October 2015

 
Welcome to the latest edition of the Institute Update
 

A very warm welcome to our newest members: Marion Royer and Kailah Eglington.

 
The IoCF 2015 Annual Conference and AGM

A brief message this month as I am very much hoping to speak to as many of you as possible at our conference and AGM.

While the conference is three weeks away, we are on a deadline to confirm numbers with Yarnfield Park, so please take this as a final reminder - if you would like to attend, we need you to send your booking form to Barbara by this coming Wednesday, 21st October. At the very least, please let her know of your intention to attend so that you can be included.

Time to listen, and talk!
We are very fortunate to have a wide range of speakers at conference either from within the profession or with strong links to the work we do. While the sessions are mainly a time for us to listen and learn, we have taken notice of your comments from past conferences and have ensured that there is more time for you to question our contributors, and also to speak informally with them and other members in longer refreshment breaks.

Have your say
Both conference and the AGM are opportunities for you to have a voice in the running of the IoCF. There will be our usual 'Suggestions Box' in the conference hall but I hope that you feel that you can speak from the floor on any matters that concern you and, therefore, your fellow celebrants. Time is always of the essence at conference, so if you do have a subject that you feel would be of interest to everyone, please let me know in advance so that we can include it (emails to Barbara will be forwarded on to me or do feel free to contact me directly - kemperpot@aol.com).

Moving forwards together
I hope there will be plenty of discussions about the ways we can move the IoCF forward together. For anyone who is unable to attend conference, please don't feel that you are excluded: send any ideas or subjects you would like to be raised during the conference to me, as above.

Looking forward to seeing you at Yarnfield. Safe journeys.

Best Wishes
Christine Ogden
 

 
Council News

Seeking help ...
We are always hoping to encourage members to play a more active role in the running of the Institute, and we do need more council members. Membership of the council is a voluntary role. Although much of the work is done through email and conference calls, attendance of as many council meetings as possible is also required. These are held approximately every two months at the office in Kimbolton.

If you think you might be tempted, please feel free to contact Christine ( kemperpot@aol.com) or any other council member for a chat. And if you'd like to stand for election (which happens at the AGM) please let us know.

Seeking more help ...
It's understandable that for many, getting to meetings is going to be difficult, if not impossible, regardless of where our Head Office is sited, and that rules out joining the council. However, that doesn't mean you can't be involved! There is a multiplicity of tasks that our growing Institute needs - local marketing, writing articles for publication, organising a Best Practice day, delivering a Best Practice workshop, etc, etc.

If you have the skills, inclination or even fancy a challenge and you'd like to help out, we'd love you to! Together we can create an Institute run by the members for the members.
 

 
Website News

Future Plans
Work in the last few weeks has been on developing a new 'IoCF in the media' page where we'll be including a selection of the articles that have been published recently. As you are probably aware, we regularly submit to publications as part of our campaign to raise awareness of the Institute and of civil funerals in general. We'll let you know when it's up and running.
 

IoCF in Ireland
As our membership in Ireland is growing, it has become apparent that a completely separate website is needed to cater for that specific audience. The new site will, in essence, be a direct replica of the UK site, but with Ireland-specific content where applicable. Irish members will maintain their access to the "mother" Members' Area and Forum, helping them to remain part of the wider IoCF family.
 

 
And Finally ...

Congratulations to the following members who have reached another milestone in their work:
Maria Ann McDonald and Mandy Helsby.
 

And thank you for reading.
Barbara