Official website of the Ohio Embalmers Association
Meet the Speakers
Jack E. Lechner, Jr., CFSP
Colonel (R) United States Army
Administrator, Arlington National Cemetery
Mr.
Jack E. Lechner, Jr. retired from the United States Army in November 1,
2011 and was appointed as the Cemetery Administrator, Arlington
National Cemetery, Arlington, VA. Prior to assuming this position
in September 2011, he was serving as an Active Duty Colonel in the
United States Army assigned as the Executive Officer, Arlington
National Cemetery since 14 June 2010.
As the cemetery
administrator Mr. Lechner is responsible for scheduling, coordinating,
and conducting all funerals at Arlington National Cemetery. He is
also responsible for ordering all of the government markers for the
cemetery.
He came to Arlington from the Joint Staff,
Pentagon, where he was the Chief, Supply Division where his main duties
involved being in charge of the Joint Supply Chain Architecture (JSCA)
and equipping Iraqi and Afghanistan National Security Forces.
Prior to his arrival on the Joint Staff, COL Lechner was the Chief of
Staff for the 316th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) headquartered
in Balad, Iraq. This 650 Soldier Headquarters and its seven
Brigades of 20,000 Soldiers were responsible for all logistical support
in Iraq.
Mr. Lechner earned an associate degree and mortuary
science certificate from Mercer County Community College. He
spent 10 years in the funeral profession as a licensed Practitioner of
Mortuary Science in New Jersey where he was the co-founder and owner of
South Jersey Funeral Associates, Inc., a professional shipping
service. Mr. Lechner earned Certified Funeral Service
Practitioner (CFSP) status in 1982.
Mr. Lechner enlisted in the
United States Army in 1983 as an Infantryman. In 1985 he
graduated from Officer Candidate School, Fort Benning, Georgia and was
commissioned as a Quartermaster. He earned a Bachelor of Mortuary
Science degree (Suma Cum Laude) from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary
Science (1990). He also earned a Masters of Science in Logistics
Management, Florida Tech (1993) and a Masters of Science in National
Resource Strategy (Supply Chain Management Concentration), Industrial
College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University, Washington,
DC (2007). He is a graduate of fundamental and implementation
Supply Chain Operation Reference (SCOR) model training and the LOGTECH
Program for Executives in Logistics and Technology, Kenan-Flagler
Business School, University of North Carolina, as well as many other
civilian educational courses.
His military education
includes the Quartermaster Officer Basic and Advance Courses, Mortuary
Affairs Officer Course (Distinguished Graduate) Logistics Executive
Development Course, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and
Industrial College of the Armed Forces. He is also a graduate of
the Airborne School, Aerial Delivery and Materiel Management Course
(Rigger), Ranger Course, Jumpmaster Course, Support Operations Course,
Joint Operations Planning and Execution System (JOPES), and the Army
Force Management Course.
Mr. Lechner commanded the Regimental
Support Squadron, 2d Armored Calvary Regiment (2001-2003) during
Operation Iraqi Freedom in Baghdad, Iraq. He also commanded the
Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, RSS, 11th Armored Cavalry
Regiment, Fulda, Germany (1987-1989). He has served in the 75th
Ranger Regiment, 3d Infantry Division, Defense Logistics Agency, Human
Resources Command, and as an instructor at the US Army Aerial Delivery
and Materiel Management Course (Rigger). He has worked within the
Army and Joint Mortuary Affairs system at various levels.
Mr.
Lechner is a joint service qualified officer; his awards include the
Defense Superior Service Medal, Bronze Star Medal (one Oak Leaf),
Defense Meritorious Service Medal (two Oak Leaf Clusters), Meritorious
Service Medal (four Oak Leaf Clusters) and various other awards.
He is authorized to wear the Joint Staff Identification Badge, the Army
Staff Identification Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, Rigger Badge,
Senior Parachutist Badge, Combat Action Badge, and the Ranger
Tab. Colonel Lechner has been inducted into the Distinguished
Order of Saint Martin. He and his wife, Debbie, and two children
(Stephanie and Jack III) reside in Northern Virginia.
David W. Tackett, M.Div., CFSP
David
Tackett is a graduate of the Chambersburg Area Senior High School in
Pennsylvania, earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal
Justice from Penn State University in 1983, and a Master of Divinity
degree from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio in 1987.
He has worked in corrections and investigations in Pennsylvania.
He is an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church, trade
embalmer, and funeral celebrant.
David served as the Dean of the
Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science in Cincinnati, Ohio until his
departure in 2012, having initially joined the CCMS faculty in
1996. He graduated from CCMS in 1994 (summa cum laude) with an
Associate in Applied Science degree in Mortuary Science. David is
an Ohio licensed funeral director and embalmer and a certified
crematory operator. He earned the CFSP designation in 1998.
In
addition to daily administrative tasks at the college, he taught
classes in the social science, legal, and business management areas of
the curriculum as well as in the clinical laboratory. David has
worked with various funeral service associations at the local, state
and national level over the last 14 years on a variety of topics.
Tackett is currently working as a Certified Celebrant and active trade
embalmer in the Dayton area.
He lives with his wife and daughter in Kettering, Ohio.