Iccfa Magazine March/april 2018 666q31

March-April 2018

ICCFA Magazine

MAGAZINE CEMETERY

CREMATION

FUNERAL

The Gardens at Gethsemane

Going above & beyond to serve families

• How Davis Funeral Homes & the Vegas community helped families after tragedy

• How refugees are giving refuge to their dead

Cremation:

• Lemasters: Cremation & your basic service fee • The breastfeedingcremation rate link • NMFH’s new exhibit

Also: March-April 2018

• Isard on the impact of the new tax law • Building a state-ofthe-art funeral home • How unitrust is working in Florida • Filhaber on using engagement marketing • Exhibitor profiles • Paul Elvig and Tom Flynn

to be honored at convention • KIP winners announced

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M A R C H - A P R I L 2 0 1 8 Ta b l e o f c o n t e n t s International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association ®: Promoting consumer choices, prearrangement and open competition Providing exceptional education, networking and legislative guidance and to progressive cemetery, funeral and cremation professionals worldwide 14 MANAGEMENT: LEGAL/CREMATION

Development of the Gardens at Gethsemane’s Orthodox Garden and Holy Resurrection Chapel changed the cemetery’s mission. Story, page 56.

10 President’s letter It’s been a great year, but it’s not over yet: See you at the convention by Scott Sells, CCFE 12 Washington report Survey about posting funeral prices online shows organizations’ biases by Robert M. Fells, Esq. 1 28 Supply Line 1 32 Update 136 Riverview Funeral Home by Halvey opens 1 40 New 1 45 Calendar 146 Classifieds 1 46 Ad Index

When your basic service fee + direct cremation = confusion Competing against low-cost cremation providers can put you in a bind if you want to offer “direct cremation” families the option of more services. Why? The Funeral Rule restricts what you can offer families without charging your basic, non-declinable service fee. by Poul Lemasters, Esq.

16 EXHIBITOR PROFILES

The 2018 ICCFA Expo The ICCFA Expo offers hours of uninterrupted time to talk to suppliers, ask questions and see products in person. No educational sessions are scheduled during expo hours. Free food and beverage service means you can grab lunch or enjoy appetizers while checking out the booths before heading out to enjoy Las Vegas. (Not a complete list of exhibitors; a floor plan and an updated list can be found at www.iccfa.com, and will be printed in the onsite guide.) 26 Eat, drink, browse and get to know the suppliers 38 Look for first-time exhibitors, PLPA and KIP winners 50 Check out the ICCFA Plaza & the Educational Foundation booth

56 SERVICE TO FAMILIES & COMMUNITIES

How The Gardens’ service to the Orthodox community has benefitted all its families Creating a garden for a specific group is not uncommon—The Gardens at Gethsemane had done it before. But building a chapel at the cemetery for the Orthodox community took Alan MacKinnon on a journey that was both physical (through Greece, Russia, Lebanon and Italy) and spiritual,

March-April 2018 VOLUME 78/NUMBER 3

ICCFA officers

Scott R. Sells, CCFE, president

Christine Toson Hentges, CCE, president-elect Andrés Aguilar, vice president Jay D. Dodds, CFSP, vice president Paul Goldstein, vice president Mitch Rose, vice president Gary M. Freytag, CCFE, treasurer Robbie L. Pape, secretary Nadira Baddeliyanage, executive director Robert M. Fells, Esq., general counsel

Magazine staff

Susan Loving, managing editor [email protected]; 1.800.645.7700, ext. 1213

4

ICCFA Magazine

Katherine Devins, communications manager; [email protected]; 1.800.645.7700, ext. 1224

& association liaison; [email protected]; 1.800.645.7700, ext. 1214

Jason Brown, communications assistant [email protected]; 1.800.645.7700, ext. 1218

Daniel Osorio, subscription coordinator (habla español) [email protected]; 1.800.645.7700, ext. 1215

Nadira Baddeliyanage, executive director & publisher [email protected]; 1.800.645.7700, ext. 1212 Brenda Clough, office

ICCFA Magazine (ISSN 1936-2099) is published by the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association®, 107 Carpenter Drive, Suite 100, Sterling, VA 20164-4468; 703.391.8400; FAX 703.391.8416; www.iccfa.com. Published 10 times per year, with combined issues in

March-April and August-September. Periodicals postage paid at Sterling, VA, and other offices. Copyright 2017 by the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association. Subscription rates: In the United States, $39.95; in Canada, $45.95; overseas: $75.95. One subscription is included in annual hip dues. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ICCFA Magazine, 107 Carpenter Drive, Suite 100, Sterling, VA 20164-4468. Individual written contributions, commentary and ments appearing in ICCFA Magazine do not necessarily reflect either the opinion or the endorsement of the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association®.

“Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

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ICCFA news 139 ICCFA staff profiles:

Giroux keeps track of the association’s money Guidone coordinates meetings, conferences for ICCFA

141 Winners of the 2017 Keeping It

Personal Awards

141 WWS attendees leave NOLA

with lagniappe to

142 Thank you to our

2018 Annual Convention sponsors

143 Tom Flynn to receive Lasting

Impact Award

144 Paul Elvig to be inducted into

ICCFA Hall of Fame

www.iccfa.com

• ICCFA Magazine online ICCFA in good standing can read the magazine online • Cremation resources To the ICCFA’s goal of raising money to fight lung cancer, today’s #1 killer of women, go to http:/www.iccfa.com/lungforce

Catch the WIRELESS news­letter in your inbox for industry news, stories about colleagues making headlines and updates on ICCFA educational events & conferences Follow the ICCFA’s LinkedIn page to read breaking news about colleagues, the profession and the association http://bit.ly/2du252P Follow the ICCFA on Twitter to receive instant updates on the association’s educational events & conferences http://twitter.com/iccfa Like and follow the ICCFA to read up-to-date news on the industry, ICCFA making headlines and ICCFA events & promotions 6

ICCFA Magazine

TABLE OF CONTENTS

and led to a change in mission and focus for the entire cemetery. by Susan Loving 59 Travels with Alan: Byzantine churches, the hospitality of strangers and a touching graveside service in Greece 78 The Gardens emphasizes relationship selling 84 SERVICE TO FAMILIES

How Davis Funeral Homes and the Las Vegas community came together to help families “The real heroes are the people of Las Vegas. We were just there to them.”—Michael Soper, president, Legacy Funeral Group by Alice Adams

94 INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

How refugees are giving refuge to their dead When you grow up in the funeral and cemetery profession, you never outgrow an interest in the subject, even when your own professional focus is on keeping people alive. While helping refugees in Bangladesh, ICCFA Past President Paul Elvig’s daughter wanted to know how they care for their dead. by Leslie Aaron

ICCFA calendar

go to www.iccfa.com for program, registration & scholarship information

Preconvention Celebrant Training

April 16-18, Bally’s Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada Celebrant trainer Glenda Stansbury, CC, CFSP 2018 ICCFA Convention & Expo

April 18-21, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada Co-chairs: Shawna de la Cruz and Andy Lopez 2018 ICCFA University

July 20-25, Fogelman Conference Center, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee Chancellor: Jeff Kidwiler, CCE, CSE

2018 Cremation Certification Training

ICCFA Cremation Program Coordinator Poul Lemasters, Esq. April 25, Cremation Operator Training, Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Service, Decatur, Georgia May 9, Cremation Operator Training, Mid-America College of Funeral Service, Jeffersonville, Indiana July 18, Cremation Operator Training, Dallas Institute of Funeral Service, Dallas, Texas December 11, Live stream: Cremation Arranger Training, The Wilbert Group, Broadview, Illinois December 12, Live stream: Cremation Operator Training, The Wilbert Group, Broadview, Illinois

2019 ICCFA Convention & Expo

April 3-6, Charlotte Convention Center, Charlotte, North Carolina “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

• FUNERAL HOMES • CEMETERIES • CREMATORIES • SUPPLIERS • PET LOSS PROFESSIONALS

Submit your news to ICCFA Magazine

WHAT’S GOING ON? Have you held a groundbreaking or grand opening for a new facility? Hired or promoted someone? Is your company offering a new or updated product or service to cemeteries and/or funeral homes? Have you recently held an unusual service or a successful seminar at your location? Have you added a grief therapy dog to your staff? Share your news with colleagues all over the world—send it in to ICCFA Magazine! It’s a simple way to receive some well-deserved publicity for you & your staff & to share ideas with peers. WHAT TO DO: n Write it down. It doesn’t have to be written perfectly (that’s why we have editors)—it just needs to include the facts. the basics: Who, What, Where, When & How (and sometimes Why). n Send it in: ➤ Email your Word document or pdf as an attachment to [email protected]. 8

ICCFA Magazine

TABLE OF CONTENTS 98 PRE-NEED SALES SUCCESS

Using engagement marketing to attract new customers Marketing today isn’t about talking to ive listeners, it’s about having a conversation with people, engaging in a back-and-forth relationship. It’s called engagement marketing, and here’s how you do it. by Dale Filhaber

102 CREMATION

Is there a connection between breastfeeding, cremation rates? Why do some families choose cremation while others stay with the traditional burial their parents and grandparents chose, even though cremation might be less expensive? Statistics can tell you some interesting things that can guide your marketing strategy. by Nathan Nardi 102 Think outside the niche

104 MANAGEMENT: FINANCES

How the tax act will affect funeral homes, cemeteries As always when there is a change in tax law, how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will affect your organization depends on a number of factors and should be considered well before time to file. by Daniel M. Isard, MSFS

108 ARCHITECTURE & INTERIOR DESIGN

Building a state-of-the-art Catholic funeral home in a traditional Midwest market Building a new facility is always a challenge. There are design and financing decisions to be made and sometimes site-specific problems to be overcome. This is the story about how the team responsible for Divine Mercy Funeral Home met those challenges. by MaryAnne Scheuble

115 ICCFA Q&A

“What makes you ionate about death care?” Christine Toson Hentges, CCE Jennifer Olvera, CCE

118 MANAGEMENT: FINANCES

How unitrust distribution is providing more money for cemetery maintenance Unitrust distribution is being adopted by more and more states. Learn what it is and how it is affecting cemeteries now allowed to use this method for drawing on endowment care funds. by William H. “Bill” Williams Jr., LFD

120 CREMATION

Exhibit will tell (and show) visitors about cremation in the US, past and present Cremation has become the disposition of choice in the United States only recently, but it has a long history. A new exhibit at the National Museum of Funeral History will take visitors through that history and inform them about today’s cremation options.. by Kelly Rehan 120 How to be a part of the history of cremation exhibit 124 4 misconceptions and 1 odd fact about cremation 126 3 ways to stay updated on the History of Cremation exhibit

140 ICCFA Q&A

“For pet cremation, how do you attract more veterinary clients?” Coleen Ellis, CT, LP “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

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President’s Letter by ICCFA 2017-2018 President Scott Sells, CCFE

scott.sells@ dignitymemorial.com ➤Sells is market director, bay area, for Service Corporation International, Houston, Texas. He is based in San Jose, California.

10

ICCFA Magazine

It’s been a great year, but it’s not over yet: See you at the convention

A

loha! I hope this, my last letter as president, finds you continuing to thrive! From what I’ve seen and heard this past year, I am confident that you are. As I mentioned in the January issue, I have been encouraged and motivated by the intense level of focus and energy displayed by at every level. This environment leads to what I consider fundamental to our business: building and maintaining relationships. Creating, building and maintaining relationships is one of the most critical elements in what we do in this industry: Building strong relationships with our communities, customers, employees, supervisors and association . Strong, healthy relationships lead to better collaboration and better teamwork. The best thing you can do to begin or enhance your level of relationship-building is by ing or maintaining your hip with the ICCFA. Our educational programs and events are the perfect place to do this in an open, entrepreneur-friendly environment. My dad, Rich Sells, even alluded to this in his final article as president 18 years ago. Having said that, I would also like to say how proud I am to be one of five father-son presidents in our association. Both my father and I are proud of this organization and the opportunity to have served as president. Since I singled out Dad, I would also like to publically thank John Bolton and Lori Salzberg for all their and assistance as we crisscrossed the country this past year. We had a lot of fun along the way. I would also like to remind everybody that we have a new college at ICCFAU, the College of Hospitality and Event Planning, led by John Bolton. It is so popular that we already have many folks signed up. The “U,” under Chancellor Jeff Kidwiller’s leadership, continues to grow and provide a proving ground for our future association leaders. I thank Jeff and all the deans and staff for your continuous dedication to making the “U” such a premier event. Our fall program in 2017 was a successful event at a great location with a relevant program. Big mahalos to both Lee Longino and Paul Goldstein for putting on such a great event. As you all are aware, I love to start my year off at the sales conference, and this year’s conference was no exception—great program content and location. Lori Salzberg and Jill Muenich did a fantastic job with the conference and I thank them both. By the way, if you haven’t seen it, you should go to our new, updated website to check out the

new sales we have to offer. The new sales materials can also be viewed at the ICCFA registration booth at the convention, April 18-21. Andy Lopez and Shawna De La Cruz have put together a fantastic program for the annual convention, including featured keynote speakers COL David Sotherland, Eric Quailman and Stacy Henke. You will definitely want to participate in the Educational Foundation reception, which has been moved to an earlier time to accommodate easier attendance. The reception tickets are also free this year. We will be presenting the Lasting Impact Award to Tom Flynn. I would also like to encourage you to stay for the closing banquet. Yes, I know it is the last night and on Saturday. If you haven’t been to one lately (or ever) it is worth it to participate. The closing banquet has morphed back to the event to be at. Lee Longino and Janice Diamond have a great memorial tribute planned. We also will be honoring this year’s Hall of Fame recipient, Paul Elvig, at the banquet. Please honor Paul by attending. He has had a direct or indirect impact on every member and vendor associated with the ICCFA over the years. We will close out the evening, and the convention, with fantastic entertainment by the world famous a cappella group “Home Free.” As I stated earlier, this association, as with this profession, is primarily about relationship-building. There is no better place to start or continue that process than with hip in the association and attendance at the annual convention. I look forward to seeing you there. In closing, I would like to thank my family for their of this year’s endeavor as president. I couldn’t have done this without their love and . I also would like to thank my staff and management team in the Bay Area, and my assistant, Lisa Martini, for all your hard work and effort ing me and my schedule this last couple of years. You are the best, and I appreciate all of you. Thank you especially to the ICCFA staff. You are incredibly talented, dedicated and professional. I appreciate how well you handled the leadership transition and thank you for your tireless of this organization every year. Lastly, I would like to thank my executive committee, board of directors and all the past presidents who ed me and covered my six! Thank you for allowing me the honor and privilege to represent you as your president. Mahalo! “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

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Washington Report by ICCFA General Counsel Robert M. Fells, Esq. [email protected] 1.800.645.7700, ext. 1212 direct line: 703.391.8401 ➤Fells is ICCFA general counsel, responsible for maintaining and improving relationships with federal and state government agencies, the news media and consumer organizations. ➤ Fells has worked on behalf of the ceme­ tery and funeral service profession on legal and legislative issues since 1975 and ed the ICCFA staff in 1983. He is retired from his position as the association’s executive director, which he held for six years. ➤ He has published a number of books. His latest, “The Lost Code,” brings back two characters from his previous spy novel, “The Spy Who Resembled Himself,” for a story set during the historic Washington Naval Conference (November 1921 to February 1922), an era before the U.S. federal government had any sort of coordinated intelligence network. More from this author ➤ Fells and additional experts for the annual legal and legislative update at the ICCFA Convention in Las Vegas, April 18-21, 2018. The will provide upto-date information and answer audience questions about regulation, taxes, labor law and litigation. More about this subject ➤Dead Ringers, a company co-owned by ICCFA Cremation Program Coordinator Poul Lemasters, in partnership with Parting, compiled data about the issue addressed by the FCA study, finding both similarities and discrepancies. Dead Ringers has provided a web page containing a press release about the findings. Their research revealed that not all direct cremations are equal. Their findings are available at http://www.mysteryfuneralshopper. com/pricing

