From Nathan Stanley, GFDA President April 2018 Our 2018 Annual Convention will be held June 3-6, 2018, at the King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort in St. Simons, GA. REGISTRATION IS OPEN! Join us for an event planned with funeral service professionals in mind. GFDA strives to provide meetings where you can bring your family to enjoy some relaxation & fun while earning your needed Continuing Education hours. The King and Prince is the perfect location for both! There are many activities to choose from onsite & in the surrounding area. Meal options are always delicious, & the scenery is beautiful. Our convention will feature Continuing Education programs you will not want to miss and offer a total of 8 Continuing Education hours over the span of 3 days. We are proud to announce our Continuing Education programs: "The Obsequies of Rev. Billy Graham" with Mike Squires, CFSP, CCO, Southern Calls "DriveSafe" with Nathan Gravley, Federated Insurance "Battling Burnout & Building Resilience: Supporting & Retaining Funeral Professionals" with Jason Troyer, PhD, Mt Hope Grief Services. Our Convention will also include our annual events: Past Presidents Breakfast, Golf Tournament, Roundtable Discussions, Annual Dinner and Party, Business Meeting and Memorial Service. As well as our annual programs: Nominating Committee Report & Elections, NFDA Updates, Roundtable Discussion, Memorial Service & GFDA Annual Business Meeting with Officer Reports, Scholarship and awards presentations and our Officer Installation. This year we will recognize 10, 25, 40, 50 & 60 year Service Awards. In this newsletter, you will find further details about our convention including attendee, golf tournament and sponsorship registration forms. Remember, sponsorship is a great way to support GFDA and our events while marketing your company as well. For the latest information regarding our event, visit Upcoming Events on our website, www.gfda.org. Please contact a GFDA Executive Committee Member of the GFDA office if you can ever be of any assistance. Sincerely, Nathan Stanley GFDA President
GFDA MARKETING ALLIANCE PROGRAM PARTNERS GFDA's Marketing Alliance Program Partners offer GFDA Members incentive programs or rebates to GFDA Members who purchase from them and revenue to GFDA based on company sales to GFDA's membership during the period of Agreement. 2018 MARKETING ALLIANCE PROGRAM PARTNERS Cincinnati Equitable Life Insurance Company Federated Insurance Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions More information about our Marketing Alliance Program Partners may be found by visiting HERE. Important Reminders ATTENTION - IMPORTANT REMINDER FROM THE GEORGIA BOARD OF FUNERAL SERVICE April 30 is the last day to renew your license! Renewal of licenses is now in late renewal status. Establishments, directors, embalmers, and apprentices must renew no later than 4/30/18 to remain in active status. After 4/30/18, the license is lapsed and reinstatement will be required. DON'T DELAY - Renew today by visiting HERE. Visit GFDA MEMBER PAGE often for the latest updates from GFDA, the Georgia Board of Funeral Service, the Georgia Department of Public Health & State Office of Vital Records and more! Obituary Notices are posted HERE. Please send funeral-service-related death notices to staff@gfda.org. If it is outside of normal business hours, we ask that you call the GFDA office (770-592-8002) after emailing the obituary information to ensure we are able to notify members in a timely manner. HAVE YOU RENEWED YOUR GFDA 2018 DUES? To be a GFDA Member and enjoy all the benefits of GFDA Membership, including our Marketing Alliance Program benefits, Member Page and GFDA App access, and inclusion in our directories, your GFDA 2018 Dues must be current. Renewal invoices have been sent to the address on file. Please remember, it is very important to return a fully completed copy of the renewal invoice with your payment to help us ensure our records are accurate. Do you need a duplicated invoice? Contact staff@gfda.org or visit JOIN GFDA where you can choose your membership type from the drop down windows and print a duplicate invoice. Remember, your Firm's Funeral Directors are GFDA Associate Members. To ensure your funeral directors receive GFDA updates, obituary notices, event information and Alerts include their names and email addresses on each year s renewal form. If the renewal has already been sent, visit "GFDA News - Add Your Associate Members" HERE and enter their contact information.
GFDA 2018 Annual Convention June 3 6, 2018 King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort St. Simons Island, GA THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS (TO DATE) Hospitality House - Sponsored by Wilbert The Obsequies of Rev. Billy Graham with Mike Squires Sponsored by Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions DriveSafe with Nathan Gravley Sponsored by Federated Insurance Monday AM Break Sponsored by Cincinnati Equitable Life Insurance Company Battling Burnout & Building Resilience: Supporting & Retaining Funeral Professionals with Jason Troyer, PhD, Sponsored by Homesteaders Life Company Georgia Funeral Directors Moderated Roundtables Sponsored by NFDA IMPORTANT REMINDERS FOR THIS EVENT Annual Memorial Service - Wednesday, June 6 - Our 9:30 start time will allow for family members arrival. - Obituary Notices are posted HERE and GFDA will publish the memorial list for review prior to final preparations for the convention. - GFDA will soon contact families regarding the service. Funeral Service Achievement Awards - Wednesday, June 6 - We will be awarding 10, 25, 40, 50 or 60 year pins during our Business Meeting. - If you are or know of a funeral director celebrating one of these year marks in funeral service, please send an email to staff@gfda.org so we may recognize them during our Business Meeting. GFDA Scholarship Award - GFDA offers a $1000.00 scholarship to be awarded to one student at Gupton-Jones and one funeral service student at Ogeechee Tech during our Annual Summer Convention. - All applications must be filled out in full to be considered. Further, the award of scholarships is at the discretion of the GFDA Executive Board; if minimum award criteria are met, the scholarship will be awarded. If minimum criteria are not met by any applicant, the Board reserves the right to not award a scholarship(s) in any given year. Students must have served or be serving their apprenticeship at, or currently be employed by, a GFDA-member funeral home in order to qualify. - NOTE: Fully completed scholarship submissions are due to the GFDA office by Friday, May 4, 2018. Mail to GFDA, P.O. Box 1865, Roswell, GA 30077). Applicants may contact their school administration office or staff@gfda.org for a scholarship form. Our Room Block is OPEN! Our room block is open and we encourage you to make your reservations early! The King and Prince is now offering online reservations for our group. You can use the link below to make your room reservations online for your preferred length of stay at the GFDA group rates (including before and after the convention, as hotel availability allows). Of course, you may also call if you prefer. Online Reservations HERE Call for Reservations 1-800-342-0212 REGISTRATION Our printable agenda and pdf registration forms for attendees, golf tournament, and sponsorships are available HERE. Our Agenda and registration forms are also include in this newsletter.
GFDA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Nathan Stanley, President Stanley Funeral Home & Crematory, Dublin, GA Telephone: 1-478-272-5855 Email: nathan@stanleyfuneralhome.com Bill Hightower, Treasurer & NFDA Policy Board Member Hightower Funeral Home, Bremen, GA Telephone: 1-770-537-2375 Email: BH1196@aol.com Rob Roberson, Secretary Shepard Funeral Home, Folkston, GA Telephone: 1-912-496-7388 Email: shepardrobersonfuneralhome@yahoo.com David McLeighton, Past President McLeighton Funeral Service, Reynolds, GA Telephone: 1-478-847-4181 Email: davidmcleighton@gmail.com Your GFDA Executive Committee looks forward to seeing you during the 2018 Annual Summer Convention! Make your plans to join them and your fellow funeral service professionals June 3-6, 2018 at the beautiful King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort!