AGM & Education
Conference 2023
SPONSORED BY
This year’s OFSA conference will be held at the beautiful Hockley Valley, a boutique resort just 45 minutes north of the GTA. More details will be released soon…
HOCKLEY VALLEY RESORT
September 25-26, 2023
Nestled in the corner of the Niagara Region just beyond Niagara Falls, the picturesque Niagara-on-the-Lake epitomizes old town charm. Beyond the quaint old town, explore the area’s several wineries, breweries and distilleries, world class theatre at the Shaw Festival, important historical landmarks, and stunning waterfront views.
LINKS TO ATTRACTIONS
Local Restaurants | SHAW Festival Tickets | Wineries | Breweries | Spas | Bicycle Share
- Location: Hockley Valley Resort
- Website: https://hockley.com
- Parking: FREE
- Member Early Bird Registration
- Non-member Registration
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Hotel Rooms Rate: $190 + resort fee
Booking code: (651263) Book Here - Golf Sign Up: Book Here
CONFERENCE AT A GLANCE
Monday September 25, 2023 |
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| 8:00AM | Golf Tee Times Available ($) |
| 1:30PM - 6:00 | Registration Desk |
| 1:30PM - 2:30 | Refreshments |
| 2:30PM - 4:30 | Welcome - Keynote Speaker |
| 4:30PM - 6:00 | Past Presidents Meeting |
| 5:30PM – 6:30 | Shuttle Bus (Hockley to Adamo) |
| 5:30PM – 7:00 | Wine tasting (optional with additional $) |
| 6:30PM – 7:30 | Cocktail Social |
| 7:30PM – 10:30 | Dinner Stations |
| 11:00PM - 1:00AM | Social / Hotel Lounge |
Wednesday Sept 27, 2023 |
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| 8:00AM – 10:00 | Bon Voyage Breakfast |
Tuesday September 26, 2023 |
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| 7:30AM - 9:00 | Breakfast |
| 8:00AM - 9:30 | Business Tables Open |
| 9:30AM - 10:30 | OFSA AGM – Members |
| 10:30AM - 11:00 | Break / Students Arrive |
| 11:00AM - 11:30 | Business Spotlights |
| 11:30AM-12:30 | Keynote – Codi Shewan |
| 12:30PM - 1:30 | Lunch |
| 1:30PM - 3:30 | Taking Your Communication to The Next Level |
| 3:30PM – 4:00 | Break / Students Depart |
| 4:00PM - 5:30 | AI Entering Funeral Homes & MAID Discussion |
| 7:00PM - 8:00 | Cocktail Hour / Welcome 50+ |
| 8:00PM - 11:00 | OFSA Presidents Banquet Dinner, Service Recognition & Entertainment |
| 11:00PM - 1:00AM | Social / Hotel Lounge |
Make the Impossible Possible
Lessons from an Improbable Olympic Journey
Keynote September 25th @ 2:30PM
What does it take to inspire your team and foster deep commitment? In this keynote, you’ll experience a rollercoaster journey full of insights on working through uncertainty, forging self-leadership, blasting through doubt, staying resilient, and building and inspiring team trust from one of the fastest Olympians ever to go from his parents’ couch to the Olympic podium. Jeremiah Brown challenges common notions of what it means to lead and be led in the pursuit of excellence, how to adapt to forces outside of one’s control and stay the committed when the pressure is on, all while encouraging a healthy dose of self-compassion and humility. Using vivid real-life Olympic setbacks, failures, and ultimate success, Jeremiah illuminates the true measures for success in the face of any competitive setting.
Jeremiah Brown: Olympian, Author, Creator
Jeremiah Brown won an Olympic silver medal as a member of the Canadian men’s eight rowing team at the London 2012 Olympic Games. A former commercial banker with a big dream, he is one of few Olympians ever to have started learning his sport only four years before winning a medal at the Olympics.
Jeremiah’s book, The 4 Year Olympian, spent five weeks as the #1 bestselling sports memoir in Canada. His story has been featured on CBC, CTV, Roger’s Sportsnet, the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, and USA Today. A top keynote speaker, Jeremiah has helped thousands of people find the courage to reach their goals and overcome the psychological traps and emotional pitfalls that lie hidden along the way.
ADAMO Estate Winery
(available with full conference registration)
Monday September 25, 2023
A small-batch boutique winery, on an 18-acre vineyard nestled in the fertile, rolling hills of Hockley Valley featuring over 23,000 vines in 3 blocks.
Adamo uses the best fruit from the estate and some of the top growers in Ontario. They weed and pick by hand, and crush and bottle on site. The view is spectacular!
