Aftermath Visits With Area Directors at the NEIFDA Spring Educational Seminar

Last week, Aftermath met with a small number of Illinois funeral directors at Worsham College of Mortuary Science, in Wheeling, IL. The group were members of the Northeastern Illinois Funeral Directors Association (NEIFDA), a regional division of the larger Illinois Funeral Directors Association (IFDA); the gathering marked the organization’s 14th Annual Spring Education Seminar. Representing Aftermath was Ben Dirks, the company’s Funeral Home & Fire/EMS Specialist.

What is NEIFDA?

The IFDA consists of three regions, including the Northeast area. According to the IFDA website, the organization’s motto, “Connect. Learn. Grow.” expresses the organization’s overall goal, and this was illustrated throughout the event. Most of those in attendance were directors or owners; there were also numerous mortuary school students.

The convention format consisted of seminars, providing 7 hours of continuing education directors need to maintain their licensing.  There was also resource-based training to help directors better assist the families they work with. Aftermath heard about the event through a community connection – NEIFDA’s president reached out to Ben directly to ask if the company would sponsor a booth at the meeting. There were also several other vendors onsite, though Aftermath was the only biohazard company present.

Connecting with Directors

“The attendees responded well to our services,” Ben stated after the seminar. “They see a need for our services and were excited to gather more information on how we can help their families. Many attendees took time to educate themselves on the subject of biohazard cleanup. They even asked about using services for cleaning embalming rooms.”

During the event, Aftermath hosted a drawing for a $50 Amex gift card, and handed out resource guides as well as pens, notepads, and other marketing items. Lesley Navarro, Manager of The Memorial Chapel of Waukegan, was the winner of the drawing.

A Resource for the Industry

Aftermath maintains a strong relationship with directors and other professionals working in the death care industry. Thanks to NEIFDA for allowing us to feature our company at this year’s seminar. To those we met, we look forward to seeing you again at the statewide conference this summer, or at the National Funeral Directors Association Meeting in October.  Meanwhile, if you are a director and are looking for more information on our director programs, please check out our webpage.