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National Funeral Directors & Morticians Association, Inc. Hyatt Regency Hotel Kansas City, Mo. August 1-7, 1981 BRIEF BACKGROUND ON THE NATIONAL FUNERAL DIRECTORS & MORTICIANS ASSOCIATION The National Funeral Directors and Morticians Association, (NFDMA), is a non-profitable Black organization composed of licensed funeral directors and embalmers. The NFDMA's purpose is to serve and support the general public and to cultivate and promote the art and science of funeral directing and embalming. Started in Chicago, Ill. on September 6, 1924 by the late R.R. Reed, the NFDMA was first known as the Independent National Funeral Directors Association. (INFDA). With only a handful of Chicago funeral directors, Mr. Reed expanded the association to a nation-wide organization. In 1925, the INFDA had its first official meeting and in the following year it had its first national meeting in which G. William Saffell was elected president and Reed as executive secretary. Due to a dispute in 1938 between William Morsell, prsident, and Reed, the INFDA was split up into two organizations. Morsell with the aid of William Officer formed the Progressive National Funeral Directors, Inc. and Reed headed the INFDA. But in 1940, the two organizations were reunited due to the successful efforts of T.C.D. Hayes. Mr. Hayes was elected president of the merged organizations which became known as the Progressive National Funeral Directors Assn. was renamed to the National Negro Funeral Directors Association, (NNFDA), and in 1957 the NNFDA was changed to the present heading, the National Funeral Directors and Morticians Association. The NFDMA has gone through many changes and has grown tremendously from its humble beginnings. It has members from all over the Western hemisphere. The NFDMA is governed by elected officials, district governors, the house of representatives and state associations. It has annual conventions and board meetings held throughout the country in which members are assisted with their problems and rules and regulations are enacted that will improve the profession of funeral directing and embalming. Over a period of time, the NFDMA had proven to be a valuable support to those in the funeral profession and to the public. [[logo - "NFDMA INC"]] [[image - photo of two men at podium]] [[image - people at podium with trophy]] [[image - people riding on the back of a wagon]] 210