With the removal of any remaining restrictions, the NAFD’s local associations and area federations have been getting back together, after two years of meeting remotely. Some opted to provide both in-person and virtual attendance options, to ensure that everyone who wanted to be part of the event was able to attend.
NAFD Scotland held its AGM and First General Meeting, which was well attended both in person in Dundee and online. The key speaker was Jon Cross, from the Environmental Stewardship Group, which works on all environmental aspects of the bereavement sector. Jon presented the Group’s most recent State of the Sector report.
In March, a well-attended Kent Area Federation meeting, chaired by the Kent Area President Grant Marshall of W S Cole & Son in Ramsgate, welcomed NAFD President Kate Edwards as guest speaker. In a welcome return to face to face meetings, guests enjoyed dinner, an update from Kate on the latest developments at National Office, including the NAFD’s education programme and forthcoming Conference in Wales.
Said Grant: “It was great to see so many members in attendance. We were particularly delighted to welcome Muriel Laming of C W Lyons to the meeting, Muriel has been a funeral director for more than sixty years and, at the age of 87 she is still conducting funerals. Indeed she had just had a week where she conducted one funeral every day.”
Later in the month, the Yorkshire Area Federation held a successful and well-attended Annual General Meeting and Member Business Forum in Barnsley, packed with stimulating debate, important updates and professional development opportunities.
Other recent meetings have included the Midlands Area Federation, Coventry Guild, the Devon Area Federation, which included a CPD session on active listening from counsellor Sean Flynn and the Western Counties Area Federation. Western Counties also included an education session in their meeting – welcoming Adrian Brine from Citation to talk about managing stress and emotional wellbeing in the workplace.
Check April’s Funeral Director Monthly for more details on the NAFD’s regional networks and the work underway to provide greater support to volunteers who step up to run them, through the pilot of a new Member Forum structure.