Past NSFDA Presidents

Being president of NSFDA requires a great deal of dedication.
• A president presides over 11 Board meetings, 5 General meetings and often at least two social events annually.
• Each year he/she represents NSFDA at the NYSFDA convention and sometimes, a National FDA convention. In addition, he/she will attend MetFDA meetings just to keep in touch with the neighbors.
• A president fields all kinds of telephone calls and encounters at regular and, often, odd hours.

Each president of this association has been faced with at least one unique challenge.

 

Steven Markgraf
Hawkins & Davis Funeral Home, Smithtown
Served 1988-1989

 

Steve was NSFDA’s first official president and oversaw the first two years of an infant group. He and his Board were starting from scratch, hoping they would succeed in developing a working organization.

 

John Orlando
Lucia-Orlando Funeral Home, Patchogue
Served 1990-1994

John picked up the ball and ran with it for 4 years, devoting his time to making NSFDA a viable resource for its members. Under his administration an editor/executive director was hired and an association newsletter was instituted.

 

 

Douglas Brueggemann
Brueggemann Funeral Home of East Northport
Served 1994-1996

Doug faced the challenge of making the association into a recognized entity within the state association. Under his administration NSFDA went from an unacknowledged group of Long Island funeral directors to a separate local association sharing Region 5 of the NYSFDA with the MetFDA. In 1994 NSFDA received its charter from NYSFDA.

 

 

Michael J. Grant
Michael J. Grant Funeral Homes, Brentwood & Coram
Served 1996-1998

Mike came into office with the promise that the organizational tasks were completed and that he could expect an uneventful term. Three weeks later TWA Flight 800 went down off the Moriches with 230 people dead. NSFDA, working under the NYSFDA banner (they held the liability insurance), learned first hand how to respond to a mass disaster. It became both our saddest and our finest hour.

 

 

William C. Wagner
Vernon C. Wagner Funeral Homes, Hicksville
Served 1998-1999

Bill’s challenge was two-fold. Meeting locations were a major problem but under his administration we have been happily ensconced at The Irish Coffee Pub in East Islip. His more serious challenges were dealing with the emergence of third-party sellers and helping the Board find the best (and our current) administrator for NSFDA’s LIFE (pre-need) trust.

 

 

Joseph R. Noll
Macken Mortuary. Rockville Centre
Served 1999-2001

Joe was faced with the establishment of continuing education (CE) requirements for funeral directing licensure in New York State. Despite initial concerns, members learned that they could receive all the CE they needed from general meetings of the association. During his administration a forewarning of future wastewater problems occurred.

 

 

Jeff Davis
Rocky Point Funeral Home, Rocky Point
Served 2001-2003

Jeff’s presidency began with NSFDA being named, among other FDAs, in a federal lawsuit! Although the suit was eventually dismissed as frivolous, it involved many hours of work with attorneys plus a few dollars. Of course, the major event of Jeff’s term was the World Trade Center atrocity in which many members were involved for a long period of time. In addition, the concern about bioterrorism began escalating more rapidly.

 

 

Beatrice Lewanduski, CFSP
D'Andrea Brothers Funeral Home, Copiague
Served 2003-2005

Bea faced an enormous industry struggle during her tenure: the beginning of the wastewater crisis. With various agencies making conflicting demands, she had numerous frustrating meetings on Long Island and traveled several times upstate to Albany in attempts to get clarification of what was being demanded of funeral homes. She also was the instigator of the NSFDA Mini-Trade Show and the challenge of putting together a trade show locally was successfully met. In addition, the NSFDA annual scholarship fund was established and its awards have grown steadily each year. Also growing steadily was the unresolved wastewater crisis. Bea went on to become NYSFDA Region 5 Governor and she currently serves as NYSFDA Secretary, hopefully on the path to the Presidency.

 

The wastewater issue became full-blown during Joe's tenure and several more years of great struggle continued, dealing with the EPA, DEC and Suffolk County Department of Health's considering NSFDA's funeral homes as the target of their environmental concerns. Brand new Dad Joe also dealt with tardy physician signings of DCs, convincing Newsday to allow funeral home web addresses in death notices and a barrage of unannounced FTC inspections regarding the timely presentation of GPLs. Joe tried infusing the Board with new blood, streamlining general meeting procedures, establishing a new web page and holding NSFDA's 2nd mini-trade show, all successful efforts!

 

Wesley A. (Andy) Powell
Powell Funeral Home, Amityville
Served 2007 - 2009
 

“Andy” came into office facing several ongoing challenges, among them the persistent wastewater issue. In an effort to finally put the matter to rest, an environmental attorney and engineer were hired. Although several of the governmental agencies pursuing the issue had become satisfied with what they deemed funeral home compliance, the threat of future concerns remains. Andy’s attention to detail and concerns resulted in clear communication and agreements satisfactory to all parties as regards many outstanding and longtime problems: the difficulty with placing death notices in Long Island’s major newspaper was resolved through discussions and a meeting; and communication with the National Cemetery personnel and the Organ Donor network was enhanced. In addition, Andy’s strong and entertaining oratory skills drew increased attention to NSFDA on a NY State level, thereby advancing NSFDA’s petition to become its own “Region.”