Board of

BROOKFIELD, Wis. – The Funeral Service Foundation’s Board of Trustees welcomed three new trustees and elected its 2019-20 executive committee at its annual fall meeting held during the NFDA International Convention & Expo in Chicago in October.

Voted onto the board in July, Stephen Phelps, vice president and director of marketing, National Guardian Life Insurance Company, Madison, Wisconsin, and David Falconer, senior vice president and funeral and cemetery trust manager, Regions Bank, Houston, Texas, began three-year terms as Foundation Trustees at the October meeting. Christopher Robinson, vice president and general manager, Robinson Funeral Home, Easley, South Carolina, joined Foundation trustees as the NFDA liaison, an NFDA Board-appointed role.

Funeral directors and allied professionals alike serve on the 17-member volunteer board and offer their expertise and insight to advance to Foundation’s mission to support meaningful relationships with families and communities.

“David, Steve and Chris are solid and inspiring additions to the Board,” said Anthony Guerra, who was elected as the Foundation’s 2019-20 Chair. “They are respected leaders within the funeral service profession and have been longtime supporters of the Foundation’s mission.”

In addition to electing Guerra, vice president of Guerra Gutierrez Mortuaries in Los Angeles, California, as 2019-20 Chair, the Board of Trustees elected Allan Cole, president and owner, MacKinnon and Bowes, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as chair-elect. Cole is the first-ever international board member to serve on the Foundation’s executive committee. The Board also re-elected Eric Tanzberger, senior vice president and CFO, Service Corporation International, Houston, Texas, as treasurer. Bob Arrington, owner, Arrington Funeral Directors and Crematory, Jackson, Tennessee, serves as immediate past president.

“We are honored to have such a strong and dynamic executive committee, including our first international board member serving in a leadership role,” said Foundation Executive Director, Lee Wiensch, CFRE. “The Foundation has great projects on the horizon, and our executive committee and board will lead us to new heights.”

Jay Dodds, chief operating officer, Park Lawn Corporation, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and Dave McComb, chairman and owner of Inman Shipping Worldwide and Eagles Wings Air, Fort Wayne, Indiana, transitioned off the board after six years of dedicated service to the Foundation.