As many of you know, our 20^th Anniversary Summer conference was held at The Hyatt Regency in Savannah this past weekend.  We had one of the largest gatherings in many years. Our event kicked off Sunday, September 20, 2015, with numerous golfers playing in the IFDG Golf Tournament. On Sunday evening we had our Past President’s Reception. We were able to honor each of our Past Presidents for their hard work and dedication to this association, and presented each of them with a Shadow Box Plaque 20^th Anniversary Plate. If you are a Past President and did not make it, you missed out on a truly memorable event.  Monday and Tuesday CE Hours drew a large crowd that seemed to really enjoy the speakers and Cremation Panel. We had a phenomenal time at the Banquet on Monday evening with lively fellowship, good food, and ample amounts of entertainment. Congratulations to Harold L. Reece, Jr. for receiving the 2015 President’s Award at the Banquet Monday evening. We gave away 2 Mortuary School Scholarships, and many great door prizes that consisted of IPADS, Fit BITS, Yeti Hoppers, Apple Watches, Droid Watches, Braves Tickets, a 32 Inch Flat Screen TV, and etc. We had a huge 50/50 money drawing that always creates an exciting atmosphere.

IFDG decided with this being our 20^th Anniversary that we would take our Exhibits back to old school this year. We had a huge turnout of exhibitors who made sure that they went out of their way to help IFDG honor its 20^th Anniversary. IFDG and its members are so grateful to you. We had an overwhelmingly great response on the way each of your booths looked and how it made everything better for the funeral director. It gave the funeral directors a chance to view your product without looking at a catalog.

As I look back on my 2 years as being President of IFDG I am forever grateful to my board that I served with, and my Executive Director, Christie Carpenter. Each of you will forever be a friend of mine. As I presented our IFDG Executive Director, Christie Carpenter, her award at the banquet I really can’t even describe to our members how dedicated and hard this young lady works for our Association. She has kept my head straight for two years, offered me advice when I needed it, and spent countless hours  for days, nights, and weekends, working on the website, paperwork, emails, and whatever I needed to make my job as President go smoother. Christie, I appreciate you so very much.  As I prepared myself  a few days ago to release the ropes to my good friend and current President Rob Roberson I have nothing but a huge smile and a bitter sweet experience to remember for the rest of my life as I know I have left IFDG in good hands. I ask that each of you support Rob Roberson as your new President. Rob has helped me as Vice President for two years. We have made some difficult decisions for IFDG over the past few years, but he has always stood by me whether we were right or wrong. I am extremely lucky to have him as a friend. He will be an awesome President. I ask each of our members whether you are a Past President or just a member of our association if President Roberson ask you to be on a committee or help IFDG in any way to please do it.  IFDG is your organization, and the board will only be as good as its members.  I also would like to challenge the younger generation of funeral directors to step up to the plate, and be a board member. It is an experience you will treasure forever. 

We would also like to announce that the ORGINAL 5^th Joint Georgia Funeral Service Expo website has gone live. This fantastic event will be held on January 25-26, 2016 at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta. All funeral directors and vendors may register online at www.georgiafuneralserviceexpo.org. We encourage every funeral director and vendor to come and support your two funeral organizations that are NON PROFIT. We will have 10 Hours of CE with a Full Trade Show. The expo will include speakers such as Mike Squires of “Southern Calls;” Walker Posey “The New Customer Experience & Tech Talk of Funeral Directors;” “Gavers Updates” by Donna Moore;  and “Specialized Embalming and Restorative Techniques” by Vernie Fountain.  You will not want to miss out on this event, so please make plans to attend.

The board would like to thank each of you for your membership and loyalty. We would like to personally invite you and encourage you to participate in any function or activity that we have this year. I also ask that you communicate with other funeral homes about IFDG. Encourage them to join our organization. By doing this, you will truly experience the networking with the funeral directors that IFDG has to offer. I guarantee that you will learn something, make friends for a lifetime, and have fun while doing it.

Thank you for allowing me to serve as your 19^th and 20^th President of IFDG.  I look forward to this upcoming year.  May God Bless Each of You.

Richard Nathan Stanley, IV

IFDG Immediate Past President