Vernie Fountain, CFSP

Owner, Fountain National Academy of Professional Embalming Skills

Internationally known speaker and instructor Vernie Fountain has been associated with funeral service since 1965. As a graduate of the Kentucky School of Mortuary Science, Fountain became licensed as a funeral director in 1972 and as an embalmer in 1977.  For eighteen years, until December 1995, he owned and operated Fountain Mortuary Service in Columbia, Missouri, which responded to over one-thousand deaths annually and had five divisions: Embalming and Transportation, Forensic and Clinical Autopsy/Investigation, Cemetery (Exhumations & Grave openings), Embalming Consulting and Fountain National Academy of Professional Embalming Skills.

He currently owns and operates Fountain Embalming Services, Fountain National Academy of Professional Embalming Skills and Forensic Investigative Resources of the Midwest (F.I.R.M.) a licensed and insured private detective agency that has a main focus of death investigations and exhumations.  All are headquartered in Springfield, Missouri.

Fountain National Academy of Professional Embalming Skills, which was founded in May 1990, is a full-time venture for Fountain as the Academy's founder and primary instructor.  As a well-known speaker he travels throughout the United States and abroad speaking at State and National Funeral Directors and Embalmers conventions teaching post-graduate education to embalmers.  His focus is on teaching highly specialized embalming and postmortem reconstructive surgery techniques that can be performed on the most massively traumatized case imaginable.  FNA is dedicated to providing quality post-graduate embalmer education and the research and development of new techniques to treat the highly traumatized case with the goal of an open-casket viewing.  Fountain National Academy offers several in-depth embalming and postmortem reconstructive surgery seminars at its training facility located in Springfield, Missouri.  Professional embalmers from across the United States, England, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Korea, Grenada, Seychelles, Germany, France, Belgium, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Switzerland, Australia, South America, India, Nigeria, French West Indies, Czech Republic, Denmark, Sweden, South Africa, Japan and the Philippines have attended these seminars.  The Academy has a European representative in Ireland and an Australian representative located in Australia.

Duane E. Hills

President, Joseph Gawler’s Sons, LLC

Graduated from Simmons School of Mortuary Science in Syracuse, NY in 1978.

Served my apprenticeship at Seager Jones Funeral Home in Bath, NY from 1978-1979

I became licensed in New York in November 1979.

I served as the secretary, treasurer and sexton of the Rural Home Cemetery in Big Flats, NY for 23 years. While in Big Flats I was very active in the Rotary Club, where I was awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship, the Fire Department, and the Historical Society as a board member and a member and Elder of the First Presbyterian Church.

I sold my funeral homes to the Loewen Group in February 1995 and was the GM of four funeral homes; Carpenter’s Funeral Home and Beilby Funeral Home in Corning, NY, Hills Funeral Home in Big Flats, NY and Ballard and Lindgren Funeral Home in Elmira Heights, NY.

I remained on as a GM with the Alderwoods group and then became an MGM of Western NY until the SCI acquisition and transferred to Lufkin, TX in February 2008 having the responsibility of Gipson Funeral Home, Oakley Metcalf Funeral Home, Cason-Monk Metcalf Funeral Directors and the Garden of Memories Memorial Park as the GM.

I transferred to Joseph Gawler’s Sons, LLC in August 2012 as an assistant manager of operations and was promoted to President in February 2013.

One of my key interests is American History and am a member of the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia. I enjoy studying the American Civil War time period in particular.

In August 2022, I along with my coauthor Alice Adams published a book on the history of Joseph Gawler’s Sons and funeral service. The book is titled, “One Block West of the White House”. Our second book, “Washington’s Sinners & Saints: Lost in History was released in December 2023.

Ryan Thogmartin

CEO/Owner DISRUPT Media | More Fans. More Conversations. More Leads.

Ryan Thogmartin is a driven entrepreneur who is passionate about creating positive change and making a difference. He is a forward-thinking leader who is constantly exploring new ways to innovate and break the status quo.

As the founder of UnKommon Empire and CEO of DISRUPT Media, a two-time Inc. 5000 company, he’s developed expertise in relationship marketing and lead generation, as well as cultivating change in stagnant fields. This work has helped businesses scale and create millions of dollars in revenue.

In addition to his work with DISRUPT Media, Ryan is a highly sought-after speaker, consultant, and coach. He’s given keynote speeches nationwide and has consulted with publicly traded companies. Ryan is known for inspiring and motivating audiences to think differently and take action.

Most importantly, he is a worship-driven believer, and a devoted family man to his wife and two daughters. When he is not working, he enjoys playing golf, personal development, and indulging in his love of stylish footwear.