12

ICCFA Magazine

Survey about posting funeral prices online shows organizations’ biases

R

ecently, the Funeral Consumer Alliance (FCA) and the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) announced the results of its new survey of 211 funeral homes in 25 cities. The purpose of the survey, a follow-up to one taken two years ago, was to determine how many funeral homes with websites also post their prices online. They found that 193 of these homes have websites. (If a funeral home’s website was down, it was counted as the funeral home not having a site.) Funeral homes in the Sacramento, California, area were also surveyed. Among the findings: • 53 (27 percent) of the 193 funeral homes with websites posted some prices online. • 30 (16 percent) of the 193 homes posted their complete General Price List on their website. In Sacramento, the 26th city, 32 funeral homes were surveyed. Seven homes did not have websites. However, of the 25 funeral homes with websites, 18 (72 percent) posted their General Price List. It should be noted that California recently enacted a requirement that funeral homes having websites must either post their General Price Lists online, or, if they choose not to, to list 16 categories of funeral-related services offered and state that a price list is available on request. Much of the FCA announcement is editorializing about the perceived need by the public for online funeral pricing. THe FCA stated, “A February 2017 telephone poll of 1,000 adult Americans found that 79 percent of survey respondents agreed that funeral homes should be required to post their prices on their websites, just as they are currently required to hand them out on paper. The survey was undertaken by ORC International, which interviewed a representative sample of 1,000 adult Americans by cell phone or landline.” The problem with these types of “wish” surveys is that that desired response is loaded into the question making the desired answer, i.e., “yes,” all but unavoidable. The results of the phone survey would have been more useful if the question had been open-ended such as, “If you find yourself

seeking funeral pricing information, how would you go about it?” Another probative question could be simply, “Do you know that you can get some funeral pricing information online?” Unfortunately, most consumer surveys of this kind have the sponsor’s favored results embedded in the questions. The FCA also relies on anecdotal informa­tion to make its case. For example, “If the party on the line (with a consumer) is a funeral director, he or she will likely give a price for a full-service funeral with a viewing. Funeral directors are not likely to voluntarily bring up the existence of low-cost options such as simple cremation or burial.” How does the FCA know this? It offers no quantative data in making this claim and the sheer logic of the statement is questionable. Would a car dealer quote his highest-priced car in answer to a question on pricing? Not likely, but this, too, is anecdotal. The objective of these price surveys is to persuade the Federal Trade Commission to amend the Funeral Rule to require funeral providers to post their prices online. The FCA/CFA cites the fact that the Funeral Rule was enacted (over 30 years ago) when funeral providers were virtually the only source of price information. Today, all that has changed. Funeral price data is easily found online, even if it is not from a particular funeral home. This facilitates comparison shopping and informed purchasing decisions when the consumer does obtain the mortuary’s pricing. Finally, the main defect in the two online pricing surveys that FCA/CFA have published so far is that they are criticizing funeral businesses for not doing something that is not required of them. With the exception of California, funeral homes are under no legal requirement to post prices online, any more than other businesses and professions are required to do so. However, the General Price List must be provided in person in the funeral home, or by phone on request, per the FTC Funeral Rule. For more details on the FCA/CFA price survey see https://consumerfed.org/press_release/ funeral-homes-25-cities-disclose-usefulprice-information-websites/. r “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

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March-April 2018

13

by Poul Lemasters, Esq. M A N A G E M E N T : L E G A L / C R E M AT I O N

Competing against low-cost cremation providers can put you in a bind if you want to offer ‘direct cremation’ families the option of more services. Why? The Funeral Rule restricts what you can offer families without charging your basic, non-declinable service fee. 513.407.8114 [email protected] ICCFA Magazine spotlight ➤Lemasters is principal of Lemasters Consulting, Cincinnati, Ohio. www.lemastersconsulting.com

➤He is the ICCFA’s cremation program

coordinator and special cremation counsel, and co-chairs the Government and Legal Affairs Committee.

➤He is an attorney and funeral director, graduated from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science in 1996 and from Northern Kentucky University, Chase College of Law, in 2003. He is licensed as a funeral director and embalmer in Ohio and West Virginia and itted to practice law in Ohio and Kentucky. More from this author ➤Lemasters will be

moderating “The cents and sense of cremation metal recycling: A view of postcremation recycling,” at the ICCFA Convention in Las Vegas, April 18-21, 2018. He also will participate in the annual legal and legislative update at the convention.

ICCFA hip benefit ➤Lemasters is the ICCFA’s cremation program coordinator and special cremation legal counsel. ICCFA in good standing may call him to discuss cremation-related legal issues for up to 20 minutes at no charge to the member. The association pays for this service via an exclusive retainer.

➤Lemasters also provides, to ICCFA in good standing, free GPL reviews to check for Funeral Rule compliance.

14

ICCFA Magazine

When your basic service fee + direct cremation = confusion

T

o tell this story properly we have to go back in time. Way back, before we thought about things like GPLs and the FTC. Before we had the Funeral Rule and required disclosures and itemized prices. Actually, we don’t need to go back that far; we actually need to go right to that moment when required disclosures and itemized prices started. You see, in the midst of making all these decisions about what must be disclosed, what must be included and what exceptions there are, we created a new problem. And it might not surprise you to learn that it concerns cremation. Here’s the problem: You can’t discount your basic service fee! Well, except in a few situations, one of which is direct cremation. But if you discount your basic service fee for direct cremation customers, you can’t offer to add a few goods or services to a direct cremation because you will then violate the first rule (You can’t discount your basic service fee!) Is that clear? Let’s use an example to try and make this muddy water a bit clearer. EXAMPLE Acme Funeral Home Basic service fee: $2,500 Direct cremation fee: $999 So far, so good. Even though it’s obvious that Acme Funeral Home’s basic service fee is greatly discounted for direct cremation customers, that’s allowed. In fact, this is a common practice—a funeral home sets a basic service fee but discounts it in the direct cremation fee. Discounting the basic service fee for direct cremation has been a recurring issue

under the FTC’s Funeral Rule, and several times the FTC has commented on how and why this is acceptable. In a recent opinion, the FTC stated that while the basic service fee must remain the same in most cases, there are certain limited exceptions where it can be discounted. Specifically, the FTC opined: “Prior staff opinions have stated, and we reemphasize here, that a funeral provider may not include a reduced or discounted non-declinable basic services fee in any discount package of goods and services it offers, but must include in the price of the discount package the full non-declinable basic services fee listed in its GPL. As another staff opinion has stated, however, that forwarding remains, receiving remains, direct cremation and immediate burial are not ‘packages,’ and thus are not subject to this prohibition.” (Opinion 09-6.) One argument made by funeral professionals is that funeral homes should be able to discount the basic service fee (for these minimal service direct cremations) because fewer services are extended to those families, and this savings should be extended to the consumer. There’s also the fact that many funeral providers wanted to compete with direct cremation providers. It is hard to compete with a direct cremation provider offering cremation under $1,000 when your basic service fee may be several times that amount. Therefore, the discounted basic service fee was created, and many funeral providers use this model. So, what’s the issue? Back to our example, Acme Funeral Home. Acme Funeral Home, in order to give families more choices, decides to offer “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

M A N A G E M E N T : L E G A L / C R E M AT I O N

Do you, as a provider, really do less for cremation families? I would venture to say you do not. I’m suggesting that you correct your pricing structure to reflect what you actually do. But this is obviously a business decision only you can make. packages in addition to direct cremation. The packages include: Direct cremation with a memorial service: $1,295 Direct cremation with a two-hour viewing: $1,395 (The packages are simply the direct cremation price bundled with other prices from Acme’s itemized GPL.) Note that these new options (which are not really direct cremations) do not include Acme’s basic service fee of $2,500; Acme is obviously discounting the basic service fee as it does for direct cremation. Now we have a problem. By adding these items to the direct cremation package, Acme has violated the Funeral Rule. By definition, a “direct cremation” is a disposition of human remains by cremation without formal viewing, visitation or ceremony with the body present. 16 C.F.R. § 563.1(g). Because of this definition, if a provider adds items to the minimal service package it is no longer a direct cremation. What if Acme calls it something like “cremation tribute with viewing” instead of “direct cremation with viewing”? Is that OK? No. This still violates the Funeral Rule, because Acme is still offering a package that does not include your nondeclinable, non-discountable basic service fee. The FTC, in an early opinion, stated: “A

consumer can add goods or services to a minimal service, such as direct cremation, without raising the discounted basic service—unless the added service brings the minimal service outside of its Funeral Rule definition.” (Opinion 94-2.) This opinion goes on to use the example of adding a visitation to a direct cremation as a prohibited act. Now can you see the issue? It’s a common “best interest” prob­lem. We, funeral providers, have the consu­ mer’s best interest in mind. Funeral provi­ ders are simply trying to comply with the direct cremation rule while also giving families more options. The problem is that our good intentions don’t get us over the hurdle of Funeral Rule compliance.

Possible solutions

What can a provider do? There are two solutions. Solution one: Make sure any packages offering anything more than direct cremation include your actual basic service fee. In our example above, this means that any package would have to use the $2,500 basic service fee as the base, then add additional items. Keep in mind that as a provider, you need to include and add all necessary items to your package. For a cremation with a viewing, this possibly would include removal, dressing/casketing of

unembalmed remains, visitation, transfer to crematory, crematory fee, casket/ alternative container, urn and, of course, the basic service fee. Solution two (possibly the simplest solution): Adjust your basic service fee so that your direct cremation fee uses your actual basic service fee instead of a discounted one. It may seem crazy, but the argument is simple. Do you, as a provider, really do less for cremation families? I would venture to say you do not. In fact, in this day and age where cremation is increasingly the disposition of choice, we seem to do more and work harder for these families than others. I’m suggesting that you correct your pricing structure to reflect what you actually do. But this is obviously a business decision only you can make. This article isn’t meant to be a primer on how to set your direct cremation fee. It is meant to give you advice about what you can and can’t do when setting a direct cremation fee and packages for cremation. Use your own judgment when deciding what fees work for your business, but make sure you know what the Funeral Rule and the FTC’s opinions say before you set (or review) your basic service fee and fees for direct cremation and direct cremation plus a bit more. r

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Learn more at ensureaseal.com March-April 2018

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EXHIBITOR PROFILES

Expo hours Wednesday, April 18 4-7 p.m. Grand Opening Reception (open bar and heavy hors d’oeurvres)

The ICCFA Expo offers hours of uninterrupted time to talk to suppliers, ask questions and see products in person. No educational sessions are scheduled during expo hours. Free food and beverage service means you can grab lunch or enjoy appetizers while checking out the booths before heading out to enjoy everything else Las Vegas has to offer.

The 2018 ICCFA Expo

Thursday, April 19 noon-5 p.m. Lunch with exhibitors & IMSA happy hour Friday, April 20 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Lunch at the Expo

EDITOR’S NOTE:

➤For an up-to-date list of exhibitors and booth numbers, or to see the Expo Hall floor plan (pictured above), go to www.iccfa.com and select Education/ ICCFA Events/Annual Convention and scroll down to Exhibiting, where you’ll find a link to the Expo Hall floor plan. ➤Profile information is provided by the exhibitors; ICCFA Magazine and the ICCFA are not responsible for content. Inclusion in this section is provided free to all exhibitors meeting submission deadlines and requirements. ➤An Expo Hall booth number is listed after the company name. The booth numbers also will be found on the Expo Hall maps in the convention onsite program that will be distributed in Las Vegas.

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ICCFA Magazine

2WayRadioPlus (#231) Compact, lightweight business two-way radios provide instant, discreet communica­ tion among staffers at any location: the home, the procession, the cemetery. There is no fumbling with phones, no dependence on cell towers, no offensive audio disturbing patrons. Consider, too, the enhanced service and productivity that Motorola radios can provide. 1.888.243.9799; [email protected]; www.2wayradioplus.com A Simple Thank You (#1307) A Simple Thank You is the leading provider in digital registry and pre-need leads. Our latest app, ASTY 2.0, is revolutionizing the funeral industry with cutting-edge capabilities which will grow your revenue and simplify your business. Ask us how you can get started with a free iPad today. us at 1.800.483.0671 or www.asimplethankyou.com Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice (#159) The academy offers a voluntary certification program for funeral directors who are interested in earning the professional designation of Certified Funeral Service Practitioner (CFSP), the highest professional designation awarded in the funeral profession. Information is available at apfsp.org

Aftercare.com (#959) Aftercare.com helps your funeral home stay in touch with families during the first year following their loss. Our Aftercare Card Program is an automated program that sends four cards plus a survey to your families. Cards include sympathy, birthday of loved one, holiday and first anniversary. This lets you focus on serving at-need families and running the funeral home.

Algordanza Memorial Diamonds (#355) Creating Memorial Diamonds since 2004 inside our own lab in Domat/EMS, Switzerland. Precision, respect and discretion are the pillars of our success. Guaranteed and certified: weight, cut, color, authenticity and origin of diamond creation solely from the provided cremains. Our diamonds are as unique as you are. Take a beautiful Algordanza Memorial Diamond display home with you today. www.algordanza.com

American Airlines (#418) American Airlines is serious about the care and sensitivity of transporting departed loved ones. Our TLC specialists work directly with funeral homes and mortuaries to make arrangements required to transport human remains. Our TLC service includes boarding priority, a 100-percent guarantee, daily scheduled service around the globe, handling, online tracking, notifications and trained interline specialists for international transportation. “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

EXHIBITOR PROFILES American Cemetery Supplies (#852) American Cemetery Supplies manufactures quality cemetery, vault and funeral home supplies from the smallest crank to tribute carriers at our Portsmouth, Virginia, plant. Specializing in tents, we are well known for quality. We distribute all major death-care industry lines such as Ferno, Frigid and Mipro PA systems. Please visit our booth or call, for all your needs, 1.800.515.0400. American Crematory Equipment (#1247) American Crematory thanks you for your continued business and over the last 40+ years. We manufacture both human and pet cremation chambers, service and repair all cremator makes and models and have service centers throughout the U.S. so we can better serve you, our valued customers. Let American Crematory show you what “Service is Everything” is all about. American Funeral & Cemetery Trust Services (#764) Established in 1993, AFCTS is a nationwide pre-need, endowment care master trust and third-party istration provider. We help individual funeral homes, cremation providers, cemeteries and state associations maintain focus on their clientele and communities by providing the most comprehensive, efficient and compliant services available. To schedule an appointment, please Krista Kaysner at [email protected].

American Funeral Supply (#630) A division of American Hotel Co., American Funeral Supply Co. leverages our parent company’s buying power to offer competitively priced products and everyday supplies for your business. Our in-house engraving shop specializes in overnight delivery of custom-engraved urns. Shop our wide selection of urns and all 50,000 items we sell at americanfuneralsupply.com, or us at 1.800.671.9366. 18

ICCFA Magazine

Argent Trust (#828) On January 1, 2018, Argent Trust Co. merged with Independence Trust Co. in a move that will significantly broaden our client service offerings to the death-care industry. Since 1997, we’ve served cemeteries and funeral homes as trustee and investment advisor. We work across the United States with single-location, regional multi-location and national companies. Lynn Burns at 615.503.0776 or [email protected].

Armbruster Stageway (#1046) At Armbruster Stageway, we proudly build the most elegant funeral cars in the industry today. With our line of classically designed funeral coaches and our best-in-class limousines, our goal is to introduce you to a new standard of excellence. With worldclass customer service and our direct buying process, let Armbruster Stageway show you how buying a funeral car should be. ASD— Answering Service for Directors (#717) ASD has been helping funeral homes manage their telephone communications since 1972. The company’s custom-built communication systems and sophisticated mobile tools were designed solely to meet the needs of funeral homes. By offering funeral directors unmatched protection for their calls, ASD has redefined the role of an answering service for funeral homes. For more information, visit www.myASD.com or call 1.800.868.9950. Astral Industries Inc. (#1019) If you are the kind of funeral director whose families are looking for a quality, affordable, higheye-appeal casket with a good value, Astral is the leading supplier during these challenging economic times. Independently owned, Astral manufactures 18-gauge, 20-gauge steel and stainless steel caskets, as well as supplying cremation and wood products. 1.800.278.7252; www.astralindustries.com

Atlantic Coast Life (#257) Meet the key decision-makers of this 93-year-old preneed life insurance company, expanding its operations across the United States. Learn firsthand about their innovative and diverse pre-need product line and about how easy pre-need can be. 1.877.663.7464; www.atlanticcoastlife.com Axis Corp. (#357) Axis Corp. manufac­ tures vault and monumenthandling equipment as well as the selfpropelled dump trailer. Our most recent additions, the Crane and PathTrack II models, give you the most versatility in handling vaults and monuments. All Axis equipment is one-man-operated, self-propelled, towable at highway speeds and won’t track up grass. B&L Cremation Systems (#604) B&L Cremation Systems Inc. is a world leader in the manufacturing of human and animal cremation equipment. Our commitment to research and development is unsured. We are an American-based crematory company, and all of our products and accessories are made in the USA in our manufacturing plant in Largo, Florida. We set the standard which others attempt to follow.

