Funeral Service Times August 2017 March 2019 | Page 13

SOAPBOX: AOIC 13
Soapbox: AOIC
Following on from last month’s article about ‘networking’ the executive chairman of the Association
of Independent Celebrants, Philip Spicksley, looks forward to one of the major events in the
industry’s 2019 calendar. He already has it in his diary – do you?
T
he National Funeral Exhibition will
soon be upon us and those in the
industry who are exhibiting will
now be busy preparing for the event,
which takes place from Friday to Sunday,
7 to 9 June at Warwickshire’s Stoneleigh
Exhibition Centre – it will be June before
we know it!
The exhibition is the main bi-annual
focus event of the funeral industry, which
serves as a great opportunity to show
off skills and goods. It is also a chance
to catch up with old friends and meet
new ones – carrying out some valuable
networking once more. It really is a
fantastic chance to browse the eclectic
mix of displays and stands – gaining ideas
for your own businesses along the way.
The AOIC will have an even bigger stand
at this year’s exhibition as our members
attempt to offer better hospitality to our
visitors, so do make sure you look us up.
www.funeralservicetimes.co.uk
For funeral directors, it will provide the
perfect platform to meet us and find out
more about our association and what we
do – along, of course, with the many other
celebrants who are there. Very rarely do
you get so many of us in one place, giving
those within the profession a window with
which to learn about our ever-increasing
skills, thereby ensuring selection of the
best officiants to serve clients.
The celebrant industry now has many
different organisations all trying to provide
the best celebrants for funeral services. It
is only by asking questions of the leaders
in each organisation that a funeral director
will find out how each one differs, and
which celebrants will offer the best
service for them.
What those funeral directors will
find, however, are many organisational
similarities – as one association or
organisation has a good idea, then
others are sure to follow. The AOIC is
proud to say it was the first to introduce
professional indemnity insurance cover as
standard for all members, and others have
now followed suit. Some celebrants have
general insurance, and this is fine, but we
are advised by the underwriters of our
policy that a bespoke insurance cover is of
course always the best.
Meanwhile some things are common
to us all, for example, there is a purpose-
written policy for celebrants, which is
written in a bespoke way to cover the
diversity of our role in conducting funeral
and other services.
All of the above, and more, you will
discover if you visit the various celebrants’
stands at the exhibition – so let’s all ensure
the dates are in the diary and we look
forward to seeing you there.
For more on the AOIC go to www.
independentcelebrants.com
MARCH 2019