Officers & Staff

2020-21 Board of Directors

President Marty White Stover Funeral Home Strasburg, VA	President Elect Jay McIntyre, CFSP Reynolds Hamrick Funeral Homes & Crematory Waynesboro, VA
Immediate Past President Gerald L. “Jerry” Andrews Andrews Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc. Gloucester, VA	First Vice President Bobby Gardner, Jr. Gardner Funeral Home Floyd, VA
Secretary-Treasurer Les Powell, III Powell Funeral Home South Boston, VA
Chaplain Charlie Rimel Henry Funeral Home & Cremation Center Staunton, VA	Sergeant-At-Arms Bradley Howdyshell Thacker Brothers Funeral Home and Cremation Service Scottsville & Palmyra, VA
Director At-Large Wayne Lovelace Lotz Funeral Home Vinton Chapel Vinton, VA	Director At-Large Jeff Wright Oakey’s Funeral Service Roanoke, VA
Director At-Large Clint Oxendine Mountcastle-Turch Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc. Dale City, VA	Director At-Large John Saville Heritage Funeral Services & Crematory Lynchburg, VA
NFDA Policy Board Representative Larry Spiaggi, CFSP Morrissett Funeral & Cremation Service N. Chesterfield, VA	VFSA President Raymond D. “R.D” Monson Treasured Memories Powhatan, VA

2020-21 District Officers (3 Year Terms)

Blue Ridge District Russ Teffner John M. Oakey & Son Funeral Home & Crematory Salem, VA	Central District Krystina Diman, CFSP, CPC, CCO Woody Funeral Home & Cremation Services Henrico, VA
Northern District Gary Maxwell Mountcastle-Turch Funeral Home Annandale, VA	Shenandoah District Daniel Chapman Johnson Funeral Service Grottoes, VA
Southside District Larry Joines Bassett Funeral Home Bassett, VA	Southwest District Matthew Perry Frost Funeral Home Abingdon, VA
Tidewater District Gregg Faulkner, Sr. Faulkner Funeral Homes & Cremation Services Saluda, VA

VFDA Staff

VFDA HOME OFFICE
P.O Box 395
Hanover, VA 23069
Phone: (804) 264-0505
info@vfda.net

Lacy Whittaker is the Executive Director of the Virginia Funeral Directors Association. She has served in this position since 2007. She is an experienced association executive and marketing operations leader. She is a forward-thinking leader with a record of success in developing and executing strategic plans to drive organization goals while cultivating an environment of excellence. She is performance-driven while focusing on maximizing program effectiveness to increase engagement of members. Her entrepreneurial spirit drives growth by means of strategic marketing and improvement through change management.

Mrs. Whittaker has a long history of being a proactive leader and communicator. She is an influential leader who provides vision and leadership to organizations. She specializes in building teams, attracting strong talent, and providing tools and support to deliver “best in class” performance. In addition to being Chair of the Board of Directors for Partners Financial Federal Credit Union, she is active in the Council of Funeral Association Executives and is founder of The Carmel School Lower School Parents Association. Lacy graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a B.S. in business administration.

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Angie Bezik originally founded Principle Advantage Government Relations Group, LLC, a Hampton Roads-based public relations and government relations firm, in 2009. Angie develops and implements successful strategies for legislation, budget items and project coordination with an array of clients at the state and local level, including clients within the alternative/renewable energy, health, technology, and transportation sectors, and local government and quasi-governmental authorities. Additionally, she works with businesses and organizations to develop strategic plans to enhance their profiles, missions and branding by making introductions to appropriate businesses, government officials and staff, community leaders and organizations.

Angie started her political and public relations career as the Legislative Director for a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. After seven years, she was recruited by a prominent Richmond-based lobbying firm to run its Hampton Roads office.

Through her career, Angie has established solid relationships with local, state, and federal representatives, departments and agencies, and business leaders. She currently serves on the Virginia Beach Board of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce; the Hampton Roads Association of Commercial Builders (HRACRE) Legislative Committee; and the Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee (CTAC) of the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization (HRTPO); and the Roanoke River Basin Association (RRBA) Board of Directors. In 2013, she was chosen to serve on Governor Terence R. McAuliffe’s Technology Transition Team and currently serves as Chairman of the Public Awareness Committee of Champions for Children Hampton Roads, a 501(c) 3 whose mission is to eradicate child abuse and neglect in the Hampton Roads region.

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Teresa Craig brings an extensive background in non-profit organizations to the VFDA management team. She oversees the VFDA field activities, coordinating recruitment and networking events as well as creating and managing the VFDA Connections Program throughout the state.

She previously worked for Virginia Governmental Employees Association (VGEA) as Membership Development Director for 12 years and Return to Nature, Inc., a conservation education program in the Commonwealth of Virginia, where she was the Director of Administration for 7 years. In both positions she had the opportunity to work with many other state and national membership groups.

Serving as the Virginia State President of the Virginia General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC) for the 2012-2014 term, Teresa also held many local and state leadership positions in that organization, such as District Junior Director, District President, local Club President, many District and State Chairmanships. Continuing her service in this organization she now serves on South Eastern Region (SER) that encompasses six states as the SER Presidents Special Project Chairman and serves as GFWC Virginia Meetings Chairman. She has been a member of the GFWC Bedford Woman’s Club for 32 years. Her career in non-profit and volunteer organizations shows her understanding and dedication to this business sector.

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Karen Dec has been making websites for over 15 years, and working on the VFDA website since 2013. She specializes in WordPress website hosting, maintenance, support, and consulting. Karen holds a degree in psychology from Michigan State University, two degrees from Indiana University in higher education and counseling, as well as advanced certificates from Washtenaw Community College in both web coding and website graphic design. Karen loves the technical side of web design and development, but she also loves working with people and being a valued partner in helping her clients reach their goals.

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Leah Jarvis is a writer and marketer who shares stories that honor people and brands that seek to make a difference in the lives of others. She is the daughter of a first-generation funeral director who raised her to believe in the healing power of both grief and celebration.