CFSA Connect

David Murphy, LoadAlone

A near-fatal injury threatened to limit David's mobility for the rest of his life, sparking his entrepreneurial spirit to design a new loading system that allows a single worker to load a casket or cot regardless of their physical ability.

Justin Thacker, Thacker Casket Manufacturing

Justin is director of manufacturing at Thacker Caskets, and CFSA's 2022-23 president. He discusses what he envisions for the association before being inducted at our Annual Conference & Trade Show in April.

Chris Kuehl, Armada Corporate Intelligence

We are honored to welcome Dr. Chris Kuehl, managing director of Armada Corporate Intelligence. He provides forecasts and strategic guidance for a wide variety of corporate clients around the world, and will be the keynote speaker at our Annual Conference & Trade Show in April 2022.

Poul Lemasters, Lemasters Consulting

Poul began his career in deathcare more than 25 years ago as a funeral director and embalmer before becoming an attorney. Today, Poul uses his unique background in both deathcare and law to provide resources and counsel to other deathcare professionals.

Jeanette Hiemstra, Jeanie Turner & Pam Soper

CFSA will host its inaugural Women in Leadership Forum in conjunction with its Annual Conference & Trade Show in April 2022. We speak with CFSA President Jeanette Hiemstra (Keith M. Merrick Company), CFSA Board member Jeanie Turner (Astral Industries) and Pam Soper (Tiedemann-Bevs Industries), the first female recipient of CFSA's Lifetime Recognition Award, about their experiences in the industry and the importance of this new event.

Barbara Kemmis, CANA

Wrapping up our first season is Barbara Kemmis, executive director of CANA, the Cremation Association of North America. CANA just released their Annual Statistics Report for 2021 and we’re excited to dig into those numbers – but more specifically what they mean for our industry as we move forward.

Ryan Thogmartin, DISRUPT Media

This episode was recorded at our Follow-up Friday digital extension event for our 2021 Annual Conference & Trade Show. Ryan Thogmartin is the founder & CEO of DISRUPT Media, a funeral home marketing company specializing in social media. He is also a deathcare entrepreneur who has launched DeathcareJobs.com, PriceMyFuneral.com and Funeral Nation TV.

Paul St. Pierre, SELECTED Independent Funeral Homes

Our first episode features an interview with Paul St. Pierre, president of SELECTED Independent Funeral Homes and St. Pierre Family Funeral & Cremation Services. He talked about specialized customer service skills and strategies, and other desired outcomes when working with funeral suppliers.