In This Issue:

• New Administration and Contact Details
• New Website
• New Members Area and Forum Problems
• Your Details
• November Conference
• Join The Council

New Administration and Contact Details

We are delighted to be welcoming Barbara Pearce as the new administrator for the Institute from 30th July 2012. We know that members will give her all the assistance they can as she gets to know us all.

Unavoidably, with our new administrator there are new contact details. Sorry, but everyone needs to update their records for the Institute - changes also applicable from the 30th July:

Telephone: 01480 861411

Post:
    IoCF,
    6 Nene Road,
    Bicton Industrial Park,
    Kimbolton,
    Cambs. PE28 0LF

Email for booking forms remains as before: bookings@iocf.org.uk
All other enquiries: info@iocf.org.uk
Barbara can be contacted directly on barbara@iocf.org.uk

New Website

We are very pleased to announce that the IoCF now has a new website, which we would ask you to take the time to view:

http://www.iocf.org.uk

Our aim with the re-design has been to have a much stronger focus on those who might wish to engage a funeral celebrant, whilst also providing information for other funeral professionals and both potential and existing celebrants themselves. By doing this we hope the site will better serve all the members.

The new site includes a clickable map which takes visitors to members' details per region. We have tried to place members in the region(s) where they are happy to work but we fully appreciate that there will need to be corrections and adjustments.

To that end, please send requests for changes to:

webmaster@iocf.org.uk

Rather than action all modifications piecemeal, change requests will be collated and then we'll review how the members' information might be better presented overall, as well as making any corrections.

Apart from your personal details, there are likely to be changes and refinements to the website as time goes on, so do let us have your thoughts - email info@iocf.org.uk in the first instance.

New Members Area and Forum Problems

At the time of writing we are still working on a new private Members' Area but rest assured the existing members' forum remains available for use. If you have any problems accessing the forum, simply email the forum administrator: administrator@iocf.org.uk and you will be sent log-in details.

We are aware that there have been rogue posts in the forum in recent days. Everything is being done to resolve this and to move the whole website to a new secure server network with trustworthy firewalls, but unfortunately to do this whilst preserving all the existing content is not a 10 minute task.

In the meantime, the Forum itself is safe to use. That said, the rogue posts contain links to other websites and members are advised not to open any posts generated by people with strange user names and, if you do open a rogue post by accident, to definitely not click on any links. Our webmaster isn't able to continuously monitor the forum, so they have asked that any member who spots anything unusual should email the details to administrator@iocf.org.uk

Your Details

With the move to a new administrative arrangement, we're aware that our list of members' email addresses might not be completely up to date.

Please accept our apologies if you have received this email and are no longer a member. We will be very grateful if you would email Barbara - barbara@iocf.org.uk - to let her know if we have made an error.

We would also be very pleased to welcome you back if you would like to re-join at this exciting time for the Institute.

November Conference

As many readers will know, the IoCF holds a conference every two years and the next one will be this autumn: 16th-18th November at Hillscourt Conference Centre, Rednal, Birmingham.

Conferences are an excellent opportunity to put names to faces as celebrants come from all over the country. They are also a time to share experiences and to glean useful information from presentations and workshops, while the Presentation Dinner on the Saturday night recognises any special achievements over the past two years.

Most of our invited speakers have now confirmed attendance and we are looking forward to an entertaining and informative weekend. If you have not already done so, please email Viv O'Neill - viv.oneill@btinternet.com - if you are interested in attending. An early indication of numbers is very important to assist us with planning. More information about the conference will be sent out shortly.

Join The Council

The current IoCF Council of Management members have been spending a great deal of time on the new administration set-up. However this is a one-off event (!) and we would not want to put off any members who might like to consider joining the Council.

There will be an election for Council members later this year, so do think about putting yourself forward. We are totally committed to promoting the Institute as the foremost source for civil funeral celebrants in the UK and we know that our members are our biggest asset. We intend to continue to grow and we need your help!

Thank you for reading.

The IoCF Council of Management