Shuttle to Winery 5:30 – 11:00
Social Hour 6:30PM – 7:30PM
Dinner 7:30PM – 10:30PM
Website: https://adamoestate.com/
OFSA Annual General Meeting
Tuesday, September 26th @ 9:30AM
Hosted By:
Brett Denning, President, John Cunningham, Vice President, Erin Hogle, Treasurer, Scott MacCoubrey, Past President, and Directors: Michelle Glendinning, David LaPlante, Melanie MacDonald, and Rebecca Steckly
Special Guests:
Strategies for Taking Your Communication to
The Next Level
September 26th @ 11:30AM & 1:30PM (2 part session)
Communication is the single contributor to an engaged workplace, and engaged workforces perform 20% better and are 87% less likely to leave your employment.
If communication is central to such success, having optimized and effective communication as a central focus of your organization is critical!
Communication Elevation is a program designed to help leaders and their teams discover their unique communication protocol, and the styles of those around them, and to take their communication to the next
level! All participants will receive an individual assessment.
Presenter
CODI SHEWAN, CFSP, CCP | Speaker – Author – Consultant
Codi is the President & Founder of EverLearn Associates, a full service, comprehensive management consulting firm, for the funeral and cemetery profession – aimed at engaging and building dynamic teams and successful businesses. Operating across North America, EverLearn Associates is known for aligning closely with clients to provide tailored solutions, which overcome their operational challenges and align their business goals with success. Working with some of the profession’s finest operators, EverLearn Associates focuses on their principle tenet of ‘People first; always.’ and has enveloped that philosophy in all of their consulting lines of business; leadership and organizational development, training, HR, marketing, business strategy, and digital solutions.
In 2020, he became the best-selling author of the critically acclaimed, Everyday Legacy: Lessons For Living With Purpose, Right Now. His passion for empowering others to see the best in themselves and to redefine their legacy – from something they leave to something they personify personally and professionally, every day – is the driving
Learning Objectives
| 1. Improve communication | 6. Improve relationships through understanding |
| 2. Identify Strengths and increase productivity | 7. Develop amazing people skills |
| 3. Reduce communication stress and identify communication blind spots | 8. Unlock your leadership potential and that of prospective leaders in your organization |
| 4. Learn how you come across to others | 9. Quickly identify personality/communication traits in others |
| 5. Be more motivated to consider others communication styles |
AI In Funeral Homes & MAID Discussion
September 26th @ 4:00PM
Meet the AI Experts
Michael de Henestrosa:
Is an Ivey HBA grad who is completing his Masters in Digital Management (also at Ivey) this December. He is an entrepreneur with one recent successful exit and is now pursuing a career in Artificial Intelligence with his business partner Jayson. Michael has developed a deep understanding of the direction of technological advancement across a breadth of industries, including Funeral Service by identifying value-creation areas for Funeral Home owners, directors, and employees. Additionally, Michael has performed AI consulting for SickKids Hospital’s Connected Care for Children with Medical Complexities team and CIBC’s Enterprise Innovation. This past year Michael has worked closely with Dennings Funeral Homes to explore future capabilities for AI and ML in the Bereavement sector.
Jayson Dale:
Is a Software Engineering and Ivey HBA graduate who is passionate about creating business value through technology. His experience as a Software Engineer at Amazon and Tech Strategy Consultant at Deloitte shows his excitement about tech innovation. He has a deep understanding of AI and co-founded a large AI education club at Western University, which allowed hundreds of students to learn about and develop AI models to solve problems. Additionally, Jayson is constantly learning about new technologies, building new tools, and working with businesses to achieve their goals. His projects have included AI-powered data science model development, web app development, and even microcontroller system design and implementation. He aims to leverage his understanding of AI and technology integration to help businesses maximize the value AI can provide to their customers.
Special Guest Helen Long, CEO, Dying With Dignity Canada will be joining the MAID discussion.
Helen began her career in the not-for-profit sector, working with organizations including ALS Canada, and Mother’s Against Drunk Driving and Dufferin Child and Family Services. Prior to joining Dying With Dignity Canada (DWDC) as CEO in early 2020, Helen was the President of the Canadian Health Food Association, the leading trade association in the natural health sector.
During this ten-year period Helen was successful in working collaboratively with the federal government and stakeholders to achieve significant legislative and regulatory change and led national advocacy and media campaigns that benefited Canadians and the industry.
With a long track record of informed engagement, Helen led DWDC through the successful passage of Bill C-7 in 2021, resulting in key amendments to Canada’s medical assistance in dying legislation. With the conclusion of the subsequent work of the Special Joint Committee in early 2023, Helen and DWDC continue to advocate on behalf of people across Canada, educating stakeholders, and engaging supporters on the most pressing issues related to end-of-life rights today.”