Bass-Mollett (#535) Bass-Mollett is celebrating its 65th year of supplying the funeral profession. Its mission is to provide customized solutions to funeral directors using excellent quality, value and service so that each family they serve may memorialize their loved one with dignity. In its fourth generation of family ownership, Bass-Mollett will continue to proudly serve funeral directors for decades to come.

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EXHIBITOR PROFILES Batesville Casket (#541) For more than 100 years, Batesville has been dedicated to helping families honor the lives of those they love. Our history of manufacturing excellence, product innovation, superior customer service and reliable delivery helped us become—and remain—a market leader. Batesville offers the most comprehensive portfolio of quality burial and cremation products, memorial tributes, innovative technologies and profitenhancing business solutions. Bégin Bronze Urns (#415) Bégin Urns is, for more than 25 years, a leader and a pioneer in the design and production of high quality urns. We offer exclusive urns and jewelry, along with an outstanding service. Dare to compare; come visit us at booth #415. www.urnsbegin.com Behar Mapping (#451) Behar Mapping is a leading provider of mapping solutions for cemeteries across US and Canada. With over 50 years of experience, Behar provides true digital mapping utilizing the most current mapping technologies such as drones, aerial imagery, geographic information systems (GIS) and GPS. Behar specializes in producing highquality mapping products that are accurate, detailed and easy to use. www.beharmapping.com

Behrens Design & Development (#1341) Behrens Design & Development offers architectural and interior design services specifically for the funeral industry. Our team have been involved in the design and development of funeral homes throughout the country for over 30 years. Visit our booth to schedule a free noobligation consultation. 1.866.617.8778; www.behrensdesign.com

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ICCFA Magazine

Bio-Response Solutions (#128) Our family-owned and -operated company helps businesses add alkaline hydrolysis to the list of choices they offer families. Where it is available, over 80 percent of families choose water over fire. We believe that people deserve to have this option available, and we have over 20 years of alkaline hydrolysis experience to share. Our customers love their equipment! 317.386.3500; www.bioresponsefuneral.com Biondan North America Inc. (#551) Diecast for consistent color and form; our lettering, emblems, vases and lights are reliable in maximizing the success of cemetery memorialization programs. With our premier glass-fronted niches, available in aluminum or bronze, we offer a full package of solutions to help our partners thrive and grow. Always original— quality and integrity since 1956. 1.877.290.6703; BiondanBronze.com

Blackstone Cemetery Development (#546) Easy to work with, knowledgeable and professional in every way, Blackstone is a full-service cemetery development company specializing in every scope of cremation garden master planning. On top of providing product, we have full design, planning, construction and training teams at your service, making us your go-to resource for cremation garden planning. Blue Skies Aviation Services (#250) Blue Skies Aviation Services was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Manhattan Beach, California. We are a transportation company that offers efficient and unparalleled personalized customer service to the satisf­ action of our funeral home customers. We choose the most direct flights to any number of global worldwide and domestic USA destinations.

Body Sealer (#561) Manufactured in the U.S.A. Hermetically sealed 40 inch wide, biohazard level 4 biocontainment pouch. It’s a fluid and vapor barrier that is 7.9ML thick. BodySealer is X-rayable, can be cremated, can be shipped domestic or international. Used to ship a casket or human/pet remains. Coroners, mortuaries, medical examiners, disaster preparedness organizations use it for containment of evidence; it’s resealable.

BodyScoop by B-Mobile (#353) “Best purchase I ever made.” “If I started over, I would install my embalming table with the Body Scoop above and design the prep room around them.” It takes only one person to effortlessly handle each lift with the BodyScoop and its 1,000-pound lift motor with room-covering system. It’s reliable, medical-grade equipment. www.bodyscoop. net; [email protected]

C&J Financial LLC (#714) C&J is the leading provider of insurance assignment funding in North America. C&J’s Fast Funding Group works with thousands of funeral homes and cemeteries processing more than 40,000 claims and providing $300+ million in funding annually to the funeral industry. Want to know why so many firms trust C&J? Visit www.CJF.com or call 1.800.785.0003 for more information. Carrier Mausoleums Construction (#509) Offering the best in mausoleums, niche buildings, glass-front niches, columbaria, cremation equipment and bronze accessories, we also build a legacy of quality, craftsmanship and reliability. No matter the size of your project, we’ll handle it efficiently, elegantly and cost-effectively. For more information, please visit us at booth #509; 1.800.663.7954; info@cmc-carrier. com; cmc-carrier.com.

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Years of dedicated experience in the cemetery and funeral industries

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March-April 2018

21

EXHIBITOR PROFILES

Catholic Extension (#532) Catholic Extension’s mission is to build faith, inspire hope and ignite change in parishes alive with faith and spirit but lacking financial resources to their ministries and programs. One of the many ways we provide assistance is by giving 100 percent of the profit earned from the sale of our Catholic calendars to the more than 90 “mission dioceses.” Cemetery Funeral Supply (#733) Cemetery Funeral Supply is a manufacturer and distributor of products for the death-care industry. We continue to be a leader in the tent, funeral home, burial vault and cemetery equipment market. The quality of our merchandise is superior to any and our prices are competitive. Our guarantee is complete customer satisfaction.

Cemetery360 (#750) Cemetery360 offers the ultimate sales platform through immersive technology. Our 360-player allows you to showcase your business virtually anywhere. Our fully integrated cemetery listing service offers you the ability to manage available location listings with your team in real-time. Visit us at CemLS.com and cemetery360.com for further information.

CemSites (#125) Empower your staff with true cloud cemetery management software. We’re module based, allowing the software to grow with you. Start with robust SecureCRM and manage your records in an intuitively easy way. Add grave mapping allowing visitors to find loved ones with ease. Add our sales and A/R finance module to increase revenues. Schedule a demonstration today. 1.877.783.9626; www.cemsites.com

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ICCFA Magazine

Cherokee Child Casket Co. (#536) Cherokee Child Casket Co. has pro­ vided the funeral industry with high quality handcrafted child caskets for over 75 years. Now offering a larger selection of personalized urns, Cherokee combos, memor­ ial books and additional ways to personalize caskets. Our specialized line of products gives funeral directors the opportunity to offer families unique ways to memorialize their precious child. 1.800.535.8667; www.cherokeechildcaskets.com Chosen Payments (#120) Chosen Payments is the most trusted credit card processor in the industry. We participate in NFDA and ICCFA events and have an understanding of the needs of funeral care providers. Funeral Payments program is dedicated to providing the lowest cost, fastest funding solutions. We determine help improve cash flow while increasing profitability. We provide check guarantee services. Please visit Chosenpayments.com Church & Chapel Metal Arts Inc. (#329) Church & Chapel Metal Arts, serving the funeral industry since 1933. We offer a complete line of supplies to the funeral industry, including torchiere lamps, lecterns, kneelers, cremation urns and many other products necessary to the delivery of funeral service. 2616 W. Grand Ave., Chicago, IL 60612; 773.489.3700; Fax: 773.489.3434; toll free:1.800.992.1234; Fax: 1.800.626.3299. Visit our website: www.church-chapel.com; e-mail: [email protected]. Clark Grave Vault (#437) Founded in 1898, familyowned and -operated Clark Grave Vault manufactures metal burial vaults using steel, galvanized steel, aluminum, grade stainless steel and copper. All Clark vaults are manufactured using the very latest technology, including robotic welding and powder coated finishes. Clark also has a complete line of cremation urns and metal urn vaults for those customers selecting cremation.

ClearPoint Federal Bank & Trust (#705) ClearPoint Federal Bank & Trust is a federally chartered savings bank dedicated solely to the funeral home and cemetery industry. Independently owned and operated, ClearPoint has provided funeral home and cemetery trust and related services since 1998, which are available in over 43 states and the District of Columbia. Visit clearpointfederal.com to learn more.

Coldspring (#925) From all types of natural stone and bronze to industrial and diamond tooling products, Coldspring has been serving the memorial, architectural, residential and industrial markets since 1898. With headquarters and primary manufacturing operations in Cold Spring, Minnesota, including a bronze foundry, the company has multiple facilities and quarries across the country. Visit www.coldspringusa.com or call 1.800.328.5040 for more information.

Columbarium By Design (#1153) With an improved and stronger niche system, Columbarium by Design is committed to promoting and distributing the most versatile and profitable completely made-in-America niche system in the market. We offer the largest capacity niches in the industry that will last for eternity. Sales and consulting with Gerardo G. Garcia at 1.877.7NICHES (764.2437) / 505.660.7819; [email protected] Financial Group (#854) Columbian’s preneed program was built around the expertise of our valued funeral service associates. We know that simplicity and service are two of the most important features of a successful program— that is what we provide. Our priority is turn­ ing your business around quickly and easily so that you can focus on your most important priority—your clients. www.cfglife.com “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

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Nature’s Beauty for Loved ones

Memor y of a Lifetime®

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EXHIBITOR PROFILES Commemorative Rosaries (#632) Commemorative Rosaries uses a unique process to preserve your special occasion roses and flowers by transforming them into beautiful rosaries and keepsake jewelry families will cherish for generations. us at 847.299.4899 or www.commrosaries.com.

Eat, drink, browse, get to know the suppliers The ICCFA Expo Hall features free continuous food and beverage service so that attendees can spend more time in the hall, learning about all the products and services available. Many exhibitors offer seating so that cemeterians and funeral directors can relax and get to know them in a comfortable setting.

Conrad Pickel (#732) The Pickel Studio, with over 70 years of history, continues to create stained glass windows, mosaics, bronze, wood and stone sculptures, as well as space-saving Narro-Niches. The studio is noted for outstanding color selection and dynamic figure design. Using only quality materials, an enthusiastic and talented staff works together to create timeless works of art.

Continental Computer (#519) Recognized as the industry leader, Continental Computer provides superior products and service to the death-care industry. The Directors Assistant is globally recognized as the premier funeral home management software package. This recognition has enabled Continental Computer to establish TDAW as a recognized brand among death-care professionals. www.continentalcomputers.com Cooperative Funeral Fund (#607) Cooperative Funeral Fund (CFF) is a preneed and cemetery care fund management company since 1989, specifically for the death-care industry with over 1,000 clients and 500 million in assets. CFF manages investment, ing, compli­ance and payout. No startup costs or mini­ mums, free personalized agreement forms. information available online, claims are simple and payout is quick. 1.800.336.1102; CooperativeFuneralFund.com

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ICCFA Magazine

Core Scientific Recycling & Disposal (#510) Core Scientific is committed to excellence in refining a wide range of non-organic, post-cremation metals. We better serve the cremation industry with our accurate refining process, superior customer service, transparency into material data, secure facility and dedication to the environment and charities. us at [email protected]. “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

State-of-the-Art Design Department Star Design Pro Memorial Design Software Large In-Stock Import Granite Inventory Private Estate Mausoleums

Bronze Memorials Foundry On Site

1.800.241.7242 www.stargranite.com

EXHIBITOR PROFILES Crescent Memorial (#1305) Crescent Memorial is dedicated to high quality products at great prices, offering the best customer service available to you, the professional death-care provider. To maintain that high quality and to keep costs low, we manufacture many of our products in Tupelo, Mississippi. We offer the best memorial line value in the industry. 1.888.856.4516; www.crescentmem.com Crowne Urn Vault (#526) Crowne Vault offers attractive, sturdy, value-priced urn vaults. Constructed of a high-impact ABS plastic, these vaults provide protection while ensuring integrity of the cemetery ground. The single vault has a low profile and works well for second right of interment. Double vault accommodates two urns or most over-sized urns. Easy to personalize. Crystal Remembrance (#665) Crystal Remembrance is hand-crafted to memorialize your loved one in an elegant, bold and unique piece of glass art. Interweaving a small amount of cremated remains with a swirl of your chosen color, our artists create a one-of-a-kind memorial. Our artists are degreed and accomplished professionals who strive to make each piece extraordinary. Custom Air Trays (#634) Custom Air Trays is an industry leader in the manufacturing and supplying of human remains shipping containers. We have four locations that cover the entire country. We also carry an impressive line of leakresistant cremation products. Our trays meet or exceed the various state safety requirements for protective and leakresistant containers. Come by and see us at booth 634. 28

ICCFA Magazine

Dementia Society of America (#156) Dementia Society of America is your leading all-volunteer, all-dementias nonprofit organization in the United States. Our mission is to enhance the quality of life for those living with dementia, their caregivers and the community at large through education, life enrichment programs and recognition of superlative dementia care and innovation. www.dementiasociety.org; 1.800.DEMENTIA Director’s Buddy (#520) Director’s Buddy allows the death-care profession to have the benefits the health-care industry receives from purchasing through a GPO. An added benefit comes with the ease of use. It is just like shopping on amazon. Save substantially while simplifying how you order everything for your business from the companies you trust. You will save time and money on Directorsbuddy.com. Disrupt Media (#511) Most death-care companies struggle with Facebook marketing. We provide a process for creating personalized Facebook content that will drive community engagement and measurable leads ensuring growth and profitability. Doric Products (#1209) Doric Products Inc. has been a leader in the vault industry since 1955. Doric is committed to quality products and services. Products include concrete burial vaults, metal air seal vaults from classic metal vaults and a full line of cremation products. Call 1.888.55.DORIC or visit us at www.doric-vaults.com to discover which of our 130 dealers is closest to you.

Eagle & Federal Coach Co. (#741) Eagle Coach Co. & Federal Coach Co. are dedicated to producing the highest quality professional vehicles to reflect positively on the funeral homes that use them. Combining attractive styling and reliable construction with the most sought-after features, our specialty vehicles are some of the best-selling models in America. Eagle Granite (#218) Eagle owns and operates several granite quarries and manufactures memorials in 16 beautiful granite colors. In addition, Eagle houses a large inventory of popular import designs for faster delivery on many standard monuments. Large mausoleum and columbarium designs are also hand-crafted in our state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. Call 1.888.357.8452 or visit our website at www.eaglegranite.com

Eagle’s Wings Air (#736) Eagle’s Wings Air (EWA) is the nation’s leading provider of logistics services to North American funeral homes and shipping services. Through a centralized customer service center, EWA leverages proprietary software and its knowledge of global airline networks to deliver the best transportation solution and proactive management for human remains transport. Learn more at www.EWAcares.com or by calling 1.866.550.1EWA. Eckels (#804) Eckels is a fully diversified funeral service supply company dedicated to providing quality products and outstanding service to funeral, cemetery and cremation professionals across North America. Founded in 1895, Eckels specializes in embalming chemicals, clinical care products for funeral home care suites and also provides a wide range of cemetery and crematorium products.

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March-April 2018

29

EXHIBITOR PROFILES EDA Land Planning (#627) “Better Design for a Better Bottom Line.” Design is the backbone of a beautiful cemetery and helps drive sales. EDA will work with you to design a beautiful cemetery with cremation, estate and traditional lot gardens, fully utili­ zing space and minimizing maintenance. Every cemetery is unique, we provide inno­­ vative solutions. Let us help improve your bottom line. [email protected]; 801.924.2296; www.edalandplanning.com Eickhof Columbaria (#624) Eickhof provides the highest quality cremation memorial solutions through progressive engineering, superior materials and people-focused customer service. Let the Eickhof sales team show you its new and latest innovation showcased at this year’s convention. The above-ground preassembled ossuarium—columbarium and ossuary together in one simply delivered memorial solution. Visit our website www.eickhofcolumbaria.com or call 1.800.253.0457. Elegante Brass (#533) Since 2001, Elegante Brass has served the funeral industry, selling affordable cremation urns going to market through our network of distributors. Taking great pride in their innovation over the years, Elegante’s top priority has been taking care of their clients. Visit us at www.EleganteBrass.com or give us a call at 1.800.252.7277. Ensure-A-Seal (#425) Ensure-A-Seal invented casket protection, and for over 30 years has been the industry standard for providing a clean, safe and maintenance-free enclosure for mausoleum entombments. Ensure-A-Seal is the only casket protection company to offer a compre­ hensive product warranty and a range of mausoleum consultation and remediation services. Our products have been tested with proven results in hundreds of cemeteries. ensureaseal.com 30

ICCFA Magazine

Everdays Inc. (#457) Everdays Inc. launched in 2017 in Metro Detroit as the first and only turnkey service designed to reinvent funeral communication. Funeral directors and families use the single tap, free iOS and Android app for creating announcements to notify the community about a ing. Its cloud-based digital platform replaces inefficient channels like multiple calls, texts, emails and expensive newspaper obituaries. Everdays.com Express Funeral Funding (#912) Express Funeral Funding is the largest privately held insurance assignment funding company in the industry. We eliminate the challenges of working with insurance companies by limiting istration, providing immediate payment and advancing complete policy funds. Since 2002 we’ve been providing funeral homes and cemeteries nationwide the “FASTEST. EASIEST.” istration of life insurance assignments. Family Bronze (#609) Our growth has been based on word-ofmouth from one cemeterian to the next. We are praised for stunning quality, immediate response and consistant fair pricing. We are willing to take the extra step to help make your customers more than satisfied with your services and the word along to their friends as well. Fine N’ Rhine (#515) Based in Hong Kong, Fine N’ Rhine has been exhibiting at ICCFA since 2001. Known for our styling and quality, we are back with our new collection of Swarovski evening clutches and pashmina wraps. We welcome you to visit our booth. 917.669.1200, Bharati.

