Kennedy Winter and Ellen Wilfong were guest speakers May 1 at a 10 a.m. meeting of the Kingfisher County Retired Educators Association.

The meeting, with nine members and two guests present, was held at Kingfi sher Memorial Library.

Winter is the managing funeral director/embalmer and Wilfong the office administrator for Wilson Funeral Home in Kingfisher.

Winter shared that she lost a friend at a young age and had observed the importance of the director who was in charge of the funeral.

As a result of this experience, she said she felt called to become a funeral director as she viewed her job as a ministry of helping people during their time of loss.

Winter and Wilfong shared that they continue to stay connected with family members after the service, especially widows.

The importance of funeral pre-planning was stressed to the audience members as the two said it helps to alleviate stress on family members after a loved one has passed.

Winter shared the difficulty in helping family members plan a funeral when no specific funeral pre-planning details were fi- nalized before passing. This can be especially challenging when dealing with individuals who are indigent at the time of death, she said.

She stated that a prepaid funeral contract with a funeral home is considered a legally-binding document that cannot be changed or altered by others after the individual’s passing. If an individual moves away to another area, then the contract can be transferred to another suitable funeral home in the new location, she said.

After the presentation’s conclusion, the business part of the meeting was led by outgoing KCREA President Cathy Howard, who stated that two Kingfisher County college students had been identified as possible candidates for the scholarship.

After discussion, the group voted to approve a $500 scholarship to both individuals for the 2024-2025 school year.

LaRita Sipe discussed the Kingfisher County Fine Arts Festival held in April and thanked the members for their assistance and participation with the event.

More volunteers are needed for 2025, she said.

She also thanked the individuals who volunteered to deliver popcorn to the teacher workrooms at school buildings as a part of the National Education Week.

Sipe has prepared a flier that will be delivered to retiring teachers to promote membership in the KCREA.

Regarding the new slate of officers for the 20242025 year, Howard stated that both Kathy Kadavy, secretary, and Dana Golbek, treasurer, had agreed to continue in their roles for another year as they would both support each other if one could not be present at a meeting.

Debby Jorgenson will transition from vice president to president.

Deborah Maehs volunteered to serve as vice president and will continue to serve as publicity chair and Facebook group administrator.

The new slate of officers will meet Monday, June 10, to plan the upcoming agenda for 2024-2025.

The next KCREA meeting will be 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 4, at the Kingfisher Memorial Library.