NYS Funeral Directors Association's Annual Meeting Explores Technology; Elects 2008-2009 Officers

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New Elected Officers

BALLSTON SPA, NY (08/28/2008)(readMedia)-- Funeral service professionals who attended the New York State Funeral Directors Association's (NYSFDA) annual meeting which concluded yesterday learned how to use the latest technology to better serve families and showcase their funeral homes. Among the topics presented included: Advanced Funeral Techies Only; Your Funeral Home on You-Tube - A Must; Do's and Don'ts of Video Tributes and 60 Minute Funeral Home Website.

Almost 550 funeral service professionals and licensed funeral directors from around the state attended the association's meeting at the Sagamore Resort in Bolton Landing, New York.

NYSFDA also offered additional continuing education seminars on Veterans' Benefits and Entitlements; Survived by Her Husband (which dealt with a man's grief); Green Burials: New Trends in Natural Burials and a special program by Deborah Orecki, director of the New York State Bureau of Funeral Directing, who spoke about various aspects of the detailed New York State laws and regulations that govern the practice of funeral directing.

NYSFDA membership elected their 2008-2009 officers: President Gordon R. Terry, president and treasurer of the Houk-Johnston-Terry Funeral Home in Edmeston; President-Elect Richard Hazzard, owner and president of the Beecher Funeral Home in Brewster and the Dwyer Funeral Home in Patterson; Vice President S. Scott Mason, president of the Mason Funeral Home in Westfield and Secretary/Treasurer Beatrice E. Lewanduski, manager of the D'Andrea Brothers Funeral Home in Copiague.

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. Almost 800 member firms and 3000 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" and 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 attached.