The 6th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Funeral Co-operatives Network was held on September 16th and 17th, in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, with a great turnout. The event was organised by the Fédération des coopératives funéraires du Québec (FCFQ), in cooperation with the PEI Co-operative Funeral Directors and Embalmers Association. Some 45 representatives of 9 different funeral co-ops from throughout North-America attended, including 8 representatives from the FCFQ and one from the Canadian Co-operative Association.
Of the nine Funeral Co-ops at the meeting, five were from Prince Edward Island (Hillsboro, Central Queen's, East Prince, North Shore and Southern King's and Queen's Funeral Co-operatives), one each were from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Ontario (du Passage, Arimathea and Ottawa Funeral Co-ops) and one more was from Seattle, Washington, the People's Memorial Funeral Co-operative.
The Annual Meeting garners more interest every year, and it's no wonder. Over the event's two days, participants were treated to conferences and workshops that were especially relevant to funeral co-operatives, including:
- A report on the Funeral Co-operative Network, Funeral Practices in Sweden and Preparations for the International Year of Co-operatives in 2012.
- A workshop on how to make the most of a limited advertising budget.
- An interactive workshop on the Analysis of Financial Statements. Each member co-op was provided with comparatives of its own financial statements for the past years.
- Conferences on green funeral practices, the cooperative advantage and the Canadian funeral market.
This years meeting was also the setting for the filming of video clips. A total of 12 clips were shot, and they will soon be added to the FCFQ web-site. Thanks very much to Larry MacKinnon, Mary Nash, Mark Goldblatt, Rosemary MacDonald, and John Eric Rolfstad for their participation. They're all Coming soon to a computer near you!
This year's event was hosted by Hillsboro and Area Funeral Co-operative. Thanks to Barb Wood and Vince Murnaghan and their group for an interesting visit to their new installations, including a wine and cheese reception, followed by a guided tour of Charlottetown and a Friday night banquet. Islander hospitality at its best!
Meetings and conferences such as these are an important way for funeral co-ops to stay in touch, share experiences and find common solutions to common problems. The FCFQ, through the Funeral Co-operatives Network, is proud to participate in this effort and intends to continue in this direction. This year's record turnout shows that funeral co-ops have a lot to gain in learning and working together.