Flowers for Cemeteries (#637) Flowers For Cemeteries Inc., Marietta, Georgia. We offer a full selection of beautiful silk flowers for ground vases, mausoleum vases, niche vases, monument saddles, holiday wreaths, holiday trees, the patented Stay-In-The-Vase Christmas tree and custom designs. No minimums; free brochures. We are the best in service, selection and satisfaction. Come by and say hello to David, Ruby and Michael.

Forston Lifts (#1015) Empowering professionals for the heavyduty tasks in mausoleums and funeral homes, Forston & Associates LLC is in its 25th year, having delivered and ed over 2,000 lifts in the field. Forston lifts are modular and can be upgraded with the latest options, giving them new life and new lift warranties. www.casketlifts.com Franklin Wrap LLC (#706) Developed for cemeteries by cemeterians, Franklin Wrap addresses concerns associated with mausoleum entombment. Benefits include a two-way ventilation system that works with your mausoleum; transparent; a safe, simple six-minute process to apply; and the most affordable product on the market today. Please visit FranklinWrap.com to watch our video presentation.

Frazer Consultants (#247) Frazer Consultants is a personalization, technology and consulting company for the funeral profession. Our products and services include interactive funeral home website design, an innovative payment platform, tri­­ bute video software, digital registry and per­ sonalized funeral stationery and keepsakes. Our goal is to help funeral homes reimagine the funeral experience for their families. Call us today at 1.866.372.9372 to learn more. “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

Booth No. #1153

St. Stephen's Cemetery Cremation Garden (Hamilton, OH)

An Improved and Stronger Niche System Deserves a Better Image!!! Versatility to Adapt into Any Existing Design and Construction. Heritage Memorial Park (Dewey, AZ)

Glass Front Niches

Introducing our New Mausoleum Crypt System and Designs

... Santa Fe Memorial Gardens Jardin Familiar (Santa Fe, NM)

Click 877-7Niches.com or 6 424 3 7 Call 877-7Niches

SALES AND CONSULTING

Gerardo G. Garcia Direct 505-660-7819 [email protected]

150 Washington Ave Suite 201 Santa Fe, NM 87501

EXHIBITOR PROFILES Frigid Fluid (#427) Frigid Fluid is the inventor and manufact­urer of the casket-lowering device and trademarked silicone technology line of embalming fluids. Frigid Fluid has served the death-care industry since 1892 and is known as an innovator in the industry. Visit our feature-rich web store today. www.frigidfluid.com; 1.708.836.1215

FrontRunner Professional (#1033) Meet the award-winning, all-in-one techno­ logy and marketing solution. An easy-to-edit website to attract more families with themed online tribute pages, matching print-ondemand stationery and DVDs, and built-in management software to finish paperwork & ing in minutes. Looking to grow? Our marketing team will manage your Facebook, keep you top of Google, give you hundreds of ready-to-use ads and more. www.FrontRunner360.com FT the Americas (Facultatieve Technologies) (#941) Facultatieve Technologies, now known as FT the Americas, is your partner in providing cremation system equipment. Our innovations provide maximum energy and operational savings and most importantly, operator safety, providing recommendations for complete turn-key solutions. Our customer care unit provides and FT cremators are equipped with broadband connection for 24/7 technical assistance at no charge. Ernie Kassoff, [email protected]. Funeral Directors Life (#620) Funeral Direc­ tors Life (FD) is helping funeral homes grow and increase profitability in a rapidly chang­ ing marketplace. Through innovative, turnkey preneed programs, our clients are getting real results that are increasing their market share and enhancing their service to families. Together, we can achieve so much more—all it takes is you, me and FD. For more infor­ mation, visit www.funeraldirectorslife.com. 32

ICCFA Magazine

Funeral Financial (#517) Founded in 1970, our firm was the first in the business to offer what are now considered industry standards. Our services are always tailored to your unique needs. We are consistently coming up with innovative methods to make insurance assignments bearable for you. Our reward is satisfied clients. 817.769.3600; www.funeralfinancial.com Funeral Home Gifts (#1219) Funeral Home Gifts is the premier provider of woven tribute blankets and custom cap s to funeral homes worldwide. Delivered next day, our products comfort families, increase preneed sales, provide revenue through re-orders and provide vision to transition families from direct cremation to personalized memorial services. Call 1.800.233.0439 for a free sample to try at your next service. www.funeralhomegifts.com

funeralOne (#505, 915) FuneralOne is transforming how the world honors life and deals with loss. We help funeral professionals innovate, connect with their families in new ways and become more profitable. Our solutions include f1Connect, the profession’s leading website platform, The Sympathy Store ecommerce plugin, Life Tributes personalization software and more. 8,000 clients and counting. 1.800.798.2575; www.funeralOne.com Funeral Service Credit Union (#960) Funeral Service Credit Union is a state-chartered credit union, owned by our , established in 1983, that provides financial services specifically for funeral service professionals, their employees and immediate family . Funeral Service Credit Union hip is currently available to all , employees and family of ICCFA.

Funeral Services Inc. (#416) Funeral Services Inc. (FSI) is a pre-need istration and contract record-keeping company that provides trust solutions to funeral homes, cemeteries, associations and financial institutions. With more than 35 years of experience, FSI offers expert knowledge of the funeral service profession and web-based technology designed specifically for preneed and perpetual care programs. For more information, visit fsitrust.com.

FuneralTech (#1241) FuneralTech supplies industry leading software and personalized memorialization products. As your technology partner, we provide funeral home websites, management software and collaborative funeral planning tools. Our solutions add value to families, increase first-call conversions, increase the average revenue per funeral and ensure families never say “I didn’t know you offered that.” For more information, visit us at funeraltech.com. Fuzhou CMB Import & Export Co. LTD (#318) Fuzhou CMB Import & Export Co. LTD is a professional supplier of granite monuments that’s owned a factory over 15 years. Business Manager Honor Lin by telephone, 0086-13788872626/008618905006819, or fax 0086-591-87325672 or [email protected]. Visit http://unitedgranite.stone.com or 10C, International Building, No.210 Wusi Road, Fuzhou, Fujian, China. Garfield Refining (#419) For 125 years, Garfield Refining Co. has specialized in providing recycling and refining solutions for the dental, jewelry and death-care industries. With generations of satisfied customers worldwide, Garfield has thrived in both bull and bear markets, providing a stable and reliable marketplace for the recycling and refining of scrap metals. Please visit our website for more information. www.GarfieldRefining.com “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

EXHIBITOR PROFILES G.H. Forbes Associates Architects (#726) Since 1967, G.H. Forbes Asso­ ciates Architects has provided architectural, engineering and planning services to a variety of cemeteries, funeral homes and other clients. The combination of an intimate knowledge of the death care industry coupled with an innovative, problem-solving design approach has created numerous lasting and cost-effective facilities that enhance cemetery and funeral sales. Visit us at www.ghfaa.com.

Global Atlantic Financial Group (#441) Through subsidiaries, we offer a broad range of retirement, life and reinsurance products designed to help Americans customize a strategy for their protection, accumulation, income, wealth transfer and end-of-life needs. Global Atlantic’s success is driven by a unique heritage, combining deep product and distribution knowledge with investment management expertise and highly integrated risk management, alongside a strong financial foundation. Global Bronze (#1349) Global Bronze is an industryleading designer and manufacturer of unique memorialization products for cemeteries, funeral homes, churches and monument builders. Products include glass-front niches, columbarium niches, cremation gardens, statues, reliefs and an assortment of bronze memorialization accessories such as vases, emblems, lights, light vases, letters and E-Z Plaques. Global Bronze also offers a state-of-the-art website to purchase products online. Granville Urns (#1333) Granville Urns, a familyowned company, offers a collection of Italian wood inlaid urns and cremation products. Each memorial is an individual work of art, hand-made with single pieces of wood using a 60-step process. Our urns and keepsakes are individually numbered, include a personal­ ized brass nameplate and ship immediately. Visit www.granvilleurns.com or email [email protected] for more information.

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ICCFA Magazine

Great Western (#734) Great Western is a preneed funding company founded by a fifth-generation funeral home family. This funeral home background provides the insight necessary for the most effective policy design available. We bring preneed products and marketing strategies to your funeral home that will help mold your firm into the type of preneed program and success you want and expect. www.gwic.com Haobo Stone (#729) Xiamen Juxinglong Import & Export Co. specializes in supplying a full range of interior and exterior projects, with products including tombstones, monuments, sculptures, garden series, flooring tiles, countertops and slabs. Our product brand is Haobo Stone. We own two factories for complicated products, one factory for construction projects. Our number is 86.1.350.690.1050.

Heritage Memorial Funding (#1329) Heritage Memorial Funding is a familyowned company that provides solutions for funeral homes by eliminating their insurance assignment receivables, funding funeral services in exchange for a verified life insurance policy, all at no cost to the funeral home and within 24 hours of policy verification. Save time, money and eliminate risk with Heritage. us at 1.877.463.8630 or www.heritagememorialfunding.com. Holland Supply (#811) Holland Supply is the industry’s leading manufacturer of cemetery/ funeral grounds and set-up equipment and supplies. We offer a complete line of products. Some of the items we offer are all varieties of tents, lowering devices, cremation and device stands, lot markers, probes, urn vaults, casket carts, dump trailers, mausoleum lifts and more. 1.800.527.8818; www.hollandsupplyinc.com

Homesteaders Life (#407) Homesteaders Life Co. is a national leader in providing life insurance products and services to promote and the funding of advance funeral planning and end-of-life expenses. Our customers benefit from the provided by knowledgeable executives, relationships with America’s topproducing pre-need marketing organizations, superior customer service and innovative business management tools. Rated A(excellent) by A.M. Best Co.

Honor Life (#1041) We are a supplier of granite memorials featuring personalization at no extra cost, from unlimited lettering to multiple emblems to engraved photos, all at no additional charge. Our production time for standard sizes and colors is two weeks from approval. We also offera full line of columbarium, niche construction, cremation estates and private family estates. 1.800.585.5768; wholesale@ honorlife.com; www.honorlife.com

HoverTech International (#136) Leading the industry in air-assisted patient handling equipment, HoverTech International now offers the TransMatt disposable decedent transfer system for lateral transfers. The TransMatt allows staff to easily transfer decedents regardless of size or weight. This patented system reduces friction and pull force by 85-90 percent, minimizing staff injury and making transfers safer and more efficient. us at 1.800.471.2776 or www.HoverMatt.com. Howard Miller/ Hekman (#524) Howard Miller delivers high quality, attractive, name-brand cremation products to funeral providers nationwide. Our memorial line includes mantel clock urns, chest urns, keepsakes, scattering tubes and medallions. Hekman Furniture, sister company of Howard Miller, offers superior-quality contract-grade furniture to funeral homes and cemeteries at factory-direct pricing. For information on memorial products or furniture, Sarah or MaryAnne at 1.866.763.0485. “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

Since 1972...

Astral’s Work Family Has Been Creating Caskets To Celebrate a

“Life Well Lived”

Family Owned & Operated Customer Service:

800.278.7252 www.astralindustries.com

BOOTH #1019

EXHIBITOR PROFILES

Huntington National Bank (#766) Huntington National Bank, a federally chartered national bank, established in 1866. Huntington has a specialty group dedicated to the funeral and cemetery industry. We provide cemeteries and funeral homes trustee, investment and escrow services across the United States. Denise Stone at 1.866.737.4590 or denise. [email protected]. ICO Uniforms (#229) ICO delivers wear-to-work apparel programs that help companies maintain a consistent and professional image with stylish clothing people actually like wearing. We corporate programs with extensive in-stock collections, complete size ranges, flexible company storefronts, dedicated management and intra-company communication.

Implant Recycling (#1308) Implant Recycling is pledged to conduct its business in accordance with the highest standard of crematory practice and to be ever mindful of the very personal nature of the business, together with its community and public responsibility. us at 1.877.446.4544 or info@implantrecycling. com to find out about our new Maximizer program. www.implantrecycling.com

Infinite Innovations (#1155) Since 1987, Infinite Innovations has been a leading supplier of auto parts and accessories for the limousine, funeral car and specialty vehicle industry. Unlike our competitors, we are the only central stocking warehouse for limousines, hearses and Sprinter vans authorized by both GM and Ford. Over 30 years of commitment and service to our customers. On the web at www.infparts.com

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ICCFA Magazine

Ingram Construction (#731) Ingram Construction Co. Inc. specializes in mausoleum and columbarium design and construction. Since 1978, we have built over 672 projects in thirty-eight states. We are a design/ build firm with a staff consisting of engineers, master planners, construction managers and craftsmen who perform or direct every aspect of design and construction. We can be reached at 1.800.346.3395 or 601.856.4906.

Inman Shipping Worldwide (#724) Inman Shipping Worldwide is America’s oldest, most comprehensive and most reliable international shipping service. Over the past 40 years, Inman has become the leader in nationwide shipping, offering its same experience, integrity and personal service globally. We guarantee our price and the quality of service that we provide. We are everywhere you need us to be. 1.800.321.0566; www.shipinman.com Intera (#712) Serving the funeral industry for over two decades, Intera specializes in GIS/ GPS mapping, management software, kiosk and data entry. Our Integrated Cemetery Enterprise System (ICES) is a top-grade, affordable cloud platform with a suite of web and mobile applications integrated into a data-centric solution allowing cemeteries and funeral homes to access their data anywhere, anytime on any device. 1.888.483.7885; www.intera.us JST Architects (#525) JST Architects specializes in the unique requirements of funeral industry and cemetery architecture. Whether it is funeral home design—which must include special knowledge of funeral home operations, preparation and dressing facilities, selections rooms and merchandising centers, viewing areas and reception centers—or crematory design, JST Architects has the knowledge and experience to do the job.

Jack Goodnoe Cemetery Planning & Design (#1211) Every cemetery has unique opportunities, needs and goals for its future growth and development. Jack Goodnoe will work with you to establish strategies for using your land resources to full advantage. He can help you develop a master plan, design sections and columbarium facilities, establish phasing strategies, and secure agency approvals. Please visit our website at www.jackgoodnoe.com or call 734.769.1400.

Johnson Consulting Group (#635) Johnson Consulting Group is a funeral home and cemetery consulting firm specializing in mergers and acquisitions, business valuations, bank lending, ing services, strategic planning, business performance analysis, business performance improvement, customer survey/sales analysis program and incentive compensation programs. us today at 1.888.250.7747 or visit us at www.JohnsonConsulting.com.

Kanga-Woo (#453) Kanga-Woo first-call pouches provide an exclusive, top-quality, tailored-made first-call pouch. Unlike the traditional first call pouch, Kanga-Woo’s technology presents a more efficient first-call pouch that focuses on ease and use that standard pouches miss. Visit www.Kanga-Woo.com to view the complete line of new features with modern colors and fabric designs. Keith M. Merrick (#508) The Keith M. Merrick Co. Inc. has provided quality and innovative printed memorial products to funeral homes for over 80 years. The family-owned and -operated business does all of its own design and print production in-house. Merrick prides itself in its ability to fill special orders at a fair price. Stop by our booth. “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

If crypt flies don’t keep you up at night, maybe this will. It’s bad enough that crypt flies are probably inhabiting your mausoleums right now. (Those little guys love to breed and feed in these sacred spaces.) But it can go from unsightly to completely unimaginable for your business. Just see what happened at one location in an actual newscast at www.ZontecSolution.com.

