Building Our Future

In this session Dave Baspaly of InFocus Management Consulting welcomes members of both the CCABC & FSABC and presents a vision for a unified organization through joint merger.  Mergers are sophisticated business transactions, likely the most sophisticated that a Association will ever undertake.  Executed properly a new, stronger, more vibrant Association is formed with a better capacity of serving members’ needs for the long-term.  The session will include a presentation that provides an overview of the process and immediate next steps.  Specific time will be provided for an open Q & A session.

Our Heritage:  Caring, Compassionate Concerned

The history of cemetery and funeral service is a history of mankind.  Funeral customs are as old as civilization itself.  Todd Van Beck one of the best known and well regarded funeral service historians will take us on a historical journey through the history of burial customs and death care and how it impacts what we do today.

Change Direction Without Losing Your Mind

In the fast pace of life we’re often reacting to situations, rather than responding to them.  Living our lives through the reactions of others we feel they live rent-free in our head.  At the mercy of this overwhelming sense of urgency we often forget what is important to us.  In this session  Deborah Kimmett will show you how you can take a Mental Pause by unplugging from others opinions, watching the rollercoaster instead of riding it; thinking outside of your comfort zone to improve your teamwork and communication skills.

History or Homicide?

Coroner Stephen Fonseca will be speaking about the BC Coroner’s Services’ Identification and Disaster Response Unit and its role in identifying human remains in complex investigations.  Fonseca’s unit is responsible for 200 cases of unidentified human remains in BC.  The chilling story of feet washing ashore along BC’s south coast has captured the fascination of people from around the world and is just one of the many cases being investigated where Fonseca was recently featured in the television documentary, Dark Waters of Crime.  In this fascinating session, Cemeterians and Funeral Directors will learn what role they have when presented with a “new” case, (in some situations partial human remains) and the Coroner’s role in determining if it is “history” or “homicide”. 

Historical Influences of Cemetery & Funeral Services Legislation In BC

British Columbia’s Cremation Act was passed in 1913; the Public Utilities Commission regulated Cemeteries from 1955 to 1973.  Funeral Providers only became regulated in 1995.  It was not until 1990 that legislation and regulation for cemeteries, crematoriums and funeral providers came into effect under one Act.  In this session, Tayt Winnitoy of Consumer Protection BC will explain what the historical influences were that effected the legislation and regulation in place today and the relevance of those laws.

A Call To Duty:  Funeral Directors & Cemeterians Response to the Titanic Disaster

Exactly 100 years ago today (April 21, 1912), the crew of the MacKay Bennett managed to recover the first 51 bodies from the Titanic.  In Halifax, preparation for receiving the dead involved turning the city’s curling rink into a temporary morgue while three cemeteries offered a final resting place. In this session,  Todd Van Beck will discuss how the devastation of the Titanic can teach Cemeterians and Funeral Directors valuable lessons for today.

Closing Keynote:  Taking Crazy Back

Once the founder and CEO of a multi-million dollar technology firm, Tod’s workload and always-on personality finally caught up with him and over the following years, he was crippled by a devastating depression and addiction — all the while struggling to appear to be productive to employers and colleagues, and happy and healthy to his friends and family.   In this provocative keynote speech, Tod Maffin will reveal how this always-connected landscape has seduced all of us into endless multitasking and infinite email — all the while pretending that this increasing workload is the best thing for “productivity.” In fact, this hyper-connected economy may be both destroying the productivity of workplaces and eroding the mental health of companies’ most valuable asset — their people.  Funny and poignant, sad and hopeful, Tod will outline his own bold strategy in a way that will challenge  attendees for years to come.