Each region has its own tissue recovery agency, with its own protocols and techniques. No two tissue recovery bodies are the same and no two embalmers are the same. However, there are embalming techniques and procedures that are useful in almost any situation, and which any embalmer can use. With the aid of actual video footage from an embalming film produced with an educational grant, Mr. Penepent reviews some of the most common techniques for embalming harvested remains and introduces some new ones. Every funeral professional will come away with something new from this presentation. Mr. Penepent is a licensed funeral director and holds a Master's degree from the University of Phoenix and is also currently working toward his Doctorate.

Did you ever wonder why Pope John Paul II was not embalmed prior to his funeral services? This presentation explores the process of Sainthood in the Catholic Church and a small group of Saints whose bodies did not decompose over time. Mr. Penepent theorizes that Pope John Paul II's body was not embalmed prior to his funeral services in order for Church officials to test his incorruptibility for Sainthood.

Ever have a person die and shortly afterwards the surviving spouse dies unexpectedly? Dave theorizes the probable cause of this phenomenon is an increased amount of two hormones that cause irregular ventricular cardiac rhythms and could be the reason why these types of deaths occur.

All funeral directors are leaders. The community looks towards the funeral director for leadership and guidance during a very difficult period of time. Using the analogy of golfing, this presentation explores how leadership and a well-defined mission statement enhance the funeral home objectives. Once these key elements of business are in place, there are specific leadership styles, like golfing styles, that enhance the leader’s ability to successfully lead others.

What is the difference between coaching and mentoring? Or sponsors and mentors? This presentation looks at how the funeral service manager can use the basics of Maslow's system of needs to much more than just an employer, empowering the resident or newly licensed employee to achieve fulfillment in the profession and satisfaction from in the day to day tasks of working in the funeral home environment. By setting goals, developing trust and using feedback, the funeral home staff can work as an integrated whole from which all the staff, and the families that they serve, will benefit.

This lecture is designed is to teach the techniques of restoration after trauma with the use of photos from the recent reconstruction of a pair of young people whose families gave consent to AFSEP to use this unique opportunity. The step-by-step process will provide the funeral director an opportunity to learn how to create a positive memory picture. By using various techniques in restoration, the funeral director has an opportunity to help facilitate the healing process caused by a traumatic death experience.

Rev. Binkewicz began working with the terminally ill in 1991 as a theological student. After his ordination to the priesthood in 1994, he began to provide spiritual care for his parishioners as well as hospice patients. He is now the Pastoral Care Coordinator and Bereavement Coordinator at Hospice of the Finger Lakes in Auburn, NY. From his many years as a chaplain in the Hospice movement, Rev. Binkewicz examines the role of the funeral director in hospice and how the funeral professional interacts with the family in this situation. This energetic presentation will provide practical help to equip the funeral director with an encouraging and fresh perspective toward the important call of caring for the dead and the bereaved. Rev. Binkewicz's experience provides a foundation for understanding how to deal with these sensitive situations. Matthew P. Binkewicz's book, Peaceful Journey: A Hospice Chaplain's Guide to End-of-Life, offers answers to some of the spiritual issues facing the terminally ill at the end of life.

An in-depth look at the Orthodox Funeral from a long-time Russian Orthodox minister who has worked with funeral directors for many years. Rev. Binkewicz explains the liturgy and ceremony associated with Orthodox Rites, the role of the funeral director in the services, and how the two entities can work together to meet the expectations of the families in need. Matthew P. Binkewicz was born and raised in the Southern Tier of New York. He graduated from Hamilton College with a BA in Biology and Russian Studies. He also graduated from Christ the Savior Russian Orthodox Seminary with a BTh. and from the Catholic University of America with an MA in Theology.

When a death occurs, children react differently from adults. Preschool children usually see death as temporary and reversible, a belief reinforced by television characters who die and come to life again. Older children may have a more mature outlook regarding death, but they cannot personalize it and tend to believe it will never happen to those they know. And when the impossible happens, the adults are often too pre-occupied by the same events to give proper consideration to the child's needs. Rev. Binkewicz has vast experience with funerals, funeral directors, hospice and grief. His special insights into this topic are invaluable to funeral directors who strive to console every mourner regardless of age.