(Watch at www.ZontecSolution.com)

Zontec is your best defense against crypt flies: safe, effective, odor-free and operates year-round, used by over 700 cemeteries around the world. Visit our site and see how we can make your mausoleum great again.

www.ZontecSolution.com

Nirvana Adieu

TM

Adieu Nirvana Urn Series Solid Brass Urns & Tealight Cremation Jewelry Sterling Silver 925 Handcrafted with LoveTM

ICCFA Annual Convention & Expo Mandalay Bay Las Vegas, Nevada April 18-21, 2018

www.LoveUrns.com m 888-910-7860

Visit the new and improved www.iccfa.com

US PATENT US D703,415 S

Booth #341

March-April 2018

37

EXHIBITOR PROFILES

Look for the signs in the Expo Hall to spot firsttime exhibitors, PLPA (Pet Loss Professionals Alliance) supplier and 2017 KIP (Keeping it Personal) Award winners.

Look for the KIP Award display in the Expo Hall to learn about the 2017 winners. The winners also will be recognized on the general session stage in the Expo Hall on Friday morning, April 20.

Kelco Supply (#531) Kelco Supply Co. Kryprotek (#626) is the supplier Kryprotek, “the big black box,” is the best Legacy Touch (#428) dedicated Legacy Touch creates superior custom protection available for your mausoleum, to serving staff and customers. For over 20 years, the fingerprint jewelry and keepsakes, bringing funeral professionals. Our core mission comfort to families and residual revenue durable, lightweight, easy-to-use Kryis to provide our clients with the same to partnering funeral homes. Keepsakes protek has been helping cemetery profesexemplary level of service and respect can be shipped within 24 hours, in time sionals contain spills, transport remains that they provide for the deceased and for funeral services. Shareable decedent and keep their facilities clean. Come visit bereaved. “Like you’re there for your PIN allowing orders to be placed at any us at booth #805. www.Kryprotek.com; families, we’re there for you.” Visit time. Provide heartfelt keepsakes while 1.800.826.9406 KelcoSupply.com or call 1.800.328.7720. delivering a proven revenue stream for LA ads (#237) your business, only through Legacy Touch. KMI Since 1994, Columbaria LA ads has (#1061) been an agent KMI Columof change for some of the most prestigious baria Inc. has supplied custom-designed Legacy.com (#228) names in funeral service. Our “Dare to be and -engineered columbaria to the U.S. Different” approach to digital media, social Legacy.com is the leader in the and Canadian markets since 1999. We lead online memorial and obituary market, media, traditional media and PR has built the industry as inventors of the all-alumicollaborating with over 3,500 funeral brands and propelled new sales levels for num niche system with patented security homes and 1,500 newspapers worldwide. funeral providers and suppliers alike. For system. We invite you to see how a KMI In 2015, Tributes.com ed Legacy, fresh, impactful full-service marketing, columbarium can easily fit within your creating the largest obituary network, with call 1.800.991.0625 or visit available space and existing architecture. more than 35 million monthly unique www.LAadsMarketing.com/funeral. www.kmicolumbaria.com; 1.866.562.4744 visitors. Visit our booth to learn how we can help you know and grow your market share, and grab some Garrett’s popcorn. 38

ICCFA Magazine

“Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

VISIT US ON FACEBOOK!

EXHIBITOR PROFILES

LendingUSA (#225) LendingUSA is the #1 financing solution for at-need families, giving funeral directors a new way to help more families afford the services they need. It’s simple pre-approval process takes just minutes, with payment made directly to funeral homes within days. The company also offers ongoing training and to help funeral directors maximize the power of financing. Life Cycle Urns (#217) Life Cycle Urns designs include a range of beautiful candle urns featuring Life Cycle Urns’ signature pattern, the mandala flower. The meaning of the mandala flower is one of connecting the spirit or soul with the cosmos. Other products on display this year include cremation beads, classical cremation jewelry pendants, scattering urns and the Life Cycle Urns Deep Ocean Urn.

Live Oak Bank (#1225) Live Oak Bank specializes in financing solutions for funeral professionals. Beginning with funeral home lending for refinance, acquisition, expansion and renovation and later expanding to provide trust services for pre-need funeral, cemetery merchandise and service and perpetual care cemetery trusts, Live Oak is dedicated to helping funeral professionals succeed. liveoakbank.com/funeral

LoveUrns (#341) Transforming urns into LoveUrns, LoveUrns, LLC. is driven by love—love for craftsmanship, love for quality, love for the memories, love for creating the finest urns. Drawing from over three decades of expertise creating the finest handicrafts, we produce urns that are more a reflection of love than mass production. The complete range can be seen at www.LoveUrns.com.

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ICCFA Magazine

LungForce (#150) Take a break, have some fun and a great cause. Our “Tropics in Paradise”themed booth will feature games where you can test your skill and earn prizes while helping raise money for LungForce (www.lung.org), which fights lung cancer— the #1 killer of women. Stop by and say aloha. Sponsored by Dignity Memorial, www.dignitymemorial.com.

M. Kenny’s Bespoke Custom Tailors (#317) Bespoke Custom Tailors specializes in handcrafted suits and shirts for men and women. Our master tailors possess several years of experience and work with each client to ensure a perfect and precise fit. M. Kenny’s has served funeral directors and the d industry for over 20 years, establishing a footprint as the premier bespoke custom tailor. Visit www.mkennys.com booth 317.

Mabrey Handcrafted Urns (#537) We hand craft personal memories daily. Handmade in our woodshop in Chico, California, by craftsmen (and women), our urns are built with solid hardwoods and feature personal photography, laser engraved personalization, exotic wood inlays and custom care. We’re proud of the high quality urns we produce the oldfashioned way, one at a time in America by people who care.

Madelyn Co. (#1059) Madelyn Co. is a respected keepsake pendant supplier serving funeral directors and their families since 1993. They have always had a simple purpose: to enable others to cope more easily, to hold a source of comfort in their hands and to find peace in their hearts. Please visit our website for our monthly discounted specials. 1.800.788.0807; www.Madelynpendants.com

Matthews Environmental Solutions (#805) Matthews is the proven global leader in creating better ways to run a crematory. With more than 5,000 installations on six continents, no one can match our experience and expertise in helping cremation businesses succeed. Whether your goal is to be more profitable, more productive or more environmentally friendly, count on Matthews for the tools and technology you need. MatthewsEnvironmental.com

Matthews Memorialization (#905) Matthews Memorialization is an industry leader with the most comprehensive suite of solutions for cemeteries and funeral homes, including: bronze and granite memorials and monu­ments, cremation memorialization, mauso­leums, statuary, the highest quality caskets, urns, memorial jewelry and stationery. Matthews offers programs, products and services designed to help you grow your business and help families move from grieving to remembrance. matw.com Mausoleum Supply (#1425) The Mausoleum Protector (MP) is the most advanced casket enclosure. MPs are the only enclosure to offer lifting handles, providing an easier and safer entombment process. Pete Flood has made several product improvements to his original MausoGuard design, including locking rails with compression legs, rail t clips and a cold-weather rail design. Mausoleum Supply, 1.863.646.2222 or www.mausoleumsupply.com. McCleskey Mausoleums (#605) Since 1961, McCleskey has been a trusted partner with knowledgeable personnel who have designed/constructed over 1,000 custom mausoleums in over 40 states. As market conditions changed, McCleskey developed innovative concepts that better served clients, creating a personal approach that resulted in outstanding repeat customers. McCleskey professionals are now ready to discuss your next project. Corporate office: 1.800.622.5759. “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

experience. Create C Cr reeaat atee an an

Your Wilbert Licensee can help: Educational VIDEOS SELECTION ROOM presentations Creative PERSONALIZATION COMMITTAL SERVICE setup Unique MEMORIALIZATION MERCHANDISE Local

this video and add to your website today 2:20

vimeo.com/wilbertfuneralservices/CremationEducation

wilbert.com

EXHIBITOR PROFILES

McLean, Koehler, Sparks & Hammond (#616) MKS&H is a A firm specializing in ac­counting, tax and business consulting servi­ces for cemeteries, funeral homes and their related trust funds. Services include financial statement preparation, audits (entity, trust and excess-income), reviews and compilations, entity and trust tax returns, tax planning, bookkeeping, cash flow management and merger and acquisition reporting. us at 1.866.649.1903 or visit us at www.mksh.com.

Meadow Hill (#527) Make printtaking fast and easy using our Thumbies app and scanner. Prints are stored indefinitely for both keepsakes and identity authentication in our Print Vault, making orders easy long after final disposition. Last Touch gives you a true chain of custody, allowing comparison of prints taken at different times. Visit our booth or call 1.877.THUMBIES for more details. www.meadowhillco.com Mekus Tanager (#413) Mekus Tana­ger is an architecture, planning and interior design firm serving the cemetery and funeral home industry for over 33 years. We have completed over 275 projects for cemeteries and funeral homes across the U.S. and internationally, and have developed innovative concepts to best serve our clients. Our professionals are ready to discuss your next project. 312.661.0778; www.mekustanager.com; [email protected]; www.memoridiamond.com 42

ICCFA Magazine

Memorial Business Systems (#661) MBS-NEXUS, America’s premier cemetery, funeral, cremation and GIS color-coded mapping software, invites you to explore its countless -friendly features that turbocharge your single or multiple operation. Used by over 600 cemeteries nationwide. New logistical calendar coordinates your entire organization. Enter contracts, enter payments and run any of the 250+ reports for sales, trusts and commissions. Frequent free system upgrades. Booth #661.

Memorial Reefs International (#1105) Our undersea memorial gardens provide an alternative to traditional burial that builds artificial reefs, aiding vital ecological habitats throughout the globe. Offer your environmentally conscious clients and their loved ones a unique resting place that creates and perpetuates coral reefs for generations to come. Pre-need, at-need and post-need. www.MemorialReefs.International

Memoriams by Ancestry (#124) Memoriams is a free service that allows you to place obituaries in thousands of newspapers in North America. You can immediately see the price, send a proof to the family and submit and pay in one simple process. Designed with funeral directors and newspapers, Memoriams allows you to focus on the families you serve. Memory Glass (#334) Memory Glass, the original glass keepsake company, remains the market leader since 2002. Skilled artists create memorial keep­sakes utilizing a small amount of cremated remains suspended within solid glass (soil or sand can also be used). Fingerprints can be laser engraved directly onto any piece, creating a more uniquely personal memorial. Become a vendor by emailing [email protected] or call 1.866.488.4554.

Merendino Cemetery Care (#552) Experience the difference. Merendino Cemetery Care offers exceptional mowing, trimming, interment and cremation garden construction services to clients in the Midwest and Northeast. Specializing in cemetery care, the Merendino team receives ongoing sensitivity as well as quality and operational training. We are here to help you bring the best possible experience to the families you serve.

Messenger (#429) Messenger has been the leading manufacturer of funeral stationery products, including books, service folders, acknowledgements, prayer cards and laminated bookmarks, since 1913. We also lead the way in technology solutions with our digital Expression Guest Registry, Floral Xpress, Xpress Donations, Legacy Touch Keepsakes, Make It! personal printing software and more. Satisfaction guaranteed— it’s our promise. Experience the difference. www.messengerstationery.com

Mid-States Recycling & Refining (#1331) Mid-States Recycling & Refining is an industryleading precious metal refiner dating back to1981. You are invited to witness the processing of your metallic recyclables from start to finish with our open-door policy. We are fully EPA compliant, which means you’ll never have to be concerned about future liability for improper disposal of solid, hazardous and bio-waste byproducts. www.midstatesrecycling.com Mopec (#149) Mopec pro­vides American-made equipment and laboratory products to the autopsy, mortuary, pathology and histology industries. Our reputation is built on decades of superior customer service, specializing in consultation and custom manufacturing. Mopec is committed to deg budget-friendly equipment to enhance your facility’s safety, flexibility and efficiency. This is why we are “Better By Design.” www.mopec.com

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’s

®

Online Courses & Libraries | Scripts & Sales Tools Sign Up Today for Consistent Sales Success

Complete Pre-Need Sales Training Program & Materials For Sales Teams and Individual Counselors

Lead Lead Generating Generating ner n era g Consumer Consumer s s

Tested. Proven. Results. T thesystemuniversity.com The Sales Training Program of the ICCFA

Visit the new and improved www.iccfa.com

March-April 2018

43

EXHIBITOR PROFILES National Alliance for Grieving Children (#155) The National Alliance for Grieving Children (501c3 nonprofit) advocates and educates to promote awareness of the needs of children and teens grieving a death and provides resources for anyone who wants to them. The NAGC offers online education, hosts an annual symposium and maintains a national database of children’s bereavement organizations. National Cemetery istration (#154) The National Cemetery istration (NCA) provides lasting tributes for Veterans their spouses and certain eligible dependents. NCA allows veterans to leave their families a legacy of peace, a legacy of dignified memorialization and a financial legacy.

National Crematory Solutions (#126) National Crematory Solutions is your total solutions company when it comes to the world of refractory repair and machine maintenance. We offer our clients not only impeccable service, but peace of mind. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, via our troubleshooting line to answer any questions or concerns our clients have. NCSC: honesty, integrity, respect. National Mortuary Shipping (#856) NMS assists hometown directors with out-of-town deaths and has been the funeral industry’s trusted source as a full-service provider for over 35 years. We are proud to offer domestic and international shipping, cremations, removal services, embalming, livery, airline transfers, flight booking, graveside services and disinterments, as well as assistance with shipping requirements, death certificates and airline requirements.

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NFDA (#512) NFDA is the leading and largest funeral director association in the world. NFDA is the strongest advocate for the funeral service profession. We offer comprehensive educational resources and access to the largest network of funeral service experts. us in Salt Lake City, Utah, October 14-17, 2018, for the NFDA International Convention & Expo. Visit www.nfda.org today.

Noble Metal Solutions (#1337) We are an industrial refinery headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, serving the deathcare industry by handling the refining of their post-cremation metals. We are known for innovative free products we provide our customers to make the operator’s job faster and easier. We operate under total transparency and always invite our customers to view the actual refining process on their metals.

Nomis (#506) Nomis Publications Inc. publishes the most widely circulated media for the funeral and cemetery industries. Annual publications include the Funeral Home & Cemetery Directory and Buyer’s Guide. Funeral Home & Cemetery News, a trade newspaper, is published monthly. www.nomispublications.com offers a comprehensive online directory, FH&C News online and online classifieds. P.O. Box 5159, Youngstown, OH 44514; 1.800.321.7479; Fax 1.800.321.9040; www.nomispublications.com; [email protected] OM Stone (#320) OM Stone is a global leader in creating Bronzstone granite memorials, columbaria, public and civic art while providing concept and design. A family-owned and -operated company since 1947, we are innovators offering GLASS ART laser technology with lasting color and dedicated to serve by “The Values We Live By.” See more on our website, www.myomstone.com.

OpusXenta (#148) OpusXenta are leaders in providing cemetery software solutions that are critical to the success of the cemetery’s strategy while also assisting them in improving customer experience, reducing sales friction and driving revenue growth so that they can focus on their strategy and not the systems that underpin it. www.opusxenta.com

Osiris Funeral Home Software (#755) Osiris Funeral Home Software by Funeral Director’s Resource Inc. delivers funeral home software as a service with no upfront cost and no long term obligation, just a low monthly fee starting at $65 per month. Accessible from any computer or even your smartphone, Osiris uses your existing forms and can integrate with your website and Quickbooks.

Parting Pro (#514) Parting Pro is the #1 all-in-one software that helps funeral homes grow their cremation business. Innovative funeral homes are making more money with less staff. Families who expect a modern, yet dignified, provider choose Parting Pro funeral homes. “Traditional” is changing. Are you keeping up? Visit www.PartingPro.com or email at [email protected].

ages International (#331) ages International leads the industry in eco-friendly funeral products. Our extensive selection of biodegradable urns, scattering tubes and wicker caskets will exceed your families’ expectations. We have the profitable solutions you need, to cater to the non-traditional funeral consumer. Visit booth #331 to see what’s new and become a partner provider of aGreenerFuneral.org. ages International, “The Natural Choice.” 1.888.480.6400

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Investing for the future — because forever is a long time With more than 20 years’ experience in managing endowment care funds, we’ll help ensure they withstand the test of time — long after the last plot has been purchased. Call for a complimentary review of your endowment care investments. Pat Severo, CIMA®, AWM

Managing Director – Financial Advisor

SB Wealth Strategies

9665 Wilshire Boulevard, 3rd Floor | Beverly Hills, CA 90212 Phone: (310) 205-7797 | Toll free: (866) 657-8876 Fax: (310) 205-7727 | [email protected] Non-deposit investment products offered through RBC Wealth Management are not FDIC insured, are not a deposit or other obligation of, or guaranteed by, a bank, and are subject to investment risks, including possible loss of the principal amount invested. © 2017 RBC Wealth Management, a division of RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Member NYSE/FINRA/SIPC.

