Dr. Michael Baden, Forensic Pathologist, Keynotes State Funeral Directors Convention

ALBANY, NY (09/04/2009)(readMedia)-- Dr. Michael Baden, chief forensic pathologist for the New York State Police, delivered the keynote address to funeral service professionals who attended the New York State Funeral Directors Association's (NYSFDA) annual meeting which concluded Wednesday. Dr. Baden discussed understanding forensic science; death investigations; police, medical examiner and funeral director involvement; exhumations, the embalming process and the body and, finally, how the body changes after burial. Dr. Baden gave an insight into some of his most high-profile cases, including that of President John F. Kennedy.

NYSFDA membership elected their 2009-2010 slate of officers: President Richard Hazzard, owner and president of the Beecher Funeral Home in Brewster and the Dwyer Funeral Home in Patterson; President-Elect S. Scott Mason, owner of the Mason Funeral Home in Westfield; Vice President Beatrice E. Lewanduski, manager of the D'Andrea Brothers Funeral Home in Copiague; and Secretary/Treasurer Timothy Doyle, owner of the Timothy P. Doyle Funeral Home in Poughkeepsie.

With respect to educational programming, NYSFDA also offered seminars on Wikiville: The New Internet for Your Funeral Home; evolving developments in the science of embalming; special techniques used to restore the bodies of trauma and burn victims, and the Usefulness of Tradition: Customs of Mourning and Remembrance in Diverse Brooklyn Communities. The Brooklyn Arts Council had received a grant from the NYS Tribute Foundation, a NYSFDA affiliate organization, for its program Days of the Dead in Brooklyn, a year-long exploration and documentation of traditions of mourning and remembrance.

Concluding the conference was a special program presented by Deborah Orecki, director of the New York State Bureau of Funeral Directing, who spoke about detailed aspects of the various New York State laws and regulations that govern the practice of funeral directing.

Almost 500 funeral service professionals and licensed funeral directors representing approximately 250 funeral firms from around the state attended the association's convention in Bolton Landing, New York.

Founded in 1889, NYSFDA's mission is to promote the highest standards of funeral service to the public and to enhance the environment in which its members operate. Over 900 member firms and 3500 licensed funeral directors who operate across the state belong to the New York State Funeral Directors Association. In addition to maintaining a Website at www.nysfda.org, NYSFDA also publishes a quarterly newspaper column "Transitions", as well as brochures which educate and inform consumers about end-of-life issues.

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Editor's Note: For more information, or to schedule an interview with any of the new officers or NYSFDA Executive Director Bonnie McCullough, please call Vera Nuspliger at 518-882-9816; cell 518-424-8719 or Randy McCullough at 518-452-8230. Officers' photos may be downloaded by visiting www.nysfda.org and clicking on "For the Media".