As a consultant for the newly opened Greensprings Natural Cemetery in Newfield, New York, Mr. Fuller gained a unique perspective on how and why some people would like to return to the simplistic elements of burial as a means of final disposition. This unique presentation explores not only the legal and economic issues of natural burials but also the positive and negative impact this means of final dispositon will have on the funeral professional.
Mr. Fuller has been a licensed funeral director for more than twenty years and has spent more than fifteen years in mortuary education. A former Technical director and Chairman of the Board for the Central New York Eye Bank and Research Corporation, he holds a Master's degree in Health Administration.

A disturbing and dangerous new trend has reached America and is spreading all over the country, fuelled by the internet. Chemical suicide originated in Japan as a sure-fire method of taking one's own life in a nation that averages over thirty-thousand suicides per year. Now popping up all over the globe and spreading rapidly in America, it poses a severe risk to first responders, unwary bystanders, and funeral personnel. This presentation is constantly updated, and was the first of it's kind in the the United States aimed specifically for funeral directors. In 2009, at the request of the Tri-County Funeral Directors Association, Mr. Fuller has researched the origins, techniques and dangers of the this alarming new phenomena. This presentation will equip the funeral professional to handle such cases, as well as deal knowledgeably with families and the local media when it occurs.

Throughout history, high-profile funerals have taken place in Western culture. As with most funerals, something always goes wrong. Is there a correlation between the public attention and the possibilities of funeral anomalies happening? Mr. Fuller examines the funerals of four famous or infamous individuals whose post-mortem histories have gone famously wrong. William the Conqueror, Christopher Columbus, John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald all caught the public imagination since their deaths, and not one of them stayed buried after their first funeral! Whether famous by birth or made famous by their deeds or deaths, the public clamors for details, sometimes stirring controversy and questions for decades or even centuries. This presentation is an interesting and entertaining look at these four persons of note, the circumstances of their fame, their deaths, their unorthodox funerals and the questions which still remain for all four.

The funeral has emerged as one of the last "rites of passage" where families still feel compelled to have a religious service. Even so, the number of families who opt for no religious services is rapidly increasing. Whether it's a "generic clergyman" or a Certified Funeral Celebrant, the gap is being filled by a new professional in increasing numbers. Who are the Celebrants, and what social and historical trends have driven their rise? In this presentation, the funeral professional will learn who the celebrants are and how they can become and asset to the funeral director.

OSHA Standards are a vital part of the practice of funeral directing. Unfortunately, OSHA training has the reputation for not being intellectually stimulating. This presentation is a fresh approach designed to challenge the basic knowledge of the learner by presenting the four main OSHA Standards that apply to the funeral home (Hazard Communication Standard, Bloodborne Pathogen Standard and the Formaldehyde Exposure Standard, as well as the record keeping requirements) in an interactive and engaging learning tool.

This lecture is designed is to teach the techniques of restoration after trauma with the use of photos from the recent reconstruction of a pair of young people whose families gave consent to AFSEP to use this unique opportunity. The step-by-step process will provide the funeral director an opportunity to learn how to create a positive memory picture. By using various techniques in restoration, the funeral director has an opportunity to help facilitate the healing process caused by a traumatic death experience.

Cremation in the United States is mainly a Christian phenomena. Jews, Muslims and other non-Christian groups avoid it. Yet, Rev. Shirk takes a close look at the Christian Scriptures and teachings and finds that cremation is not in keeping with the teachings of any Christian denomination. The Pastor of the Grace Baptist Church in Batavia, NY, Dr. Shirk answers four major questions Christians have regarding cremation: Does the Scripture permit cremation? Does the Scripture condemn cremation? How does Scripture view cremation as opposed to natural decay? And; how has the Christian Church looked at cremation through history?

Funeral directors are trained to deal with the public's deepest losses and grief. Yet, as human beings, these hurts cannot help but build up in the minds and souls of the funeral director. Dr. Shirk looks at the special "heart needs" of the funeral director as caregiver and how to avoid the pitfalls of trying to deal with accumulated pressures alone.