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EXHIBITOR PROFILES

are Inc. (#618) are Inc. is the funeral industry’s only collaboration software with integrated case management. are allows families and funeral directors to collaborate on arrangements anytime, anywhere, using any internet-connected device. Clients consistently report saving 30 to 45 minutes per arrangement in addition to improved efficiency, allowing more time to help families plan a service. Visit www.are.com to request a free demo. PETS LLC (#659) PETS LLC provides a proven online tracking software that electronically tracks every individual pet and offers an established methodology for business. Bringing a new standard to the industry, this software helps pet cremation companies improve customer satisfaction, increase sales, streamline the implementation of business services and establish credibility with new clientele. Visit www.trustedpetcremation.com to learn more. Physicians Mutual (#1424) Innovative products, proven solutions: That’s what you’ll get when you the Physicians Mutual family. Through our collaboration with Precoa, with its comprehensive ProActive Preneed system, we provide funeral home owners with real results and top-of-the-line products. Let us help you grow, maximize and protect your pre-need business. Call us today at 1.800.974.1802 or visit physiciansmutual.com/preneed. Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science (#628) PIMS is one of the premier funeral service educational institutions in the country. The institute offers three different programs, in-residence, which vary from three to five trimesters in length, and four different bachelor degree options. PIMS OnLine now enables the student to pursue professional funeral service education at a distance from home or office via the internet. 1.800.933.5808; www.pims.edu

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PlotBox (#1141) PlotBox is a leading death-care management solution helping cemeteries operate to world-class standards. It is the world’s first solution fully integrating software and mapping. The number and scope of problems this innovation solves revolutionizes the way death-care facilities both operate and grow. “The team is great, always quick to respond. Love PlotBox!”— David Massey, Park View Cemetery. 857.301.7810; [email protected]; www.plotbox.io.

Polyguard (#1205) Polyguard has designed and engineered the most innovative polymer burial vaults on the market. The Hercules and Atlas vaults are aesthetically pleasing, easy to personalize and no special equipment needed for setting and installing at the cemetery. We offer a full line of cremation urn vaults and infant vaults. See all these products in booth 1205. See you in Vegas!

Pontem Software (#753) Pontem Software has been serving the technology needs of cemetery managers for over 30 years, resulting in software functionality that comes only with years of industry experience. Pontem’s best-inclass data management, integrated GIS mapping and online services integrate with innovative partner products providing contract and ing management, 360-degree imagery and advanced sales tools. Call 1.888.742.2378 or visit Pontem.com. Precoa (#1025) Precoa is committed to enriching life through meaningful connection. In a crowded marketplace, we stand alone with the highest quality, fullyintegrated pre-need system in America. From product, to customer service, to marketing, to consumer experience—we provide the most comprehensive solution to connect funeral homes and families, beginning to end. Learn more at Precoa. com.

Premier Columbaria (#1213) Highest quality columbaria at extraordinary prices. Premier’s belief is that good design and high quality should be affordable. We focus on deg and manufacturing the best value columbaria and cremation memorial products. From a large custom project to the smallest order, our staff will strive to exceed your expectations. Installation available worldwide. Premier has manufactured memorials since 1896. 1.800.426.5973; www.premiercolumbaria.com

Progressive Environmental Services (#435) Progressive Environmental Services is the industry leader in the recycling and refining of post-cremation metal scrap in both an ethical and environmentally conscious manner. Progressive Environmental Services; 1531 South Grove Ave., Suite 104, Barrington, IL 60010; 1.800.323.9785; www.progressive-environmental.com PSM (#1257) The selective memorialist chooses PSM for the unsured quality of our portraits in porcelain, SLIM enameled steel, DEDO classic and now CERACUT, which pushes past the boundaries of customization. We offer a vast choice of cast bronze frames and appliques, including standing frames for niches. At PSM, we are shaping the future of portraits. Call 1.866.810.9500; email [email protected]; visit www.psmportraits.com. Qeepr (#958) Qeepr specializes in interactive, family-focused technology for cemeteries and funeral homes that creates new and meaningful experiences for families. Turn every cemetery record into a beautiful, social online memorial on your website. Qeepr Mobile provides accurate cemetery directions, and allows visitors to scan a monument to reveal the tribute. Digital kiosks display mapping, records, guestbook and more. www.Qeepr.com

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TELEVISION ADVERTISING TV is an outdated advertising medium.  False “While digital advertising generates leads, no other media captures attention and wins families like TV. You can’t afford to skip television or run weak ads, and still reach decision-makers.”

TV is the most expensive medium.  True

 False

TV is the most effective way to reach adults over 45.  True

Courtney Gould Miller COO & Head of Digital, MKJ Marketing

 False

Cable advertising has been our best dollars spent.

We tried ads our local TV station made for us. But, MKJ ads work.

When we run our MKJ TV ads business increases.

Kasi Welch Baker Nalley Pickle Welch Funeral Home & Crematory

John Williams Farley Funeral Homes & Crematory

Marc H. Burr Burr Funeral Home & Crematory

OUR FREE DEMO AT

MKJMARKETING.COM/TV-DEMO

Questions? Call 888-655-1566

©2018 MKJ Marketing

 True

EXHIBITOR PROFILES Raj Urns (#153) Recently re-branded as Raj Urns, we provide a large selection of high quality, high value cremation urns to the funeral industry. Sourced from only the premier vendors of India and Vietnam, we proudly stand behind every urn we sell. Please visit our website, www.rajurns.com, for a complete catalog of products. Phone: 1.800.845.3665; email: [email protected].

Randolph Rose Collection (#137) Family owned and operated , we specialize in the finest quality bronze sculpture, planters, urns and fountains. The extensive collection includes life size pieces depicting children, families and pets.Our elegant and timeless pieces draw interest and enhance the landscape as well as interior design.We can create custom designs for any project or inspiration. www.randolphrose.com; 1.800.423.2047

ReadyCap Lending (#615) ReadyCap Lending is a national lender that specializes in the funeral industry. Each member of our team of industry specialists has 10-20 years of experience lending to the death care community we serve. Our loan programs are designed to maximize business cash flow and the creation of wealth for our clients. Visit us at www. readycaplending.com/specialtyfinance.

Regions Bank (#859) Regions Funeral & Cemetery Trust Services takes a consultative approach to providing comprehensive solutions that meet the investment and trust istration needs of our clients. Learn how our dedicated team can help you. Call David Falconer, director of istrative services, at 713.244.8083.

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Resomation (#248) Resomation—also known as water cremation—is the new alternative to flame cremation and burial. Using water instead of flame, this new end-of-life option offers people a gentler, more environmentally friendly alternative for their funeral arrangements. Resomation is the company behind this innovation in the funeral industry. www.resomation.com; [email protected]

Ring Ring Marketing (#129) Would you like to get minimum of 10 more at need calls in a month? Ring Ring Marketing helps funeral homes get more at-need calls from online direct to your phone line. We offer a 60-day money back guarantee. Stop by our booth to get a free 100-page customized online marketing plan catered to your funeral home. www.RingRingMarketing.com

Riviera Tailors (#411) Since 1962, Riviera Tailors has been the leading custom tailor from Hong Kong specializing in custom-made shirts, suits and uniforms. Our quality and value will make you come back to us again and again with confidence. Visit George Balani at our booth for a com­plete range of fabrics for shirts and suits. 718.809.4234; email: [email protected] RK Productions (#237) The Everafter Collection, unique carved stone urns, keepsakes and candle holder urns all handmade in North America. Original designs; custom engraving available. Hand-painted, real natural carved stone designed with families in mind. Celebrating life with art, all at very affordable pricing. We are the largest North American producer of handmade stone products. Toll free, 1.888.275.7763; www.rkurns.com

Roberts & Downey (#534) Roberts & Downey Chapel Equipment, a family-owned business, has designed and custom hand-crafted fine hardwood chapel furniture since 1987. View our products online at www.robertsanddowney.com. Call us with your questions at 1.800.331.9093. Rogue Art Glass (#608) American MemoryCraft urns and keepsakes from Rogue Art Glass, are the highest quality and still the best value, while being 100 percent made in America. Call 541.858.2555 or visit our website www.artglassmemorials.com for more information. East Coast U.S. distributor partner sought. S&S/Superior Coach Co. Inc. (#847) We are the industry’s premier specialty vehicle manufacturer, tracing our roots back to 1876. With two distinctive and prestigious funeral vehicle brand names—S&S and Superior—and a range of distinctively styled, highquality products, we are poised for future growth by aggressively meeting the needs of the professional vehicle market. For more information on our extensive vehicle offerings: www.ss-superior.com; 1.888.324.7895.

Salesgenie (#518) Salesgenie is powered by City Directories. We’ll help you target the right audience. Whether you’re searching for consumers with preplanning needs or for businesses with funeral service needs, we can help you find your best prospects. Call Mike Snyder at 1.866.313.1843 and ask about our conference specials.

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EXHIBITOR PROFILES Sauder Funeral Products (#1119) We’ve made furniture for 80 years and have been making caskets for more than a decade in Archbold, Ohio. You don’t have to sacrifice profit to succeed in a changing market. With high-quality caskets that cost less to produce, you can maintain your margins and savings along to families. Use Sauder caskets for burial or cremation. 1.866.419.3010; www.sauderfuneralproducts.com

SecuriGene (#528) SecuriGene’s DNA capsule is the new standard for memorialization, with over 3000 funeral homes worldwide now offering our services to families. DNA preservation helps families secure the genetic legacy of their loved one for many generations to come, while opening doors for DNA ancestry testing and genetic health testing. Sign up for free at www.DNALegacy.com or visit us at www.SecuriGene.com. Security National Life (#324) We provide life insurance and annuity products to fund prearranged and prepaid funerals. We believe the preneed industry is as service-oriented as our funeral home client base. Our goal is providing client relationships with competitive pre-need products and services. Our strategy is educating clients on how our service approach to marketing increases their ability to serve families.

Select Merchant Solutions (#1343) Select Merchant Solutions lends a friendly personal touch to help funeral homes find processing solutions best suited for their needs to lower credit card processing costs and increase their bottom line. A five-minute phone call to Select Merchant Solutions can save your business thousands of dollars. Call now for better rates and service. Guaranteed. us 24/7 at 321.244.3031.

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The ICCFA is the only all-inclusive association in the profession, representing the interests of cemeteries, funeral homes and crematories. Stop by the ICCFA Plaza for information on hip with the ICCFA, JFDA and/or PLPA, as well as with ALPAR. Get information about ICCFA hip benefits and what’s happening with the association, and find out about The System University online pre-need sales training programs. And don’t forget to stop by to enter convention contests. Right, ICCFA hip Manager Julie Bly and Executive Director Nadira Baddeliyanage at the2017 ICCFA Plaza talking to Dan Lodermeier and 2018 ICCFA Annual Convention CoChair Andy Lopez. Left, Gary O’Sullivan, CCFE, talks to attendees at the 2017 convention about The System University pre-need training program, which he designed with David Shipper and which is offered through the ICCFA.

Above, GO TO BOOTH #332 for information about the ICCFA Educational Foundation, which raises money to fund scholarships that each year help dozens of people attend ICCFA educational programs, including ICCFA University and the Wide World of Sales Conference. Pictured at the 2017 booth are Jay Brammer, Doug Miller and Educational Foundation President Jim Price, CCFE, CCrE. Left, GO TO BOOTH #832, across from the ICCFA Plaza, to meet with PLPA , learn about the PLPA’s programs and see some of the pet-themed products suppliers offer. Pictured at the 2017 PLPA booth are Jodi Clock, LP; Jill Muenich; and Peggy Hoyt.

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ICCFA Magazine

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Trusted. Reliable. Secure. Doing the Right Thing... For more than 112 years, Homesteaders Life

Company has been trusted to make the right decisions about funeral funding products – decisions that are good for consumers and funeral professionals.

Homesteaders adopts a 360-degree view when deg our products, balancing security with profitability and deg tailored solutions that meet the diverse needs of policy owners, funeral homes and agents. As a result, our robust product portfolio offers reliable pre-need funding solutions that can meet the needs of any funeral business. Above all, Homesteaders exists to pay claims. It’s a promise we make to consumers together with our funeral home customers, and it influences nearly every business decision we make. Our commitment to always doing the right thing is one of the many reasons we are the most often-used pre-need funding company in America.* Thousands of funeral professionals agree that Homesteaders is the trusted, reliable and secure choice for dependable pre-need funding. Learn more about our commitment to doing it right at homesteaderslife.com/commitment.

The most often-used pre-need funding company in America.* homesteaderslife.com

800-477-3633

*According to a 2017 independent brand tracking study commissioned by Homesteaders and performed by McGuire Research.

EXHIBITOR PROFILES

Shiva Shade (#559) ShivaShade eco-friendly products made in U.S.A.: Absorb-It (for purging), Blood BeGone soap (removes dried blood, makeup and fingerprint ink), Very Berry or Lavendar (room deodorizer to neutralize de-com). Gel caps for coolers. Biomint used for viewing, shipping and cremations. Suture BeGone adhesive bonds skin or cranium (dries clear; put makeup over it). BodySealer, a hermetically sealed biocontainment pouch. Sich Casket Co. (#1129) Funeral homes no longer must sacrifice profitability to offer premier-quality caskets at affordable prices. Sich provides a complete selection of exquisitely crafted solid hardwood, veneer and metal caskets, all designed for the North American market and priced well below comparable domestic brands. Sich caskets are sold through distributors throughout the U.S. and Canada. Call 1.888.317.1929 or visit www.SichCasket.com. SinoSource International (#813) SinoSource has proudly been serving the funeral industry since 1994. We take pride in our high standards of quality and personalized service, supplying a line of products including cremation urns, caskets and memorial items. We fully stand behind our products, and are confident to serve funeral professionals with an exceptional selection of merchandise at the best value.

Skyways Media (#1253) Skyways Media is the leading supplier of individually designed funeral planning guides. Our guides are an invaluable resource for your community and are an excellent marketing tool for your business. The most interesting fact, however, is that they are free to your business. That’s right, no cost. Come and see us and find out more. www.skyways-media.com; 1.646.810.5748 52

ICCFA Magazine

Southern Cemetery, Cremation & Funeral Association (#157) We cherish our Southern traditions while being focused on the future. The SCCFA serves our through enhancing our profession, networking and educational programs. We invite you to come by our booth, as well as ing us on July 1517 at our annual convention at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. “Life’s Short, Be Southern”; www.SCCFA.info Southland National Insurance Co. (#516) Offering funeral homes innovative resources to secure more pre-need and final expense policies from a company that is dedicated to adding a personal touch. Please visit southlandnational.com or email [email protected] for more information.

Southwest Cargo (#254) Southwest Cargo understands the care and respect that is required when transporting loved ones to their final resting place. Our Southwest service provides professional and reliable transportation for funeral homes and mortuary services. After applying for an , you may book your human remains shipment by calling Southwest at 1.888.922.9525. SpartaCraft (#360) SpartaCraft has been providing hand-crafted heirloom-quality flag cases to funeral homes and the United States military for over 25 years. Our American-made flag cases are a perfect way for funeral directors to create lasting impressions for veteran services. We offer same-day shipping and custom engraving. us at sales@ spartacraft.com or 1.800.282.8044. www.spartacraft.com

SRS Computing (#718) SRS Computing is the most progressive industry leader in custom funeral home, cemetery and crematory management software. We believe in delivering zerodefect customer service while cultivating long-term client relationships. Our products create a seamless process for single-site firms to multi-location corporations. With its incomparable -friendly software, SRS strives to provide superior management solutions.

