OGR’s PROGRESS 2025 Conference Sets New Standard for Innovation and Collaboration in Funeral Service

Indianapolis (May 14, 2025) – The International Order of the Golden Rule (OGR) proudly announces the resounding success of its signature event, PROGRESS, held May 6–8 at the historic Mission Inn Hotel & Spa in Riverside, California. This year’s conference marked a transformative milestone, uniting independent funeral professionals and suppliers from around the world under a bold new vision of innovation, adaptability, and forward momentum.

“PROGRESS is more than a name—it’s a call to action,” said Wendy King, CAE, CVA, Executive Director and CEO of OGR. “This year’s event embodied our commitment to advancing the profession and fostering a community dedicated to excellence.”

The 2025 gathering welcomed attendees from 13 states and six countries, creating a vibrant and diverse community focused on shared learning and progress. The conference offered optional excursions such as a wine tour of Temecula’s renowned vineyards, a guided visit to Forest Lawn Cemetery in Covina, a tour Thomas Miller Mortuary & Crematory, and a historical exploration of the Mission Inn Hotel’s famed catacombs. 

Educational programming began with the OGR Annual Business Meeting, setting the stage for two days of learning and networking. The opening keynote, “Leadership Lessons from the Happiest Place on Earth,” offered insights into Disney’s customer service excellence and leadership strategies, providing attendees with actionable takeaways to enhance their own practices. The opening keynote, sponsored by Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions, was followed by an interactive session on AI and ChatGPT with Dr. Rich Yeuh (University of California, Riverside). Education continued with “Fostering the Future: Industry-Education Partnerships Supporting Funeral Service Students and Staff,” featuring speakers Shivon Ozinga (Forest Lawn Cemetery) and Jolena Grande, CFSP, A.S., B.S., M.F.S., M.S., (Cypress College) to discuss the importance of collaboration between educational institutions and the funeral service industry. This session was sponsored generously by The Dodge Company.

The second day of PROGRESS began with “Navigating the Evolving Landscape of Funeral Service: Hiring, Retaining, Motivating, and Team Development for Business Growth,” a dynamic panel featuring Gregory McClary, CFSP (Chapel of the Chimes Funeral Home), Larnique Mickens, MBA, CFSP, CCSP (Heritage Mortuary, Inc.), and Keysha Licea (Thomas Miller Mortuary & Crematory). The panelists explored innovative solutions for staffing challenges specific to independently owned funeral homes. They emphasized actionable strategies such as wellness programs, mentorship pathways, and purpose-driven job descriptions, all aimed at building compassionate, high-performing teams that support long-term growth.

A high-energy marketing session followed, titled “Future-Proof Your Funeral Home: Marketing for 2025 and Beyond,” broken into three distinct topics. Welton Hong (Ring Ring Marketing) demystified online marketing tactics for funeral homes, emphasizing the power of search optimization and pay-per-click advertising for at-needs, and social media for preneed. Ryan Thogmartin (DISRUPT Media) expanded on this by sharing proven techniques for creating engaging, effective content across digital platforms. Mary Barnett (Another Brilliant Idea) closed the session with a compelling presentation on using empathetic, AI-powered marketing tools to boost engagement and conversions without losing the human touch.

A highlight of the event was the Golden Circle Celebration Dinner, sponsored by Homesteaders Life Company, where OGR recognized individuals and firms that exemplify the highest standards of professionalism and compassion in funeral service. The celebration also marked the official induction of the 2025-2026 Board of Directors and included a record-breaking fundraiser for the OGR Foundation to provide scholarships for mortuary students to attend OGR programming such as PROGRESS and the Future Leaders Forum. 

The conference concluded with a session from Justin Zabor, CFSP, (The Zabor Funeral Home) titled “Funeral Arrangements to Die For.” This session focused on elevating the funeral arrangement conference, offering advanced communication and rapport-building techniques that foster trust and client satisfaction. Justin’s session served as a fitting finale to the event—grounding attendees in the human-centered mission of funeral service while empowering them with tools for measurable improvement.

OGR is grateful for the continued support and partnership with the sponsors of this year’s event, which include Access Financial Group, Air Essentials, Inc., ATTEND, Full-Circle Aftercare, Funeral Home Gifts, Garfield Refining, Homesteaders Life Company, Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions, Nomis Publications, and The Dodge Company.

“This reimagined conference represents our shared commitment to growth, excellence, and continuous innovation,” said Kim Hunter, President of the OGR Board of Directors. “We are excited to build upon this momentum and continue shaping the future of funeral service.”

OGR is excited to announce that PROGRESS 2026 will take place in Louisville, Kentucky, from May 5–7, 2026. The event promises to build on the success of 2025, offering new opportunities for connection, education, and advancement for funeral professionals across the world.

For more information about PROGRESS and the International Order of the Golden Rule, please visit www.ogr.org/PROGRESS.

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About the International Order of the Golden Rule

Since 1928, the International Order of the Golden Rule has been the leading professional association dedicated to promoting high ethical standards and outstanding service of independently owned funeral homes in the funeral and memorialization profession. OGR members represent the elite in the industry, consistently providing compassionate and personalized care to families in their time of need. OGR is headquartered in Indianapolis. For more information, visit www.ogr.org.

If you have been a funeral director for any length of time you have found yourself in a cemetery on a beautiful summer day when after the formal committal service the family remains to visit and you see young children play on cemetery monuments.  However, as this archived CBS News article mentions, children have been killed when those monuments fall on them.

Powys County of Great Britain is now set to do something about that.  You can read this article from the Shropeshire Star where the county is set to begin an inspection program of county cemeteries in February.  According to the article, inspectors will give each monument one of three possible ratings:

• Category 1:  Unsafe and in need of immediate attention
• Category 2:  Unstable but unlikely to cause an immediate health and safety risk
• Catogory 3:  Stable and no action required

The article goes on to say what will happen with a Category 1 monument:  “A Category 1 memorial will be laid down or made safe by other means at the time of inspection. A red notice will be placed on the memorial/grave advising that the memorial is unsafe and providing details of how to contact the council.”

Here’s what will happen with a Category 2 monument:  “A Category 2 memorial will have an amber notice placed in a suitable position on the memorial stating that the memorial is unsafe and how to contact the council. If after the expiry of six months from the date of inspection the memorial has not been fixed it will be laid down or made safe by other methods as appropriate.”

Councillor Richard Church, Cabinet Member for a Safer Powys, made the following comment about the program, “We have to be sure that our cemeteries are a safe place to visit and any memorials that are potentially dangerous are made secure.”

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  This makes all the sense in the world. . . nobody wants someone to get hurt in a cemetery.  I’m also of the opinion that as insurance company loss prevention officers see this inspection program, we may be seeing more situations like this if a cemetery wants to continue to have insurance coverage.

The biggest issue that I see with the program and its potential expansion is the cost or repairing some of these monuments to a “safe” condition.  Once a large monument has lost its stability, it is not inexpensive to right that situation. . . . and many times a 100-year old monument will have no heirs to take care of the costs.  And, many cemeteries cannot afford the costs.

I’ve mentioned before, I’m a big fan of permanent memorials for posterity sake.  However, the people in Powys County do show that having that mindset does incur some costs that may not be easy to fund.

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