Monument Builders of North America (MBNA) is no longer accepting proposals for engaging, relevant, and practical education sessions for the 2026 MBUniversity.

All topics are welcome. Based on feedback from MBNA members, we are especially interested in sessions covering:

Everyday Design: Creating Reliable, Repeatable Designs for Monument Work
We’re looking for speakers who can share practical design strategies for the types of projects monument companies handle every day. This session should focus on efficient, repeatable workflows that balance creativity with speed and consistency. Ideal topics include time-saving layout tools, frequently used design elements, and tips for working within production limitations while still offering customers meaningful and beautiful results.

Civic Projects: Developing Monuments That Anchor Community Memories          This session explores the unique considerations and challenges of civic memorial projects. We want presenters with experience navigating municipal processes, public input, and collaborative design to create meaningful, lasting tributes in public spaces.

Compassionate Communication: Working with Grieving Families
This session would provide sensitive, insightful guidance on communicating with clients during emotionally difficult times. We welcome speakers who can offer real-world advice on empathy, professionalism, and support when working with families experiencing loss.

First Impressions: Making Your Monument Business Look Its Best
This session would explore how monument businesses can enhance their professional image through everyday branding and presentation. The goal is to help businesses make a strong, trustworthy first impression—whether a customer walks through the door, drives by, or sees a team on-site. Budget-friendly and realistic strategies for small operations are highly encouraged.

Photo Editing: Doing What You Need to With the Photos You Receive
Not every project starts with perfect photos—this session would be about making the most of what you get. We’re looking for practical photo editing techniques tailored for monument and memorial work, including color correction, resolution improvement, and preparing images for engraving or
print.

Proposal Deadline:

All proposals must be submitted electronically by July 31, 2025. The MBNA Education Committee will select programming based on the criteria below.

Criteria for Program Acceptance:
Title
Your title should be short, descriptive, and memorable.
For example: “Fighting the Freezing Cold and Setting Monuments” is better than “How to Set Monuments During the Wintertime.”

Topic
Is your session clearly relevant to the monument industry or to running a monument business? General topics (e.g., tax law or HR management) are acceptable as long as they apply meaningfully to our members.

Audience
Who is your session for? Is it targeted at production staff, sales professionals, business owners, or suppliers?

Learning Objectives / Takeaways
Include 3–4 specific things attendees will learn or be able to do after attending. Be realistic—no one will learn everything about monument sales or production in one session, but they might gain new skills, strategies, or ideas they can implement right away.

Program Description
In 100 words or fewer, describe the session clearly and concisely. Let us know what participants will learn and how they will engage during the session. This description will be used in promotional materials.

Proposed Speaker(s)
List the speaker(s) who will lead the session, including relevant experience and qualifications. Example: “Bob Summerland, CM has worked in the monument industry for 34 years and has owned his own shop for the past 15.”

Anticipated Costs
Please outline any costs associated with your session. MBNA is offering complimentary registration and one night’s hotel stay to each speaker

Questions?
Contact MBNA at 800-233-4472 or info@monumentbuilders.org.