WilbertEDU Upcoming Sessions
Doug Gober is certainly no stranger to the funeral service profession, and he will be joining the WilbertEDU stage on September 9th. A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Doug graduated from the University of Alabama in 1977, where he earned a Business Degree in Accounting. Subsequently, he became a Certified Public Accountant specializing in industrial audits and corporate taxes. Doug began his funeral service career 42 years ago as a sales representative in the casket industry. He has earned national awards from various organizations with the death care industry and has served as a consultant on various marketing and merchandising projects on an international scale.
Over the years Doug has been a driving force for several organizations serving the Doody Group as European Operations Manager, a pioneer in developing the York Merchandising System, Director of Development and Marketing with Carriage Services, an Industry Liaison and Senior Loan Officer for Live Oak Bank, and was owner of Gober Strategic Capital where he combined his experience to bring counsel and resources together to work with funeral professionals. In 2018, Doug partnered with The Foresight Companies in his quest to provide funeral and cemetery owners successful business solutions. Foresight enables Doug to expand his service offerings to include accounting, business valuations, human resource services, strategic business analysis, family surveys, accounts receivable management and market research as well as financing.
Doug will be presenting “The Devil’s in the Details; Customer Loyalty is Not Built from 30,000 Feet,” pulling together a variety of key branding considerations and applying them directly to funeral homes and cemeteries today. He will look at each potential point of customer contact with our business then delve into how each of these impacts our existing and potential customers. He will also define the elements that comprise customer awareness and then examines them in depth, offering advice and examples of how to use techniques that have been successful in other businesses. Lastly, he will tackle each area from the perspective of how to differentiate yourself in your marketplace.
On September 23rd Frank Rosenacker joins the WilbertEDU stage to speak about cremation liabilities. Frank grew up in a funeral home, and his funeral service career spans nearly 60 years starting with washing cars and writing mass and memorial cards. Frank is a fourth-generation funeral director/embalmer who still serves as the secretary of his family funeral home. He is also a practicing attorney specializing in all areas of estate planning, probate, taxation, and corporate-business matters. Frank owns and operates Rosenacker and Associates, an international consulting firm located in Cincinnati that assists funeral directors and funeral homes, offering a wide range of services including legal representation.
After attending Wharton for a few years, Frank graduated from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science in 1973. Deciding to further his education, he went on to graduate from Edgecliff College (now a part of Xavier University) as the first graduate with a B.S. in Mortuary Science (once CCMS and Edgecliff formed an alliance). In 1983 he graduated with a Juris Doctorate from Northern Kentucky University Chase College of Law and served 4 ½ years on active duty as an Air Force JAG Officer and 2 ½ years in the Ohio National Guard. In addition to owning his own consulting business and law practice, Frank is also Chairman of the Board at the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science.
Frank has lectured extensively on the national, state, and local levels with topics including legal issues, succession planning, business plans and policy manuals, business appraisals and evaluations, sales of funeral businesses, regulatory laws, taxes, and cooperative efforts. In this session he will be addressing the topic of Cremation Liability.
As the cremation rate rises each year, Frank asks, “Are funeral directors becoming a glorified disposal company, or are they functioning as funeral directors with cremation just another form of disposition?” Learn the difference and helpful tips to avoid cremation liability issues in your business life. He will also share real-life case scenarios that he is currently working on or has completed. Join us on September 23rd to learn more about the cremation liabilities that funeral homes face in today’s world.