CONVENTION AGENDA* (12 NYS CEUs have been approved)
Reminder: To receive credit you must be present in the session room for the full presentation. You will not receive credit if you arrive late and/or leave early.
MONDAY, AUGUST 17 (4 CEUs offered)
9:00 – 10:00 a.m. - General Session: The Heart of Connection | 1 CEU
Speaker: Jeff Butler
10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. - General Session: Cremation - It's Not About the Price | 2 CEUs
Speaker: Angelique Simpson, Professional Development Director, Matthews Aurora
12:15 – 1:15 p.m. - Lunch Break (Ticketed Buffet Available)
We’re offering a buffet lunch, but have also built in extra time. Feel free to explore downtown Saratoga Springs!
1:15 – 2:15 p.m. - General Session: The Surprising Productivity of Self-Care: Using Mindfulness to Combat Burnout and Compassion Fatigue | 1 CEU
Speaker: Johnny Crowder
2:30 – 4:30 p.m. - Service of Healing & Remembrance & Annual Meeting
Please join us for our Annual Service of Healing and Remembrance where we will honor those colleagues lost over the past 12 months. Together we will celebrate their contributions to our great association, this humble profession, their local communities, and most importantly, their families and friends.
We'll then move into Association business and updates during the Annual Meeting.
4:30 – 7:00 p.m. - Exhibit Preview and Silent Auction
8:00 – 11:00 p.m. - Funeral Directors Night Out
TUESDAY, AUGUST 18 (4 CEUs offered)
8:30 – 10:30 a.m. - Concurrent Sessions | 2 CEUs each; choose 1
- Modern Applications of Historic Restorative Art Methods
Speaker: Dominick Astorino - What Cremation Families Really Want
Speaker: Doug Gober - Care for the Caregiver
Speaker: Joanne Harpel
10:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Exhibit Hall Open Strolling Brunch/Ice Cream Break
Sponsored by PrePlan Funeral Trust
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Running Your Business: A Peer-to-Peer Forum
Facilitated by Mark J. Nolan, Nolan Funeral Home, Inc. and Danford Baxter, N.F. Walker, Inc. Funeral Home
1:00 - 3:15 p.m. - Concurrent Sessions
- 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. Student and Newly Licensed Embalmers Workshop
Speaker: Dominick Astorino -
1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Mortuary Law Questions and Answers | 2 Law CEUs
Speaker: Stephanie Gilman (Repeated on Wednesday) -
1:00 – 3:00 p.m. The Value of Viewing | 2 CEUs
Speaker: Amanda King - 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Assisted Dying: How a Choice of Dying Impacts Funeral Arrangements | 1 CEU
Speaker: Marc Markell - 2:15 – 3:15 p.m. Green Burials | 1 CEU
Speaker: Amy Cunningham
6:00 - 11:00 p.m. - Annual Banquet (Ticketed Event)
Canfield Casino; pre-registration required; transportation provided
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19 (4 CEUs offered)
8:30 – 10:30 a.m. - General Session: The AI Revolution: Transforming Funeral Care with Compassion and Technology | 2 CEUs
Speaker: Chuck Gallagher
10:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. - General Session: Mortuary Law Questions and Answers | 2 Law CEUs
Speaker: Stephanie Gilman (Repeated from Tuesday)
Looking for more details? Check out the Session Descriptions.
For Information on the Special Events, click here.
Reminder: To receive credit you must be present in the session room for the full presentation. You will not receive credit if you arrive late and/or leave early.
* Schedule as of May 1, 2026; subject to change