The ICCFA University Graduate Program is under the leadership of the ICCFA University Chancellor.

Friday, July 21 

• 2:00–5:30 PM Registration & Check-in
• 4:30–5:00 PM Orientation
• 5:00–6:00 PM University Reception
• 6:00 PM Dinner

Saturday, July 22 

• 8:00 AM Breakfast
• 8:45 AM
  Introductions – University Chancellor
• 9:00 AM
  Leadership Training – Dave Brown
• 10:30 AM Break
• 11:00 AM
  Leadership Training (continued) – Dave Brown
• 12:30 PM Lunch
• 1:30 PM
  Leadership Training (continued) – Dave Brown
• 3:00 PM Break
• 3:30 PM
  How to Effectively Work with Your Board of Directors – Darin Drabing
  As a C-Suite leader, it is often difficult to navigate the world of Board of Directors in order to have an effective, cohesive organization. Join Darin as he guides you through the ins and outs of effective Board of Directors Management. The class will study the best practices of Board selection, organization, committee structures, deliverables, for profit vs non-profit, the need for diversity and much more.
• 5:00 PM Dinner
• 7:00 PM Sports Night
  Join your ICCFAU colleagues for a friendly game!

Sunday, July 24 

• 8:00 AM Breakfast
• 9:00 AM
  Staying on the Right Side of the Grass – and Lawsuits – Poul Lemasters, Esq.
  We all ‘hear’ the story about someone who had a lawsuit, but somehow never hear the details. Did they really get sued, or just threatened? Was it even a lawsuit or was it something else? Did they just settle? What did the insurance company do? What is the process of an issue that may or may not become a lawsuit? As a leader of my company – what role do I play?This course will provide a detailed look into several deathcare situations that can become a bigger issue, if you don’t handle them correctly. From a subpoena to a demand letter; a state regulatory matter to a federal OSHA violation; a customer complaint to a bad viral online review; this course will use real examples to:
  • Analyze several issues, all based on actual lawsuits and claims;
  • Discuss the cause of the underlying issue;
  • Identify the steps involved in each claim, from initial response to settlement;
  • 1. Discover steps to prevent issues from happening; and
  • 2. Create plans to implement practices into your business.

• 10:30 AM Break
• 11:00 AM
  Strategic Planning, Part I – Bob Gordon, Jr.
• 12:30 PM Lunch
• 1:30 PM
  Strategic Planning, Part II – Bob Gordon, Jr.
• 3:00 PM Break
• 3:30 PM
  People, Process, Technology: Leading Organizational Change – Jason Cavett
  As the leader of your organization, you are responsible for its direction and growth. Vendors and consultants often try to sell the silver bullet of “XYZ Software” or “ABC Process” will solve all your problems. But a piece of software or a process, by itself, is just another get rich quick scheme and often results in organizational frustration, split fiefdoms, and failure to achieve the goals you have for your organization. Ultimately, this can lead to lack of confidence in leadership and difficulty in future endeavors. This session will cover an approach to organizational growth that creates a bed of solid rock on which to grow. Rather than throwing technology at the problem or goal, you will walk away with a plan for developing an organizational environment where your tools support and enable your growth.
• 6:00 PM Dinner 

Monday, July 24 

• 8:00 AM Breakfast
• 9:00 AM
  Importance of High-Level Digital Marketing – Welton Hong
  Welton Hong, the founder/CEO of Ring Ring Marketing, will deliver a presentation on the most effective high-level strategies for cemetery and funeral home success. Owners and operators face a variety of challenges in 2023, and no one understands better than Welton how employing the correct approaches—and doing so in the proper order—ensure excellent ROI and maximum protection of market share in a local area. He’ll explain which techniques work best for generating at-need calls (focusing on search) and preneed sales (focusing on Facebook). He’ll also delve into when it makes sense to concentrate on branding and how to do so. Welton’s breakdown of digital marketing strategies will provide attendees with an objective big-picture perspective they can use to generate greater success in 2023 and beyond.
• 10:30 AM Break
• 11:00 AM
  The Power of Strong Leaders – Jay Dodds
  Leadership is a powerful ideal and being a strong leader takes skill. Great managers possess a balanced level of both leadership and managerial skills. What exactly are these characteristics and what distinguishes the two varying skill sets. We will dissect both sides of the coin and clearly define what skill sets are necessary to be a great leader, but also a strong manager. Similar to the Yin and Yang, a strong leader must have strong managerial tendencies in order to lead from a position of strength and clarity.
• 12:30 PM Lunch
• 1:30 PM
  Key Performance Indicators – Mat Forestiere
  In this course students will learn to use KPI’s to understand their business’s performance and identify areas of focus. The financial metrics of a business speak a language. As leaders of the business it is our responsibility to translate that language into action. Mat will share a methodology for turning key performance indicators into action plans that narrow focus, drive execution, and lead to results that meet and exceed performance expectations.
• 3:00 PM Break
• 3:30 PM
  A Culture with Employee Engagement – Lori Bolton
• 6:00 PM Dinner
• 7:00 PM Student Night

Tuesday, July 25 

• 8:00 AM Breakfast
• 9:00 AM
  Applied Finance in Deathcare – Gary Freytag
  Regardless of what role you have, understanding finance is critical to assessing the health of your organization. Finance drives both current decision-making and long-term planning. Should we build a new reception facility? Is my cemetery endowment large enough to maintain the grounds? How well am I managing critical resources? This class will take students through financial analysis as applied to cemeteries and funeral homes. It will teach how to understand financial statements, critical ratios, financial modeling, cash flow, return on investment, portfolio theory, and business valuation.
• 10:30 AM Break
• 11:00 AM
  Finance Workshop – Gary Freytag
  Part two of the Finance model will apply the theories introduced in Applied Finance to analyze the very different real-world problems faced by cemeteries and funeral homes.
  • Cemeteries
  • How much does it cost to maintain the grounds?
  • Am I making money operating the cemetery?
  • Are my goods and services priced appropriately?
  • Should I be in-sourcing or outsourcing functions?
  • Is my endowment invested for the long haul?

  • Funeral Homes

  • How can I tell what is appropriate workload for a funeral director?
  • What is my business worth?
  • Can I afford to expand my operation or facilities?
  • Why should I sell pre-need funerals if I lose money?
  • If I am profitable, why am I always short on cash?
  • How can I finance an acquisition?
• 12:30 PM Lunch
• 1:30 PM
  Effective Communication – Robbie Pape
  “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” George Bernard Shaw
  Join Robbie Pape in this 90-minute session where participants will have the opportunity to look at their communication style from a different perspective and gain insight as to why it may be making their relationships more difficult instead of smoother. Effective communication is at the heart of every interaction and yet it so often falls short and creates frustration, the need for rework, and often, in our industry, a failure at our one shot to serve with excellence. What’s in your communication blind spot? Are you willing to look?
• 3:00 PM Break
• 3:30 PM
  Motivation – Doug Gober
• 4:30 PM University Graduation
• 5:30 PM Graduate Reception 

Wednesday, July 26 

• 8:00 AM Breakfast
• 9:00 AM
  Graduate Program Wrap-Up
• 10:00 AM Presentation of Certificate