Melissa Posey Loose

Assistant  VP, Marketing Communications

NGL

Melissa Posey Loose leads NGL's Marketing Communications team, developing strategy for promoting NGL’s brand and position as a leader in the Preneed insurance industry. Melissa has more than 25 years of diverse experience in delivering training, developing marketing campaigns and collateral, writing and editing publications, and creating partnerships. Prior to joining NGL, Melissa was Training and Development Manager for the Funeral Directors Association (NFDA), where she directed program planning, partnership development, and implementation of both NFDA’s annual Professional Women’s Conference and NFDA’s Arranger Training programming for domestic and international audiences. A licensed funeral director, Melissa worked with her family at Posey Funeral Directors for nearly 15 years, where she served grieving families and developed award-winning community programming. She earned a B.A. and M.A. from Brigham Young University. A published author, most recently she contributed to Funeral Service Foundation’s When a Child Dies: Creating Acts of Love and Legacy, now used by the National Institute of Health and over 60 hospital systems.

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Kenn Peterson

VP, Business & Lending Development 

NGL

With over 37 years of experience helping four national preneed companies each attain annual record revenue with combined annual sales of almost $2 billion, Kenn uses his passion for helping others and growth mindset to lead teams, solve problems, and help funeral service professionals make a difference in the lives of the families they serve. Kenn earned his B.A. from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio; M.S. from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and MBA from the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio. He is a certified Celebrant, Life Tribute Professional, serves as a board member on the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science Board of Trustees, and is a past recipient of the Daniel A. Hillenbrand Award. Kenn knows Preneed is a solution that helps make the worst day of a family’s life a little easier. 

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Darren Crouch

President and CEO

Passages International, Inc.

Darren Crouch, President and CEO of Passages International, Inc., co-founded Passages International in 1999 in the back of the family funeral home. Over the past 25 years, Passages has grown tremendously by helping funeral homes meet the needs of less traditional consumers. Families that were typically underserved because they wanted cremation, scattering or a more natural end-of-life ritual. Darren has been published in The Director Magazine, The American Funeral Director Magazine, Funeral Business Adviser, The Cremationist, and the ICCFA Magazine. He has also been quoted in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post. In addition, he has spoken at several national and international conventions including the Asia Funeral Expo, the NFDA Convention, the ICCFA Convention and the CANA Symposium. Darren has been recognized as a thought leader in the funeral industry and in 2022 Passages International was a finalist for Fast Company's World Changing Ideas in the category of Enduring Impact.

Darren holds a BSc. (Hons) degree from Manchester Metropolitan University in Manchester, England, is a Vistage member, and is the current President of the Green Burial Council.

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Greg Norris

Regional Director

Homesteaders Life

Greg Norris joined Homesteaders in 2004 and spent the next six years serving funeral home customers and agents in Texas. In 2010, he was named Regional Director of the West Region. Prior to joining Homesteaders, he spent 10 years as a preneed sales counselor, territory manager and preneed marketer. Greg has a degree in Marketing and Management from Emporia State University and is a two-time recipient of Homesteaders’ Account Executive of the Year award.

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Kyle Fogarty

Founder

MemoryShare

Kyle Fogarty is the co-founder of the funeral live streaming platform MemoryShare. With a background in videography and over a decade of experience in the funeral industry, Kyle has seen firsthand the ways funeral directors are leveraging video to their advantage, particularly during and post-pandemic. In this talk he will break down specific ways you can do the same, using easy-to-use tools that can increase your calls per year, differentiate you from competition, and bring value to your families.

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