December 2019

Page A36 DECEMBER 2019 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A Funeral Directors Research,Inc. AMRA INSTRUMENT, LLC 623 N. Tower (P.O. Box 359) Centralia, WA 98531 “the shorter the supply line the better off you are” WEB DIRECT GIFT & PRICING TM ® www.amrainstruments.com www.preproomdirect.com News Association ContinueD Passages International and CANA: First-Ever Green Funeral Conference a Success! ALBUQUERQUE,NM— Sev- enty participants represent- ing a range of backgrounds, industry experience, and professional expertise gath- ered in Albuquerque, NM for the first-ever Green Fu- neral Conference. Hosted by the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) and Passages Internation- al, attendees, presenters, and sponsors arrived with ques- tions and gaps in knowl- Continued on Page A37 edge that they hoped to fill and apply to their businesses. No one left disappointed. The event commenced with an opening re- ception hosted by Garfield Refining. This informal gathering set the tone for the rest of the conference, opening the door to pro- ductive networking and information shar- ing. “CANA and Passages created a space for professionals to share best practices, solu- tions, and successes,” said Glenda Stansbury of InSight Institute, who served as the event emcee. “Our presenters were amazing. How- ever, as happens at the best events, great con- tent was shared and developed off the stage among the attendees as well.” The conference officially kicked off with sessions that “Set the Stage” by presenting an introduction to the continuum of green funeral practices. Ed Bixby shared the ori- gins and work of the Green Burial Council. Darren Crouch and Kilian Rempen of Pas- sages International rounded out the morning by discussing green products and marketing tactics. The shrouding demo—a Conference highlight—was next, with participants vol- unteering to be shrouded and carried by oth- ers, offering a valuable opportunity to prac- tice techniques. Next, participants considered how to “Put it into Practice.” Jody Herrington described her success in converting funeral home selec- tion rooms to include green merchandise, followed by a practitioner panel— Donal Key and Linda Canyon of La Puerta Natu- ral Burial Ground, Gracie Griffin of Bell- fontaine Cemetery, Salvador Perches of Grupo Perches and Recinto de la Oracion, Bixby and Herrington—continued the con- versation around green burial practices and tips for creating and offering green options in existing cemeteries. Next up was Tanya Marsh, a professor at Wake Forest Univer- sity School of Law, who examined the legal trends surrounding green burials and green cemeteries. The day ended with a tour of Pas- sages International and a group dinner. The third series of Conference presen- tations focused on “Consumer Insights.” Gail Rubin shared her perspective on consumer views of death and mourning. CANA executive director, Barbara Kem- mis moderated a panel on the environ- mental impact of cremation with Luis Llorens of US Cremation Equipment and Paul Seyler of Matthews Environ- mental. A second panel, with Sam Sieber of Bio-Response and Nicki Mikolai of Resomation U.S., addressed alkaline hy- drolysis. During the final session of round- tables, the full spectrum of green funeral practices was addressed: cremation, green burial, alkaline hydrolysis, burial at sea, le- gal topics, and consumer insights. In summing up the high level of en- gagement with the topics at hand, Kem-