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Darla Tripoli
is a full-time instructor in the restorative arts lab at the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science, where she graduated with a mortuary science degree. She formerly worked at Beinhauer Funeral Home in Peters Township, Pa., and DeAngelo Funeral Home in Washington Township, Pa. She’s an expert in cosmetology, airbrushing and funeral home décor, and she’s delivered presentations throughout the world. She’s also the owner and operator of Funeral Service Consultants and regularly provides private training sessions to funeral home owners and their staff.
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Alan Creedy
began his career as a project manager for a diversified holding company that bought distressed companies, restored them and resold them. His degree in psychology and being certified as a public accountant helped him quickly establish himself as a turnaround expert in funeral service. He formerly served as the president of OGR Service Corp., the for-profit arm of The Order of the Golden Rule, and as president of Brown-Wynne Funeral Homes and Cemeteries in Raleigh, N.C. After the sale of Brown-Wynne, he became president of Trust 100, a preneed marketing company he formerly co-founded. He's a past chairman of the Funeral Service Foundation and enjoys helping funeral homes throughout the United States as a consultant.
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Quinn Eagan
started in his family funeral business and has continued in the funeral business for more than 30 years. As the president of PFP – Preneed Funeral Program – he’s become a living marketing legend who’s developed systems that have sold more than $2 billion of funded prearrangements. He’s helped funeral homes throughout the United States and Canada grow call volume and increase profit margins by expanding service options.
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Dan Isard
is the founder and president of The Foresight Companies in Phoenix. He’s appraised more than 2,000 funeral homes, more than 500 cemeteries and about 100 crematories. He’s been an expert witness for more than 75 legal matters over the past 20 years and is the author of “What Every Funeral Director and Cemeterian Should Know About Cremation,” as well as “The Complete Preneed Perspective.” For the past 10 years, Isard has also been the editor of Preneed Perspective. He’s delivered more than 500 speeches to funeral professionals and published hundreds of articles to help them operate their businesses.
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Jake Johnson
is president and CEO of Johnson Consulting Groupin Scottsdale, Ariz.. He started his career as associate director of corporate development at Keystone Group Holdings before joining Palm Mortuaries and Cemeteries in Las Vegas, where he managed all cemetery locations and designed a companywide customer service database. He obtained his education at Xavier University in Cincinnati where he majored in management with an emphasis in finance and accounting. Johnson Consulting Group offers solutions to help funeral homes and cemeteries improve every aspect of business operations.
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Mark Krause
is president of Krause Funeral Homes and Cremation Services in Milwaukee, which operates four funeral homes that serve more than 1,300 families per year. He has degrees in political science, history, mortuary science and an MBA, and he’s also the past president of the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association. A sought after speaker, his business offers a full array of services, including cremation, catering, and multicultural and pet services. His firm is nationally recognized for outstanding customer service and innovation.
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Paul J. Seyler
is president of Competitive Resources, a marketing firm based in New Orleans with core strengths in research, strategy development, training and implementation. He spent 10 years in marketing and strategic planning with firms in real estate and financial services.
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Kim Medici Shelquist
served as the business development and communications director of the Hospice of Central Iowa before becoming the director of marketing communications for Homesteaders Life Co. in 2009. At Homesteaders, she oversees the company’s internal communications as well as the development of marketing tools that help funeral home customers grow their businesses.
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Michael Bjerum,
a senior technical adviser with Kelco Supply Co., entered funeral service after a failed attempt at farming during the agricultural crisis of the 1980s. He was a full-time location manager of Eifert Funeral Home before opening Bjerum Funeral Home in his hometown of Mountain Lake, Minn. He remained with Bjerum and Sturm Funeral Homes until 2010, where he assisted grieving families on an at-need basis, helped people preplan and served as a community resource. Today, he views his primary responsibility as serving families and communities by helping local funeral directors provide the best service possible. He also provides annual Occupational Safety Health Administration reviews for Minnesota funeral directors.
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