For Immediate Release: July 9, 2018
Brookfield, Wis. – The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) Policy Board met on July 7 in Asheville, N.C., and elected Christopher P. Robinson, CFSP, CCO, of Robinson Funeral Home in Easley, S.C., and John W. Wenig of Wenig Funeral Homes in Sheboygan Falls, Wis., to serve as at-large representatives on the association's Board of Directors. They will begin two-year terms of service immediately following the 2018 NFDA International Convention & Expo, October 14 through 17 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Robinson’s roots in funeral service date to a summer job in high school digging graves by hand. After earning a bachelor’s degree in German and European history and a master’s degree in international business, he worked in the banking industry. Back in South Carolina, Robinson’s father continued to expand his funeral home through the purchase of a new location and by establishing a perpetual care cemetery. With no other relatives working in alongside his father, after five years Robinson decided to leave banking and return to his grave-digging roots to become a funeral director.
In his candidate statement, Robinson said, “My fellow funeral directors in South Carolina have allowed me the opportunity to serve our state association in many roles. Through my work with many fine funeral directors and fellow state officers, I have learned the challenges associations have faced. While the solutions to state association issues are not always obvious and easy, together we can and have come to the proper outcome through thoughtful study and analysis. The same thought processes and analysis would apply to the issues the NFDA Board of Directors encounters.”
Wenig is a first-generation funeral director who, after working for several funeral homes, purchased his own funeral establishments in Sheboygan Falls and Oostburg, Wis. Wenig has served in various leadership capacities on the local, state and national level, including as the state of Wisconsin’s representative to the NFDA Policy Board. In a special election held in October 2017, Wenig was elected to serve a one-year term as an at-large representative on the NFDA Board of Directors.
“As a working funeral director, I understand the challenges and opportunities that exist in today’s current market and industry,” Wenig said in his candidate statement. “This background has enabled me to provide an experienced perspective to other funeral professionals within our association. I would be proud and honored to give back to my profession by being re-elected and serving on the NFDA Board of Directors.”
More information about Robinson and Wenig can be found on the NFDA website, www.nfda.org/vote.
NFDA is the world's leading and largest funeral service association, serving more than 20,000 individual members who represent nearly 11,000 funeral homes in the United States and 49 countries around the world. NFDA is the trusted leader, beacon for ethics and the strongest advocate for the profession. NFDA is the association of choice because it offers funeral professionals comprehensive educational resources, tools to manage successful businesses, guidance to become pillars in their communities and the expertise to foster future generations of funeral professionals. NFDA is headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., and has an office in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.nfda.org.
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Contact: Jessica Koth, 262-814-1536, jkoth@nfda.org