Batesville Launches Webinar Series on the Future of the Funeral Home Experience 

Batesville, Ind – January 18, 2025 – Batesville, a leading provider of burial, cremation, and technology solutions in North America, announced a three-part educational webinar series designed to help funeral professionals adapt to changing consumer expectations, enhance the in-person experience, and expand family choice through personalization and merchandising solutions. 

The live webinar series, taking place in January, February, and March 2026, will focus on how funeral homes can align their experiences, offerings, and tools with the needs of today’s families. 

January – Meeting Modern Expectations: Redefining the Consumer Experience Wednesday, January 14, 2026 | 1:00-1:45 PM ET | Q&A to follow 

This session explores how funeral homes can apply retail science principles to evolve the consumer experience. Attendees will gain insight into how technology, product presentation, and physical environments can work together to help families feel more informed, confident, and supported throughout the arrangement process.  

Presented by: Jen Parvin, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Batesville and Devine Dardanes, Executive Vice President of Business Development, B+N Industries Moderator: Ryan Thogmartin, Founder and CEO of Disrupt Media. 

Registration is available now on Batesville.com. 

February – What’s Next in Family Choices®: Personalization That Tells  Every Story  

Tuesday, February 17, 2026 

This webinar will explore how personalization continues to shape the future of funeral service. The session will examine evolving consumer expectations and how personalization offerings have expanded over time, enabling funeral professionals to help families create meaningful, individualized tributes. 

Presented by: Jeremy Raver, Product Marketing Manager, Batesville

March – Maximizing Cremation Options: Tools and Solutions to Elevate  Your Offerings 

Tuesday, March 24, 2026 

Focused on the growing demand for cremation, this session will examine how modern merchandising tools and solutions can help funeral homes better serve cremation families while creating new opportunities for their business. 

Presented by: Batesville Cremation Team 

Registration 

Registration for the February and March webinars will be available in January of 2026. For a complete listing and descriptions of all education events, visit  

Bastesville.com/Resources/Webinars/ for more information. 

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About Batesville Services, LLC  

Batesville is a recognized leader in the deathcare industry in North America, offering a comprehensive portfolio of burial and cremation products, memorialization options and innovative technology solutions. For more than 140 years, Batesville has supported licensed funeral professionals in helping families honor the lives of those they love®. A history of manufacturing excellence, product innovation, superior customer service, and reliable delivery helped Batesville become – and remain – a trusted leader in the deathcare  industry. 

Okay. . . I’m generally not one to toot my own horn, but I did promise my friend Charis Rethorford, Head of Partnerships and Marketing at Prelude, that I would appear on one of their Zoom webinars to discuss the state of the funeral profession, as I see it,  with her.  If you want to lean in on what Charis and I will discuss make sure that you click here to register for Wednesday’s session sponsored by Prelude.

According to Prelude’s information on the session Charis and I will discuss  “. . . cutting-edge innovations and strategies for funeral homes to thrive in a rapidly evolving market. I will share my insights into challenges like cremation trends, eco-friendly options, and shifting consumer behavior.” 

Quite frankly, I’m looking forward to the session.  It’s not often that I get the chance to visit in a live format with those of you who read Funeral Director Daily.  And, while I’m not exactly sure, I do believe that there may be a way for webinar enrollees to ask questions.

This all takes place on Wednesday, January 29, at Noon Eastern Time, 11:00 am Central Time, and 9:00 am Pacific Time.

For more information on Prelude and where it fits in the Death Care ecosystem you can click here.

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Antonio Green’s New Webinar Will Help You Shape Your Vision for Ultimate Business Success

Most every deathcare professional is drawn to the field for reasons that are vastly different from those common in other industries. It’s a calling, not a career. It’s a ministry, not a business. But the reality is that it’s all of those things, and to succeed, you must be equipped with the right skills, tools, and mindset for creating and maintaining a sustainable, flourishing business while you serve your families and your community.

Antonio Green is here to help you shape and implement your unique vision for personal and professional success. Join Green on Tuesday, January 28 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern for “Breaking Through Barriers: Proven Strategies to Transform Your Business and Yourself in 2025” — a free, online, and interactive course that will cover a wide range of business-building topics with a focus on deathcare, but with tips and advice that could help anyone succeed in growing a profitable business in any industry.

It starts with a strong foundation

A fourth-generation funeral director, published author, and co-owner and manager of 106-year-old family-owned James H. Cole Home for Funerals in Detroit, Michigan, Green has been in (and is still wearing) your shoes. He’s experienced the ups and downs of funeral home management and ownership, and he’s learned what works — and what doesn’t — when it comes to growing your deathcare business. 

“There are plenty of things I’ve tried that haven’t worked out,” Green says, “but there are more things that have worked and are still working. In this webinar, I’ll offer practical insights and proven strategies for growth, efficiency, and personal development.”

In “Breaking Through Barriers,” Green will introduce a customizable plan for achieving your goals. Participants will learn how to build a strong foundation for transformative growth, how to leverage technology for efficiency and scale, how to identify new avenues for revenue, and create personal strategies for sustainable success.

Practical advice and tools for 2025 (and beyond)

Although deathcare is a profession that’s often considered too traditional or slow to evolve, that doesn’t have to be the case in your funeral home — especially when it comes to harnessing the power of technology. Green’s webinar will introduce you to some incredibly effective tools that you can easily implement for instant results. In the same way, he will share simple, concrete ideas for consistent revenue generation. 

