral home owner, DeWayne Cain of Rest Haven Funeral Homes in Rockwall, Texas why he sought this designation for his business and staff, and what it means to the community he serves.

Dewayne and his staff serve hundreds of families like mine every year. Dewayne said, “CANA is considered the authority in training and certification for crematory operators. The outstanding CANA workshops, seminars and continuing education courses help my staff and me stay current on best practices for crematories. Rest Haven’s affiliation with CANA is important to me and to the families we serve, because it demonstrates our commitment to the highest standards of integrity and professionalism.”

When I visited my parents, we went to the bank and spent time reviewing documents – living wills and worksheets from the funeral home. Not surprisingly, my mom had planned a lovely funeral for herself at which her many friends from church and her social clubs, former students and others could gather together. My mom is a social creature known for her party planning.

My dad’s worksheet simply stated, “Just cremate me.”

He explained that he didn’t want us to be sad or mourn him. He didn’t want a big deal made about his passing. He would be in heaven and we would see him again when it was our time. My mom and I looked at each other and then looked away. I said what she couldn’t at that moment. “I love you, Dad, and I will mourn you and I will cry when you die. I need to be surrounded by family and your friends and former students. I need to hear about the practical jokes you pulled in the classroom and the stories of your leadership in the church and community. I want to respect your wishes, but I will mark your passing. I love you too much not to.”

Cremation is really just the beginning of the conversation, though for too many people like my dad, it’s the end. Recently, I was saddened but unsurprising to read that an urn filled with cremated remains had been accidentally donated to Salvation Army. In a culture of well-meaning but uneducated consumers dealing with the new tradition of cremation, this situation is becoming all too common.

I’m grateful that my parents want to discuss preplanning and that I have access to the information provided by our members on the process, what to expect, and the importance of memorialization. As it says in the CANA Code of Cremation Practice, "Cremation should be considered as preparation for memorialization; and the dead of our society should be memorialized through a commemorative means suitable to the survivors."
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The agreement I reached with my parents is that I will honor their wishes to be cremated and the details of the ceremony and final memorialization are underway. Our conversation continues about their “affairs,” and has become about much more than preplanning a cremation.