Star Granite & Bronze (#1312) Star Granite and Bronze offers a comprehensive product line of bronze and granite memorials which include elegant private estate mausoleums. We stock a large inventory of import memorials, which means quicker delivery times. For superior quality memorials blended with excellent customer service, let Star be your preferred vendor of choice. Call 1.800.241.7242 or visit our web site at www.stargranite.com. Sunset Memorial & Stone (#328) Sunset is an industryleading custom columbarium manufacturer. Raising the bar in industry standards, Sunset is recognized for its innovative engineering, skilled craftsmanship and producing custom columbaria at a competitive price. Sextons appreciate our 100 percent granite exteriors, simplified granite door system, “key locked” inner aluminum security door, distinctive Ascension model and aluminum/nylene advantage. www.sunsetstone.com; 1.800.363.3393

Supernova/AP Lazer (#935) AP Lazer excels in the death-care industry. Our two-part laser machine was made for engraving large and heavy items such as monuments and caskets, with the accuracy to laser cut and engrave smaller items such as urns and keepsakes. Stop by our booth #935, visit aplazer.com, or call 1.800.585.8617 to find out how we can help your business thrive. “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

EXHIBITOR PROFILES Tecstone Granite (#1158) For over 30 years, Tecstone has been a leading provider of granite memorials, columbaria, mausolea and artistic lawn features to America’s top retail memorialists and cemeteries. From simple flush markers to towering obelisks, we not only provide granite—we help you sell it! For more information, please call us at 1.800.562.0777 or visit www.tecstonegranite.com

Terravas (#1157) Cemetery flower vases. No more stolen costly vases! The Ionic vase is an elegant yet heavyduty (PP) molded and embossed bronze replica that makes an excellent replacement vase. Low price makes it thief deterrent. UV protected means no fading. Low liability threat due to no rust or corrosion. Visit us: www.terravas.com. us: 831.444.5915 or sales@terravas. com.

The Champion Co. (#625) The Champion Co. is the leading manufac­turer focused exclusively on embalming solutions. With a full line of specialty embalming products for difficult cases as well as general embalming products, Champion is the right choice for all your embalming needs. When you only have one chance, choose the embalming solution experts—Champion. To learn more, call 1.800.328.0115 or visit www.thechampioncompany.com. The Davey Tree Expert Co. (#1231) The Davey Tree Expert Co.’s 9,000 employees provide diversified tree services, grounds maintenance and environmental consulting services for the residential, utility, commercial and government markets throughout the U.S. and Canada. Davey has provided proven solutions for a growing world since 1880 and have been employee-owned for 38 years. For more information, call 954.303.3333 or visit www.davey.com.

Caring for every need, every day.

The Davis Whitehall Co. (#432) Davis Whitehall creates one-of-a-kind customized cremation urns. Handcrafted in America, using domestic and exotic hardwoods, each urn is designed to honor and memorialize the uniqueness of every individual. “When preserving a memory, it must be perfect.”—Terry School, president of The Davis Whitehall Co. us at 1.800.818.8414 or design@ davis-whitehall.com. Visit our website at www.davis-whitehall.com The Dodge Co. (#1325) Since 1893, we have manufactured and distributed supplies for your funeral home, crematory or cemetery. We offer a complete line of domestic and imported urns, vaults and cre­mation supplies. Dodge distributes memor­ial products through glass remembrance, capture bead keepsakes and DodgePortraits. Our technology partner CFS provides revenue-generating websites to over 3,000 customers. Please like us on Facebook. 1.800.443.6343; https://shop.dodgeco.com; www.dodgeco.com

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EXHIBITOR PROFILES The Foresight Companies (#116) At The Foresight Companies, we are ionate about the funeral and cemetery profession. Our boutique business and financial consul­ting firm has a singular focus: our client’s success. From ing, strategic business analysis, valuations, merger/acquisitions, human resources, s receivable management to surveys, we understand the business of doing business. Visit our booth and tell us what you’re thinking; we’ll listen. The Tribute Companies (#910) Your success begins with Tribute. For over 40 years, our company has provided cemeteries with quality solutions to meet their management and development needs. Our divisions include: cemetery professionals offering generations of experience; design and construction creating value through custom-build services; precast products, mausoleum crypts, cremation niches, lawn crypts and burial vaults. us for your quality solution. 262.367.9991; www.tributeinc.com

Tile Artisans (#1405) Tile Artisans, a Florida-based company, is one of America’s largest providers of memorial portraits in porcelain and steel. The company has recently introduced granite urns and flat markers. The company is the leading fabricator of sacred art murals, art in public places murals and historical murals in porcelain tile or hand-cut glass mosaic. 1.800.601.4199; memorials@tileartisans. com; www.artisanmemorialportraits.com; www.tileartisans.com Timberland Urns (#830) We are artists. Our mission is to create unique and artfully designed memorial urns with a personal touch. Based on our strong background in sculpting, carving and experience in handling different materials, we offer a variety of beautifully crafted urns and keepsakes for both people and pets. 651.688.0875; www.timberlandurns.com 54

ICCFA Magazine

Trigard (#452) Why should you visit a vault company’s booth while at ICCFA? You want to grow, and so do we. Trigard has proven tools to help you generate new revenue streams. We will help put money back in your pocket by increasing your average vault sale and introducing you to new cremation solutions that will help you grow. 1.800.637.1992; www.trigard.com

Trust 100 (#614) Trust 100 specializes in pre-need, having demonstrated longevity and stability since 1979. We have the programs, the systems, the strategies and the people to help funeral home owners prepare for the new era of funeral service. Partnering with Trust 100 assures you have a committed focus for the future of your business. William Bonacorda, 708.417.1208; wbonacorda@ trust100.com; www.trust100.com

Tukios (#117) Tukios is the largest tribute video software in the industry. Thousands of funeral homes create a video in less than 10 minutes. Sick of scanning photos and burning DVDs? Stop by and see how to save time and money. Tukios is also seemlessly integrated with Batesville, Messenger, CFS, Funeral Innovations, FuneralTech, Bass Mollett, MKJ, LeapTie, Tributes, Directors Advantage and Qeepr.

US Cremation Equipment (#619) A manufacturer of high-quality human and pet cremation systems specifically designed for the demands of your business. Our company also offers a full range of services related to the zoning, permitting, installation, operation and service of our cremation equipment. We also offer a complete line of urns and memorial products. We look forward to meeting you. Enjoy the conference!

Vantage Products (#757) Vantage Products Corp. is a premier manufacturer and provider of a wide range of funeral and death-care interment products. Vantage has spent years of R&D to create and provide products that exceed all expectations, made from engineered materials that deliver superior performance for the ultimate in strength and protection. Vantage Products Corp., 960 Almon Road, Covington, GA 30014; 1.800.481.3303. Vezzani SPA (#132) Vezzani—everything you’ll ever need—www.vezzani.us. Seventy years in business, manufacturing vases (bronze, porcelain, stainless steel); plaques; urns; funeral equipment; mortician equipment; picture frames and lots more. Technically, everything manufactured in Italy with our several factories. Please email [email protected]. In Las Vegas, booth #132. Vital ICE App/ xeVitalboards (#133) Vital ICE App, winner of the EMS World Innovation Award, is an opportunity for a funeral home to exclusively partner with their local fire/police/EMS in the efforts of saving lives. Vital ICE App is custombranded with sponsoring funeral home and provided free to the public. Amazing community outreach and media explosion from local newspaper, radio and television. 1.800.577.1703; www.vitalboards.com

webCemeteries.com (#651) Manage your records securely and connect with your customers using webCemeteries.com award-winning software. See our new map search with GPS navigation and ecommerce, our new arboretum module for tree management, and more. All of our tools integrate with Cemetery360 ground level views to help showcase your property. We can also scan and enter your paper records into our system.

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EXHIBITOR PROFILES Wilbert Funeral Service (#841) The Wilbert Group offers diverse products and services, including burial vaults and cremation products through the Wilbert Funeral Services network of licensees; Pierce chemicals and related supplies; Signet Supply caskets; granite products through Wilbert Cemetery Construction; monuments through Wilbert Memorials; and funeral service education through Pierce Colleges. Commemorating life with respect is the essence of what we do. Visit www.wilbert.com.

of standard and custom designed monuments, grass markers, slants and bevels, benches, statues, vases, columbariums, Xiamen Olympia Stone (#321) and mausoleums. Welcome to visit Olympia Stone is a leading manufacturer www.theolympiastone.com for more inforand supplier of cemetery and public monu- mation. us at 86.592.506.1510 or ments with a family–owned factory located [email protected] r in Xiamen, China. We offer a wide variety Make sure your free 60-word profile is in next year’s March-April issue of ICCFA Magazine! Start by g up early for the 2019 ICCFA Convention & Expo in Charlotte, North Carolina.

A

WithumSmith & Brown PC (#658) Withum is a full-service public ing and consulting firm serving private and publicly-held companies, with specialized to more than a dozen major industry sectors, including death-care services. The team of 1000+ staff across 14 offices brings a unique level of quality to every client engagement, providing greater assurance, increased profitability and long-term growth.

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by ICCFA Magazine Managing Editor Susan Loving [email protected]

ICCFA Magazine spotlight alan@thegardens cemetery.org ➤Alan

MacKinnon, CCE, is president of The Gardens at Gethsemane, Boston, Massachusetts.

➤He started at the

S E R V I C E T O FA M I L I E S & C O M M U N I T I E S

Creating a garden for a specific group is not uncommon —The Gardens at Gethsemane had done it before. But building a chapel at the cemetery for the Orthodox community took Alan MacKinnon on a journey that was both physical (through Greece, Russia, Lebanon and Italy) and spiritual, and led to a change in mission and focus for the entire cemetery.

cemetery 28 years ago as grounds foreman for 5 1/2 years. He then served as general manager for seven years. In 2002, he formed a nonprofit corporation called The Gardens at Gethsemane which acquired the 22-acre cemetery.

➤MacKinnon is a graduate of ICCFA Uni-

versity and attended the ICCFAU master’s program, as well. He has been a professor at ICCFA University in the College of International Studies, talking about Orthodox cemetery and funeral traditions.

➤He has served as secretary-treasurer of the Massachusetts Cemetery Association. www.thegardenscemetery.org

➤The Gardens at Gethsemane is sur-

rounded by the 179-acre Brook Farm. In 1870, a German immigrant and wealthy Boston brewer bought the farm property and formed the Association of the Evangelical Lutheran Church for Works of Mercy, which was to include a cemetery. The cemetery was established in March 1873, later becoming a subsidiary of the association until being purchased by the nonprofit organization formed by MacKinnon in 2002. Brook Farm, once a communal home for Transcendentalists in the 19th century where Nathaniel Hawthore and Ralph Waldo Emerson summered, today is a National Historic Landmark and operated by the state as a historic site.

➤The cemetery has held a Memorial Day

event every year, drawing close to 1,000 people. This year’s Memorial Day event will be the 50th annual one. The cemetery’s annual Pumpkin Day fall community outreach program, which started in 2008, drew more than 4,000 people last year.

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ICCFA Magazine

From left, Metropolitan Hilarion, Metropolitan Methodios and Bishop John Abdalah of the Orthodox Church and Alan MacKinnon, CCE, president of The Gardens at Gethsemane in Boston, at the 2012 groundbreaking for The Orthodox Garden and Holy Resurrection Chapel at the cemetery.

How The Gardens’ service to the Orthodox community has benefitted all its families

I

t all started with a simple request— simple but by no means small. Father Victor Boldewskul of Holy Epiphany Russian Orthodox Church in Boston, Massachusetts, asked Alan MacKinnon, CCE, president of The Gardens at Gethse­ mane, about the possibility of building an Orthodox chapel at the cemetery. In 1976, The Gardens had sold 200 lots to St. Mark of Ephesus Orthodox Church in Roslindale for the use of its , and had sold individual lots to Orthodox families at least as far back as the 1950s, MacKinnon said. The Gardens, a nonsectarian cemetery,

From Alan MacKinnon’s FaceBook page, a photo of him welcoming the Chinese Year of the Dog. The Gardens built a Chinese section, Hong Ling Garden, after a request from the community. “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

Holy Resurrection Chapel in the Orthodox Garden at The Gardens of Gethsemane. In the foreground are olive trees. There will be climbing hydrangeas on the arbor. Many of the resting places near the chapel have been chosen by Orthodox families. Left, an aerial view of the Orthodox Garden before installation of a private mausoleum off the cobblestone road, Emmaus Way. The light patches in the grass are recent interments.

The Orthodox Chapel at the Garden’s Cemetery serves as a unifying symbol of the Greater Boston Orthodox community. —Father Victor Boldewskul, Holy Epiphany Russian Orthodox Church Visit the new and improved www.iccfa.com

March-April 2018

57

S E R V I C E T O FA M I L I E S & C O M M U N I T I E S

Above left, the Garden of Honor, a veterans section created at The Gardens. The closest national cemetery is more than 50 miles away, so local veterans asked MacKinnon for a site closer to home. Above right, the Orthodox Chapel in a section reserved for use by of the Orthodox Church at Rock Creek Park Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

already had a history of responding to requests from the community for special gardens. “When the Chinese community came to us,” MacKinnon said, “we built Hong Ling Garden on a nice hill facing east”—with proper feng shui consideration, of course. Some veterans came to him and said they didn’t want to be buried at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne: “It’s 52 miles away—nobody’s going to visit us there!” MacKinnon developed the Garden of Honor so that local veterans could be buried close to home as well as to each other. “The Muslim community came to us and said, ‘Nobody will allow us to practice our customs and traditions.’” MacKinnon educated himself about Muslim funeral and burial practices. “I studied the Janazah and their method of burial, and said, ‘We can do this for you.’” The Garden of Mercy (Almarhama) was developed, where “families are allowed and encouraged to memorialize according to their (Islamic) faith.” Therefore, it’s not surprising that when Father Victor approached him back in 2009, MacKinnon had an open mind—and heart. “I thought, a priest is asking me to do something—maybe it’s a good idea.” He talked to other Orthodox priests who held services at The Gardens. What did they think about the idea of building an 58

ICCFA Magazine

Orthodox chapel at the cemetery? “They said, ‘That’s a great idea! You should visit my village!’” He was told that in Greece, in Lebanon, in Russia—wherever there are substantial numbers of Orthodox families—there are chapels in the cemeteries, by the side of the road, even in people’s back yards. “At first I wondered, ‘Why would there be a chapel in someone’s back yard?’ Then I thought about the Madonnas that some Roman Catholic families here have in their yards, in a little shrine.” MacKinnon decided that the chapel should be built in a new section, an Orthodox Garden—a major undertaking on the face of it. At that point, he had no way of knowing that he was starting a process that would not simply add an unusual feature to the cemetery but also inspire a change in The Gardens’ approach to serving families.

build a chapel that looked like an Orthodox chapel, inside and out. He went abroad, to the homelands of some of the Boston-area Orthodox churches, to see for himself what the clergy envisioned. Already knowing a number of people from the local Orthodox community proved to be a big help. A friend of his was in Greece, so he surprised him, making the first of several trips to that country. “I called him and said, ‘Pick me up at the airport.’ My friend said, ‘Dude, I’m in Greece.’ I said, ‘I know; I’m in Zurich. I’m going to be there in a couple of hours.’” His friend picked him up at the airport and he already had a place to stay—a woman from a Boston area church whose husband rests at The Gardens had given

Doing the research

Father Victor told him about the Orthodox chapel in Rock Creek Park Cemetery in Washington, D.C., which is built on the Orthodox model, and sent him a link so he could see photos of it online. MacKinnon also checked out a couple of chapels built for the Orthodox community at cemeteries during travels around the U.S., but said their exteriors looked like those of Protestant churches. If he was going to do this, he was going to

A mini-altar in one of the small chapels MacKinnon saw on one of his four trips to Greece, where the vast majority of the population is Greek Orthodox. “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

Travels with Alan: Byzantine churches, the hospitality of strangers and a touching graveside service in Greece

A

lan MacKinnon, CCE, made trips to Greece, Lebanon, Russia and Ravenna, Italy, the mosaic capital of the world, to see Christian Orthodox churches and chapels as he developed a design for an Orthodox chapel and garden at The Gardens at Gethsemane cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. He witnessed the elevation of three bishops and an archbishop in Lebanon, visited some large, beautiful Byzantine churches in Russia, attended services in several languages and experienced the hospitality of strangers. MacKinnon tells a story about one of his trips to Greece that was particularly memorable. In the middle of one church service, presided over by bishops and attended by several hundred people, a cell phone started ringing. Like everyone else, he started looking around him to see who this inconsiderate person was who had forgotten to silence their phone. “I don’t have a phone on me,” he thought to himself as the unfamiliar ringtone continued, uncomfortably nearby. Then he ed that someone in Greece had given him a cell phone to use. Oops. He’d never heard it ring, which is why he hadn’t recognized the ringtone. As everyone, including the bishops, stared at him, he backed out of the church with the unfamiliar phone and answered it with a whispered, “Hello?” It was his

friend, just making a friendly call. “What are you doin’?” Being embarrassed in front of a church full of people is what he was doing. After the service, people came out of the church holding wreaths and walking to the cemetery, so MacKinnon walked with them. They walked and walked—it must have been a quarter of a mile before they stopped at a resting place, a grave with a raised marble rim or curb. It was a Masonic service; pallbearers wearing tuxedos and white gloves set the casket on the curbing. Two men with ropes around their necks came forward, placed the ropes under the casket and straddled the grave. MacKinnon was alarmed, thinking, “Either they’re going to get hernias or OSHA’s going to come in and fine them.” Nevertheless, those two men straddling the grave in front of 100 people lowered the casket into the grave, pulled the rope out from underneath the casket, tossed the rope aside, grabbed shovels and started filling the grave as the family watched, the rocks mixed in with the dirt drumming an irregular beat on the casket. For MacKinnon, it was an unusual enough sight that he was still standing there watching after everyone but the family had left. Someone came over to him and said something to him. All he

➤to page 60

Alan MacKinnon in Mt. Athos, Greece.