“Especially now as the death rate has been going down over the last couple of years, we have to think about new revenue streams to offset that lack of revenue,” Green explains. “I’ll share some ideas for low-hanging fruit to pull in some extra revenue, to get you thinking outside the box.”

Green’s goal with the webinar is to empower attendees to establish a vision for their business, identify goals, and create a personalized action plan to achieve all your milestones along the way.

“What do you want your business to do, especially in 2025 going into 2026? Do you want it to grow? Are there milestones that you want to hit in the next few years?” Green asks. “Together, we will figure out what steps we need to take to get there and break it down into bite-sized pieces to achieve that goal. There’s not going to be a one-size-fits-all plan for everyone, so I’ll help you think it through individually.”

“Breaking Through Barriers” is limited to 250 attendees, so register today to secure your spot. The live webinar is free and a recording will be available at no cost. 

“I think starting the year off on a good foot will be a good thing,” Green says. “I think you’ll enjoy it!”

Next Wednesday, October 2, the University of Minnesota Program of Mortuary Science will be sharing a webinar entitled “Understanding Natural Organic Reduction” (NOR).   This webinar, conducted by an educational institution would be a great opportunity for funeral professionals to get an introduction into the NOR process.

The live webinar will take place for one hour beginning at 2:30 pm Central Time.  It will cost $25 at that time.  You can watch the event for free (No CEU) by waiting and watching the taped post-live webinar.  Please scroll down to “Cost” section to see how to do that.

Here is what the flyer for the program says about this presentation:

In this 1-hour seminar, participants will gain:
● An understanding of what NOR is and the science behind how it works.
● Information on NOR legalization in Minnesota, other states in the U.S., and other places in the
world where human composting is gaining popularity.
● Perspectives from a MN mortician who has already served Minnesota families with NOR services.
● Resources on where to go to learn more about NOR and stay informed.

Minnesota and Wisconsin funeral directors can receive one CEU credit by watching the webinar live.

Cost:
$25 for one continuing education credit; (Credit Card payments only.)
Note: The presentation may be watched at a later time (no CEU awarded) by visiting this website.  (Scroll to Past Webinars)

Presenters:

• Erik Halaas has spent the last year as a FINNOVATION Fellow exploring the feasibility of bringing Natural
  Organic Reduction to the state of Minnesota. During this time, he was also the primary coordinator
  behind NOR Minnesota, a grassroots action group that drafted and successfully advocated for the
  legalization of Natural Organic Reduction in May of 2024.
  Erik has a decade plus of experience launching novel programming in public health and education
  through cross-sector partnerships. Most recently, Erik was at the University of Minnesota where he
  helped to launch the Toaster Innovation Hub, a 6500 sq. ft. space designed to facilitate interdisciplinary
  collaboration in service to student innovation and entrepreneurship. Erik has an MPA in Health Policy and
  Management and a BA in Religion and American Racial and Multicultural Studies.

• Janet McGee is an instructor at the Mortuary Science program at the University of Minnesota. She
  graduated from the University of Minnesota’s School of Mortuary Science in 2002 and worked as a
  licensed mortician for six years. In 2008, she began working at one of the largest banks in the U.S. and
  while there, attained her MBA. Her background also includes national consumer product safety advocacy
  work.

• Mandy Stafford has been a licensed funeral director for approximately 15 years in both Minnesota and
  Wisconsin. Interra Natural Burial was a dream that she saw come to life while working at Mueller
  Memorial; from coming up with a name, to learning about natural caskets and urns, to partnering with
  Return Home for terramation, she learned it all.
  Being a funeral director is her passion and natural funerals have only increased her enthusiasm. She
  remains on call one weekend a month for Mueller Memorial and helps out her local funeral home in
  southern MN. She recently became a preneed coordinator for Return Home in Auburn, WA. In her free
  time, she enjoys fishing, hunting, camping and traveling with family and friends.

To register please click here.

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The teaser for this webinar states, “Fifty percent of funeral businesses are expected to change hands as the next generation leaves the business”.  

A webinar conducted by Johnson Consulting Group’s President and CEO Jake Johnson will take center stage tomorrow, April 4, from 3:00 to 4:30 pm Eastern Time. (2 pm to 3:30 pm Central Time)

Jake Johnson

If you are thinking of growing your business or thinking of exiting your business this should be a must watch for you to help you undertand what the variables will be in moving in your desired direction.  According to the registration information, Johnson will set the table by discussing the following:

1.  Getting your “house” in order in preparation for growth.
2.  Determine what are the steps needed for acquisition.
3.  Learn how to successfully onboard a new acquisition.

To learn more and/or register click here.

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Join Johnson Consulting Group on Friday March 15th at noon Central Time for an essential webinar about the new requirements under the FTC Funeral Rule.

This webinar entitled, “Mastering FTC Funeral Rule Compliance”  will be hosted by Johnson Consulting’s Nelson Thulin and also feature Poul Lemasters and Nicole Wiedeman.

Here’s what the registation form says about the program:

“(The webinar) will provide invaluable insights into understanding and complying with complex new regulatory requirements under the FTC Funeral Rule. From speculative timelines to training solutions, this webinar will equip you with the knowledge and strategies needed to ensure compliance and avoid potential challenges.”

To learn more and/or register click here.

To learn more about how Johnson Consulting Group may be able to help your business click here.

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