June 2018

Page B15 JUNE 2018 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on B CONVENTION HIGHLIGHTS ICCFA elects New Officers, Directors Christine Toson Hentges Jay Dodds STERLING,VA— The International Cemetery, Crema- tion and Funeral Association elected new leadership during its 2018 Annual Convention & Exposition, April 18–21 in Las Vegas, NV. ICCFA officers for 2018-2019 are: President – Chris- tine Toson Hentges , CCE, The Tribute Companies Inc., Hartland, WI; President-Elect – Jay Dodds , CFSP, Park Lawn , Houston, TX; Vice President, Education – Mitch Rose , CCFE, CCrE, Woodlawn Cemetery , the Bronx, NY; Vice President, Membership & Marketing – Andres Aguilar , Los Parques , Guatemala City, Guatemala; Vice President, Internal Affairs – Lee Longino , Service Corpo- ration International , Houston, TX; Vice President, Ex- ternal Affairs – Paul Goldstein , Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary , Los Angeles, CA; Treasurer – Gary M. Freytag , CCFE, Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum , Cincinnati, OH; and Secretary – Robbie L. Pape , Service Corporation International , Houston, TX. President Christine Toson Hentges, CCE is president and CEO of The Tribute Companies Inc. in Hartland, WI. Hentges is a fourth-generation cemeterian and is active in the ICCFA leadership. She previously served as co-chair of the ICCFA Women’s Forum, was co-chair of ICCFA’s Fall Management Conference in 2005, is a former board mem- ber and has held several Executive Committee positions. She has been involved in many educational programs run by the ICCFA as well as the Wisconsin Cemetery and Cremation Association , Central States Cemetery Association and has written articles for various trade publications. She is a frequent speaker at seminars and workshops across the country and teaches at the ICCFA University. President-Elect Jay D. Dodds, CFSP is Chief Operating Officer of Park Lawn in Houston, TX. Dodds has more than 30 years of experience in the industry, working and managing in all levels of the funeral, cemetery and crema- tion business. He has managed over 179 properties, 2,000 employees in 25 states. He is a licensed funeral director, In- surance Agent and is a certified crematory operator. Dodds served on the ICCFA Sales & Marketing Com- mittee, as vice president, and has attended the ICCFA University. He currently serves as a trustee for both the ICCFA Educational Foundation and the Funeral Service Foundation, and a board member of the Pierce Mortuary Schools . He has been a speaker for continuing education programs on the subjects of grief and the funeral profes- sion, acquisitions and succession planning and has facili- tated a series of programs to help medical professionals understand grief in stillborn death situations. Members elected to serve three-year terms on the IC- CFA Board of Directors are: Hillary Adair , Adair Funer- al Homes , Tucson, AZ; Gisela Adissi , Grupo Primaveras – Lawn Cemeteries , Crematorium, Columbarium, Fu- neral Home & Funeral Assistance Plan , Sao Paulo, Bra- zil; Lauren Blevins , CCFE, Williams Funeral Homes and Polk Memorial Gardens in Tennessee; Allen Dave Jr ., CFuE, Allen Dave Funeral Directors & Cremation Tribute Center , Cypress, TX; Corey Gaffney , Gaffney Group , Seattle, WA; John Gouch Jr ., Gethsemane Cem- etery & Memorial Gardens , Charlotte, NC; Kyle Niko- la , Savannah Family of Funerals , Savannah, GA; and Jim Semesco , NorthStar Memorial Group in Florida. Past presidents elected to serve a one-year term on the Board: Jeff Kidwiler , CCE, CSE, Blackstone Memori- al , San Clemente, CA; Frederick Lappin , CCE, Knoll- wood Memorial Park , Sharon, MA; and David J. Ship- per , Futura Group , Buckingham, PA. The International Memorialization Supply Association appointment to the Board is Jordan Yearsley , Ensure-A- Seal , Brooklyn, NY. The presidential appointments to represent the ICCFA on the Cemetery Consumer Service Council are: Thom- as P. Daly , CCE, CHS Consulting Group , Westwood, MA; and Stephen Burrill , CCE, CCrE, Mount Hope Cemetery , Bangor, ME. Members of the 2017-2018 Executive Committee are as follows: ICCFA President Christine Toson Hentges, CCE; ICCFA President-Elect Jay Dodds, CFSP; ICCFA Immediate Past President Scott R. Sells , CCFE, Service Corporation International , San Jose, CA; John Linge , CCFE, Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery Association , Cedar Rapids, IA (president’s appointment); and Darin Drabing , Forest Lawn Memorial-Park & Mortuaries , Glendale, CA (past presidents’ appointment). “Overall it was a great conference, one of the best I’ve ever been to! It was very well organized, great venue, the ICCFA staff [were] accommodating [to] us first timers, thank you!” –Sandra Wheeler, Wells Fargo Advisors, San Luis Obispo, CA Submitted by Cate Collins Submitted by Laura Holland