Greetings — I hope you all had a wonderful summer.

We just had our leadership conference in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Our MFDA President Steve Kirkegard, MFDA Executive Assistant Terri James, and I, as the NFDA Montana state representative for MFDA, attended. It was a time to reconnect with other association leaders and to follow up on issues we currently face in our profession and to help us as leadership members to better serve our association.

Some of the workshops we attended were:

• Unstoppable Leadership by Alex Weber, an American Ninja Warrior and host who talked about leadership and peak performance in our roles as leaders in our industry.
• Empowering Success: Strengthening Governance & Volunteer Engagement in Our Organizations by William Pawlucy, founder and president of Association Options. He taught us how to make the most of our associations for our members.
• Vicarious Trauma and Self-Care for Funeral Directors by Kristina Rose, director at the Office for Victims of Crime, U.S. Department of Justice. She discussed compensation for violent crime families.

The most upfront issues we talked about were the FTC and the progress or lack thereof on the Funeral Rule. It looks like things are busy with them with other issues and we seem to be on the back burner. However, changes will be made about price disclosures on websites and alternative forms of dispositions. When we see the changes is anybody’s guess, but it will happen.

Just when we thought we were in the clear with the EPA and formaldehyde, it seems there is still some discussion and rumblings on the effects of formaldehyde in our industry. We were told there will be some more panel meetings and studies to come. Stay tuned.

We had roundtable discussions and talked about employee retention, recruitment, communication and compensation. It seems our industry is facing the same issues nationwide. Finding good employees who want to work and can work in our profession and competitive compensation and benefits with a work-life balance seem to be big issues. I am positive that this will be something we all will face for a while.

On a side note, Florida is a beautiful state, and the Atlantic Ocean is awesome. We stayed at a resort in Porte Vedra Beach right on the coast. I would highly recommend a visit — beautiful beaches and what a spectacle. It was hot and muggy, but the ocean was very nice.

Thanks for the opportunity to represent Montana and our association to the NFDA. It is an honor and privilege to do so. Take care and God bless.