Upcoming WilbertEDU Sessions
Please join us on the WilbertEDU webinar August 12th to listen to Jzyk S. Ennis, Ph.D. (pronounced Jay-zick) speak on the embalming topic of renal failure. This is one webinar that your funeral professionals, especially embalmers, will not want to miss!
Dr. Ennis is a full-time instructor in the Funeral Service Education Program at Jefferson State Community College in Birmingham, Alabama and a part-time funeral director for Deerfoot Memorial Funeral Home in Trussville, Alabama. He is a licensed funeral director and embalmer in both Alabama and Georgia, a Certified Funeral Service Practitioner (CFSP) and a Certified Crematory Operator (CCO). Beginning in 2000 he taught as an adjunct instructor and was hired as a full-time instructor in 2005. Dr. Ennis has written two books related to embalming, Embalming Standards of Care and Embalming and Renal Failure: A Silent Danger for Embalmers. He is a nationally recognized speaker who has written numerous articles for national and state publications and is a subject matter expert in legal cases related to embalming and funeral service. He was the 2018-2020 President of the American Board of Funeral Service Education (ABFSE), is a past president of the Alabama Funeral Directors Association and a former At-large Representative on the Executive Board of the National Funeral Directors Association.
In this webinar Dr. Ennis will talk about how the cause and manner of death seen by embalmers today is much different than it was years ago. Many people today are on medications that affect the tissues of the body which influences the process for successful embalming. One major consequence of long-term use of pharmaceuticals is diseases of the kidneys. This one-hour seminar will focus on the problems associated with renal failure and how the embalmer can recognize and properly embalm these types of cases.
On August 26th, John Heald, GM – Funeral Home Channel – Legacy.com, will join us to talk about “The Obituary, Your Greatest Marketing Asset!” John is a fourth-generation funeral director and has been licensed in Massachusetts for 19 years. A Massachusetts native, John earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bryant University and an associate degree in funeral service from Mount Ida College. In 2009, with his twin brother Jim, also licensed, he built a start-up funeral home in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. John was also one of the original members of the team that started Tributes.com in 2008, which was acquired by Legacy in May 2015. At Legacy.com John oversees funeral home and newspaper partnership development.
John will share with attendees how the obituary is becoming the single greatest marketing asset a funeral home can have. He will also discuss crafting an obituary that makes an impact and truly speaks to the life of the deceased as well as share some tips on what things you should avoid. We have learned that in today’s world, with our ever-expanding technology, an obituary is where life stories live on and where the end of life begins!