Michael W. Nicodemus
Mike Nicodemus is the vice president of cremation services for the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA), the world’s leading and largest professional association for funeral directors. In his role with NFDA, Nicodemus developed and is responsible for conducting cremation certification programs throughout the country. The program is geared toward funeral directors who offer cremation services, regardless of whether they have a crematory on the premises of their funeral homes. The program is also appropriate for any funeral home employee, from support staff to licensed funeral professionals.
Nicodemus’ other responsibilities with NFDA include developing cremation-related continuing education programs, staffing a free hotline to answer members’ questions about cremation and offering cremation consulting services through his consulting firm Nicodemus & Associates.
Prior to joining NFDA, Nicodemus served as vice president of cremation operations at Hollomon-Brown Funeral Homes, which operates eight funeral homes, two cemeteries and a crematory in the Tidewater, Virginia-area. Nicodemus will continue to assist families at Hollomon-Brown Funeral Homes on an as-needed basis.
Nicodemus is a Past President of the Cremation Association of North America and, for many years, served as chairman of their Crematory Operations Certificate Program. Mike serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science, of which he is an alumnus. He is a licensed funeral director in the states of Virginia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
Nicodemus is a highly sought after speaker on the national and state level and has been retained as an expert witness in numerous cremation-related lawsuits.
He is the author of the Cremation Operations Manual published by Kates-Boylston and numerous media outlets, such as USA Today, Time, Newsweek, ABC News, BBC News and the New York Times, have sought his expertise for cremation-related news stories.
Lawrence Little
Lawrence G. Little, owner of Alternatives Funeral & Cremation Services, has a distinguished career in the British funeral industry. Lawrence began his apprenticeship in the funeral business in 1971.
In 1980, Lawrence began a six-year term as a Director of the British Columbia Funeral Association and served as Chairman of the Professional Education Committee, the Public Education Committee and Chairman of the Management Committee. Little has designed and conducted numerous funeral service training seminars and workshops throughout B.C., as well as international seminars for the International Order of the Golden Rule.
In April 1992, Little established Personal Alternative Funeral Services to provide consumers throughout the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley with a comfortable, affordable and common-sense alternative to the escalating costs found in traditional funeral homes.
In 2009, Lawrence was elected to the Board of Directors of the Cremation Association of North America. Little recently rebranded his company and changed the name to Alternatives Funeral & Cremation Services which serves 1,400 families annually and is the largest family owned funeral home in Western Canada.
Walker Posey
Walker Posey is a fourth generation Funeral Director and managing partner with Posey Funeral Directors, North Augusta, SC.In addition to funeral service, Walker has an extensive background in marketing, with a direct emphasis in public relations and social media marketing. Over the last several years Walker has been instrumental in developing and implementing many key strategies and marketing theories currently being embraced by the funeral profession.
Currently, Walker is a featured speaker at various state and national conventions and has a deep understanding of how to use technology to gain measurable results in funeral service. His theories and strategies help funeral homes more effectively connect with the client families of today. Walker is an entrepreneur who is actively involved in various media and technology based projects in a number of different industries.
He is very active in various industry and community associations, boards and philanthropic endeavors, including Rotary International, The YMCA and is currently serving as SCFDA Treasurer.
Patricia Hamilton
Patricia D. Hamilton had the responsibility for creating quality training for Delta Air Lines’ worldwide sales force. She was instrumental in building the skills and competency models for “World Class” sales performance within Delta, and the supporting training curriculum.While employed by Delta Air Lines, Ms. Hamilton won three “Excellence in Sales Performance” awards, as well as, being honored with entrance into the “Chairman’s Club,” the most prestigious award presented by Delta.
She is the founder and President of Hamilton Consulting Group, a firm that provides customized training, coaching, consulting and meeting facilitation services. Over the last thirty years, she has provided needs analyses, instructional design, and custom-designed training to create profitable situations.
Ms. Hamilton consults and supports businesses in their initiatives to transform managers into leaders by coaching to enhance the development of their people. She also specializes in re-enculturing customer support agents by taking them to the next level of performance; both of which enable companies to gain a sustainable competitive advantage through achieving management / leadership superiority and excellence in customer service.
She is a dynamic speaker, using her background in theatre and comedy to enhance the learning experience. She has been the guest presenter for several organizations including; New York Society of Association Executives, New York, Inc., Rotary Clubs of America, Toastmasters and CANA..
Our Team