Oct 25, 2013
They say everything is bigger in Texas…and it sure felt like this year’s NFDA convention in Austin was bigger than ever! We wanted more of our staff to have an opportunity to meet the clients they speak with everyday, so this year we had the biggest ASD team ever at an NFDA convention. This gave everyone a chance to speak to the directors who stopped by our booth, walk through the exhibit hall to see some of the amazing products and services available and talk to our Rewards and Technology partners about the latest funeral trends.
The 2013 National Funeral Directors convention was also special for us this year because we were joined by our client Bobby Condon, a Funeral Director at Kevin M. Lyons Funeral Home in Glenolden, PA. Bobby attended the convention as ASD’s Client Ambassador and spoke to funeral directors about how ASD’s specialized training and technology helps the directors at his firm. We also had an opportunity to attend several of the NFDA’s workshops with Bobby. Be sure to check out our blog next week to read some of the insights and tips we gathered from NFDA speakers.
Here are some of the photos we captured at our booth and around the expo hall at the largest gathering of funeral directors in the world (click to see enlarged version):
The ASD Team at the 2013 National Funeral Directors Association convention. From the left: Lead Creative Designer, Juan Silva, Project Manager, Lauren Kress, ASD Family-Member Owner, Kathy Kelley, National Sales Manager and LFD, Jason Bathurst, Accounts Receivable Manager, Dara Dix, ASD Family-Member Owner, Kevin Czachor, Public Relations Specialist, Jessica Fowler, Technical Analyst, Kristine Soderland, Operations Manager, Sharon Batten, and ASD Family-Member Owner, Martin Czachor Jr. — at Austin Convention Center.
ASD’s Innovation Appreciation Celebration!
Last year, ASD was recognized with the 2012 Innovation Award for our Smartphone app, ASD Mobile, and this year we wanted to thank everyone who helped us spread the word about the benefits of our app to the funeral service community. As a special thank you to our clients, ASD hosted the Innovation Appreciation Celebration, a cocktail party where funeral directors could relax and unwind after the expo hours ended. It was a wonderful evening and we truly enjoyed catching up with old friends and meeting new ones in such a fun setting. Thank you to everyone who attended. We hope you enjoyed it as much as us!
Check out some comments we received from Cocktail Party attendees:
“Great cocktail party! Thank you so much! Special attention to our 6 yr old was awesome! You guys rock!”
-Martin Funeral Home in Mt. Morris, MI.
“Thank you for the cocktail party we had a lovely time.”
-Debra Fry, Fry Funeral Home in Tipton, IA
“I just wanted to thank you and the entire ASD team for inviting the staff at Kates-Boylston Publications to your great cocktail hour event at the NFDA convention. It was great to have a couple hours to unwind and enjoy some good conversation with colleagues and friends.”
-Thomas Parmalee, Editor of American Funeral Director Magazine.
Here are some of our photos from the Innovation Appreciation Celebration (Click to see enlarged version)
Click here to see more photos from ASD’s Innovation Appreciation Celebration!
Congratulations to our 2013 NFDA Raffle Card Winners
At ASD, we know that Funeral Directors are some of the hardest working professionals on the planet, but there are few opportunities for you to receive the recognition you deserve for your service. For this reason, we always look for a special prize to raffle off during the NFDA convention. This year, we decided to give NFDA attendees two options. Funeral Directors could choose between our technology giveaway—an iPad mini, or a one-of-a-kind novelty gift—our exclusive Lego Cemetery set. During the show, Ryan Thogmartin from ConnectingDirectors.com stopped by our booth and later featured ASD’s Lego Cemetery set as one of his favorite giveaways of the convention! Congratulations to all of our raffle winners– we hope you enjoy your prizes!
Congratulations to Scott Hinkle from Hinkle Funeral Home in Davis, WV on winning ASD’s Cemetery Lego Set on Day 1 of the show!
Congratulations to Cozine Memorial Group on winning our iPad Mini on Day 1 of the show.
Congratulations to Heather Long from the Arizona Funeral Directors Association on winning on iPad Mini on Day 2.
Congratulations to Steve Wickens with St. Joseph Funeral Home on winning our iPad Mini the last day of the show.
Congratulations to the directors at The Muster Funeral Home and their son, J.W. on winning the last Lego Cemetery set of the convention.
Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth and attended our cocktail party at the 2013 NFDA convention in Austin. We appreciate your support and look forward to seeing everyone again next year in Nashville!
About The Author
Jess Farren (Fowler)
Jess Farren (Fowler) is a Public Relations Specialist and Staff Writer who has been a part of the ASD team since 2003. Jess manages ASD’s company blog and has been published in several funeral trade magazines. She has written articles on a variety of subjects including communication, business planning, technology, marketing and funeral trends. You can contact Jess directly at Jess@myASD.com
