FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards

Contact: Dustin Wardlow info@theconferenceonline.org

Photo Included: Billie Watson Hughes (010.jpg)

Watson Hughes Elected President of The Conference

San Antonio, TX – Billie M. Watson Hughes was elected president of The International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards at the 104th annual convention held February 28-29, 2008, in San Antonio, Texas. Ms. Watson Hughes is the first African American woman to hold the office of president of The International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards. Ms. Watson Hughes was also elected to serve a second term on the board, which expires in 2011.

Watson Hughes was elected in 2005 to serve as Director of District II, representing Virginia, Maryland, DC, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware on the Board of the International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards. She was elected secretary and treasurer of the The International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards in 2006. At the 103rd annual convention in 2007, Hughes was elected Vice President, being the third Virginian and first African American female to hold this position.

A native of Washington, D.C., Ms. Hughes is a Certified Funeral Service Practitioner. She holds an Associate of Applied Science degree from Fayetteville Technical Institute in North Carolina, a Bachelor of Science from the University of New York at Albany, and has done graduate work at George Washington University in Washington, DC.

Ms. Watson Hughes has been involved in the funeral service industry for over thirty years. She is a former faculty member of both Washington Technical Institute and the University of the District of Columbia. She is currently associated with Greene Funeral Home in Alexandria, Virginia.

She began her formal funeral service career in 1976 with Stephen Rodgers Funeral Home in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and has also worked at Swanson Funeral Homes in Detroit Michigan, and Latney and Horton Funeral Homes in Washington, D.C.

Ms. Watson Hughes has served as president of the Alpha Delta Chapter and as National President of Epsilon Nu Delta Mortuary Fraternity. She is also a past president of IFDA of DC and the DC Funeral Director’s Association. She is a member and past president of the Virginia Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers.

In 1999 Watson Hughes was named Professional of the Year by the IFDA of DC and also received the Robert H. Miller Professional of the Year Award from the NFD&MA.

Strongly committed to community service, Ms Watson Hughes serves on the board of directors of the Alexandria City Employees Credit Union and has been recognized with an Alexandria City Schools Volunteer Service Award. She is also very active in St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, serving as a lay reader and usher. She is a frequent speaker and workshop presenter and also spends time as an elementary school tutor, mentor and community outreach volunteer. In her spare time she enjoys reading, traveling, and collecting frogs.

The International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards is headquartered in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Founded in 1904, the membership of The Conference is composed of funeral service licensing and regulatory agencies throughout the United States and Canada. For more information on The Conference, visit www.theconferenceonline.org.

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