MacKinnon’s Russian driver welcomes his customer with an easy-to recognize sign.

Above, a building in Peterhof, Russia. MacKinnon was interested in the stone veneer. Left, in Moscow, standing in front of an iconostasis. The church beside this room has an even larger one.

Visit the new and improved www.iccfa.com

March-April 2018

59

Above left, some of the mosaic work MacKinnon studied on his trip to Ravenna, Italy, the mosaic capital of the world. Above center, an Orthodox grave in Russia. Above right, MacKinnon at Balamand Monastery in Lebanon, with Patriarch Ignatius IV of Antioch and all the East. MacKinnon witnessed the elevation of three bishops and an archbishop.

“And then we shook our hands down, and then we threw our hands up in the air and let go. That was amazing—so powerful.”—Alan MacKinnon, CCE

At a chapel-building company in Greece. MacKinnon looked into the possibility of having a Greek company build a chapel and ship it to the United States.

➤from page 59

could say was, “I don’t speak Greek.” Someone else asked him in English, “Who are you and what are you doing here?” MacKinnon gave his name, said he was from the United States and started explaining his Orthodox cemetery tour. Before he could finish, someone spotted his Masonic ring. “Suddenly, it was ‘Oh, you’re a Mason him the key to her apartment in Athens. “That’s how much trust we had already built with the Orthodox community.” When he traveled to Lebanon, he went with of the local LebaneseSyrian community to witness the elevation of three bishops and an archbishop. When he traveled to Russia, MacKinnon went with a bishop and a group of priests. Each time he returned with scores of photographs—pictures of chapels and cemeteries, close-ups of mosaics, icons and iconostases (the screens holding the icons). He would sit down with groups of priests. “I would show them the pictures 60

ICCFA Magazine

MacKinnon with a priest outside the church where his cell phone went off and he took part in a graveside service.

from America came to pay respects to my father.’ And I’m saying, ‘Oh, no, no,’ but they grabbed my hand and yanked me over to the family, and they started saying I was this big, high-up Mason from America came to pay respects to their father. “Then we all held hands in a circle and they started whispering down the line, and I’m thinking, ‘Oh, no, it’s going to be Greek.’ The person next to me said what sounded like ‘Vasilios,’ so I figured it was and ask, ‘What about this?’ They’d say, ‘Oh yes, do that,” or ‘Oh no, don’t do that.” He and the priests who advised him agreed on a Byzantine style. The priests served not only as advisors as he developed what became the Orthodox Garden and Holy Resurrection Chapel at The Gardens but also as ambassadors for the project. This was crucial, because its success would require buy-in from and the of the Orthodox community.

The Orthodox community

The Eastern Orthodox Church has approximately 225-300 million adherents,

One of the pre-made Orthodox chapels that are sold in Greece.

the deceased’s name, and I said it to the person next to me. I hope I pronounced it right. “And then we shook our hands down, and then we threw our hands up in the air and let go. That was amazing—so powerful.” r mainly in the Balkans, the Middle East, Russia and other former Soviet counties, according to Wikipedia. According to its website, the Orthodox Church in America numbers approximately 700 parishes, missions, communities, monasteries and institutions in the United States, Canada and Mexico. It had its North American beginnings with Russian missionaries arriving in what would later be Alaska in 1794. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, the church in America, previously together in one diocese under the Russian Orthodox Church, became increasingly organized “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

S E R V I C E T O FA M I L I E S & C O M M U N I T I E S

Despite being in the West Roxbury section of Boston, The Gardens at Gethsemane, lower left, is surrounded by greenery. The Charles River can be seen at the top of the photo. There is a well-developed Jewish cemetery by The Gardens, and much of the ading property is Brook Farm, a state park.

into ethnic parishes with ties to their various home countries. In the United States, Wikipedia estimates the adherents of the Orthodox Church at more than 800,000, making it a small minority. (Many Americans’ knowledge of the Orthodox community is probably limited to attending Orthodox church festivals to enjoy Mediterranean food and to watching the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.”) However, MacKinnon estimates the Orthodox community in the Boston area at somewhere between 150,000 to 200,000 people, including Russian, Greek, Ukrainian, Syrian, Armenian, Albanian and Lebanese Orthodox churches, among others. There are more than two dozen Orthodox churches in the greater Boston area, and The Gardens has served families from every one of them, MacKinnon said. Though there are some first-generation immigrants, there are also many secondand third-generation Americans among the of the Orthodox churches, and most people speak English as well as their native language, so there hasn’t been a language barrier to deal with in getting to know and work with this community, MacKinnon said. Some of the Orthodox communities have schools set up to teach their 62

ICCFA Magazine

American-born children the language of their forebears and help on their customs and traditions. And they bring their children and grandchildren with them to the cemetery. In fact, now that the chapel is built, two girls, around 7 or 8 years old, come to the cemetery about once a week with their mother and clean it. They sweep the floor, do a bit of dusting, clean up any spilled candlewax. (MacKinnon pays them.) “These communities are ing their customs and traditions down to their children, and we’re helping them.” MacKinnon has gotten to know many people in the Orthodox community in addition to the priests. He has attended

numerous church festivals and bazaars and made donations to projects at several churches. After plans for the Orthodox Garden and Holy Resurrection Chapel were developed, MacKinnon would bring a model of the planned garden and chapel and information to hand out to church events. Having previously enlisted the priests as advisors/ambassadors helped. “I’d set up a booth and tell people the history of the project and some people would be wondering, ‘What are you doing here? Are you selling graves?’ “I could see some people going over to the priest and asking what I was doing at their festival. And the priest would say, ‘He takes care of our loved ones over at Gethsemane. He’s part of our community. He’s not selling anything; he’s just showing you what we’re doing with the Orthodox community at The Gardens cemetery.’”

Deg the Orthodox Garden and chapel

The Gardens at Gethsemane is a park within a park. An overhead view of the area (on this page) shows the cemetery in the lower half, with wide tree buffers all around. Adjacent are a Jewish Cemetery and Brook Farm, which was once a transcendentalist utopian society. Today, Brook Farm is a state-owned park. “We’re surrounded by 1,000 acres of rolling hills, meadows and woodlands south of the Charles River.” MacKinnon said he decided the Orthodox Garden chapel should be placed at the highest elevation possible in the cemetery. He thought the priests would like that idea, and they did. As he worked on the design, “I realized it wasn’t just going to be a physical space; The Gardens’ involvement with the Orthodox community includes making donations and attending events. Here MacKinnon presents a check for a project at Holy Epiphany Russian Orthodox Church in Boston. At right are Metropolitan Hilarion and Father Victor. “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

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S E R V I C E T O FA M I L I E S & C O M M U N I T I E S

Above, MacKinnon makes a presentation at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral of New England after being introduced by Father Cleopas. “My presentation was awesome,” MacKinnon said, “But I think they liked the lamb shanks better.” As part of his visit to talk about plans for the Orthodox Garden and chapel, MacKinnon offered attendees dinner.

Above, MacKinnon is introduced by Father Timothy at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church of Boston. Below, Father Timothy talks to parishioners about the plans for the Orthodox Garden and chapel.

Above, MacKinnon with the display, printed material and a tile (created by Tile Artisans) of one of the icons created for the chapel by Alex Melo. This display was at St. Athanasius The Great Church in Arlington. Left, making kabobs and demonstrating traditional dances at Lebanese bazaars and Greek festivals. MacKinnon has attended many such events.

it was going to be a spiritual space, too,” one that would allow Orthodox families to follow their traditions. The design and the models changed over time. The chapel had to face in a certain direction. He decided he wanted to include an olive orchard and a pergola, where he would grow grapes. Oh, wait, not grapes: They would attract birds, which would make a mess. The pergola would still be built, but it would be 64

ICCFA Magazine

covered by climbing hydrangeas. The memorials had to be uprights—The Garden does have memorial park sections, but the Orthodox community would not appreciate that sort of memorialization. Cemetery rules were changed to add six inches to the allowed height of memorials. For those who might want a “tablet” memorial of the type that can be seen in many European cemeteries (as in the photo at the Russian cemetery, top of page 60), a

family estate area would allow for it. He hired an architect, Yervant Nahikian, who is of Armenian descent and has ex­ perience with Byzantine design, including Orthodox Church design. MacKinnon knew what he wanted done, but had to hire an architect and engineer in order to get plans drawn that could be put out to bid. “Between myself and a half a dozen priests and my advisory committee—the leadership team—we had already designed “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

S E R V I C E T O FA M I L I E S & C O M M U N I T I E S Right, from left, Father Victor, who originally approached MacKinnon about building an Orthodox chapel; Metropolitan Hilarion, first hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church; Metropolitan Methodios, spiritual leader of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston; and Bishop John Abdalah of the Diocese of Worcester and New England of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America; Father Ted; and Nektarios Antoniou, a famous chanter who brought MacKinnon to Mount Athos at the request of a mutual friend on one of MacKinnon’s trips to that country. Far left, Father Timothy from St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church of Boston; Father Patrick from Holy Resurrecton Orthodox Church, Allston; and Father Victor from Holy Epiphany Russian Orthodox Church, Boston, participate in the groundbreaking. Behind them is Bishop John. Left, MacKinnon and architect Yervant Nahikian participate in the groundbreaking. Below, a closup of the gold-plated shovels used in the ceremony. MacKinnon gave each of the clergymen a plaque to commemorate the event.

what we wanted to see and what the Orthodox community needed.” A groundbreaking ceremony took place in 2012. Many local priests took part, as well as renowned chanter Nektarios Antoniou, a Yale graduate who travels the world; and three bishops: Metropolitan Hilarion, first hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church; Metropolitan Methodios, spiritual leader of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston, which includes most of New England; and Bishop John Abdalah of the Diocese of Worcester and New England of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. 66

ICCFA Magazine

A year or two later, the construction started, with the pouring of the foundation and installation of lawn crypts. The walls went up in the summer of 2015, with the dome in place by late fall. About 400 double vaults were put in place, and there is room for expansion to allow for thousands. These are full-body burials, since the Orthodox traditionally do not cremate. The vaults were installed in a field that was 13 feet below the top of the foundation for the chapel. “It just made sense to scrape off the loam, put in some crushed stone and piping, put the double vaults on top of the stone and then fill over

the top,” MacKinnon said. The result was that the field was brought up to the level of the chapel. One side of the cobblestone road that runs through the garden to the chapel is reserved for mausoleums and private family estates, which are 5 feet wide by 12 feet long. MacKinnon installed one eightperson family mausoleum on spec to show families the possibilities. The mausoleum also adds to the garden’s ambiance. “It looks like the cemeteries in the old countries,” MacKinnon said. There is also a two-person private mausoleum, also installed on spec, next to the chapel. Again, he wanted to show people that the above-ground interment favored by some is available in the Orthodox Garden. “If you go to the old “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

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S E R V I C E T O FA M I L I E S & C O M M U N I T I E S

Above left, MacKinnon stands on the site with a plan for the Orthodox Garden. Above center, the foundation work gets started. The cross-like shape of the chapel interior can be seen in this view. Above right, the foundation walls go up.

country, there are all these above-gound memorials.” Some of them are put together by family and fall apart in a few years, “but not this one—I got this from an ICCFA member supplier.” The chapel is immediately recognizable as Orthodox, with its curves, arches and domed cupola. MacKinnon had the concrete block sides covered with stonework to give it an “old world” feel. The building is approximately 16 x 24 feet with 12 windows and room for a Holy Resurrection mosaic above the entry doors. The building is solid—really solid. “The foundation is about 8 feet deep and a foot thick—I should have included a basement,” MacKinnon said. “If a hurricane’s coming through here, I’m running up to the chapel. Those walls might be cinder block, but they’re solid, with poured-in concrete.” Stone cladding was added to the exterior walls “to make it look like it had been there for years,” MacKinnon said. He saw plenty of chapels in Europe with simple plaster exteriors, “but I want this building to last hundreds of years.” Steel framework holds up the domed cupola, which has arched windows and is topped by a simple cross. MacKinnon did see ornate crosses on some of the chapels in Europe, but he wanted something everyone would feel comfortable with. MacKinnon chose zinc for the dome cladding “because it doesn’t patina like copper. You put copper up and it’s orange and then it turns green. I didn’t want the color to change.” The inside is substantially—but not 100 percent—complete. The inside walls have not yet been plastered, and MacKinnon plans to tile the floor and include radiant heat provided by solar s. “Our solar s will be a few hundred feet away, and we’ll have conduit running the 68

ICCFA Magazine

Above, double-depth lawn crypts were installed in the Orthodox Garden on land that was lower than the chapel. After they were covered with soil, the ground elevation was raised to that of the chapel.

electricity to the chapel. We can’t put solar s on a Byzantine-style chapel.” One of the important features of an Orthodox church or chapel is the icono­ stasis. Some are elaborately carved, and Holy Resurrection Chapel might have one like that someday, but the iconostasis now in place suffices to serve its function of holding and displaying the icons. The iconostasis holds striking aluminum replicas, painted by Alex Melo, of the icons MacKinnon had made in

Left, the granite plaza behind Holy Resurrection Chapel. MacKinnon moved his own resting place, which had been on what is now Orthodox Garden land, to where the plaza is.

Albania. The original icons are not left in the chapel because it is left open 24 hours a day. The cemetery as a whole is pretty much a 24/7 operation, since MacKinnon lives there. In any case, the precious originals are kept in his home, but the stand-ins are beautifully displayed. One of the icons is brought out for every Orthodox graveside service. Inside the tent, “We put the Holy Resurrection icon and a basket of earth,” MacKinnon

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Above, a mausoleum from Norwalk Vault Co. being placed near the chapel. MacKinnon placed this mausoleum and an eight-person one in the garden to showcase the possibilities for aboveground memorialization.

Above left and center, the chapel walls before and during the addition of stone cladding. Right, the first service was held in the chapel before the roof was installed.

Above and left, the dome being finished on site and placed atop the chapel. Below, the cross is put into place.

said. “Ninety-five percent of the time, the casket’s going to be lowered into the resting place after the flowers are placed there, and then people are going to come up, take a handful of earth and place it on the top of the casket.” After the walls were up, before the roof was in place, one family insisted on having their service inside the chapel walls. “They 70

ICCFA Magazine

couldn’t wait,” MacKinnon said, obviously pleased that even in its incomplete state, the chapel was drawing Orthodox families. Though the building has no fixed seating, chairs are brought in for services. Today’s trend in funeral chapel design is for removable seating in place of fixed seating, but this feature is a not a modern innovation but a traditional one in some

Orthodox churches. The pergola’s columns match the chapel’s cladding. MacKinnon saw some metal pergolas in the cemeteries he visited, and found that the metal did not hold up well under the pressure of growing vines. “Our pergola is solid. We have 2-by-2foot columns that are solid concrete with 1-inch rebar inside.” The beams are wood “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

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S E R V I C E T O FA M I L I E S & C O M M U N I T I E S

Above, A fisheye view of the chapel’s interior with the iconostasis in place. Above far right, an interior view showing the list of “great donors” on the red banner. The list will later be carved in granite. Right, MacKinnon with Alex Melo, who painted the icons for the iconostasis. The icons were made in Albania. 72

ICCFA Magazine

MacKinnon had specially cut at a sawmill. The Orthodox section has a wide, 300foot cobblestone road running from the entrance to the chapel. MacKinnon wanted to name the road, so he asked the priests for ideas. “Father Nick, from St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Weston, came back with ‘Emmaus.’ “He said Emmaus was a good name for the cobblestone road because after Christ was resurrected and the rock was rolled back from the tomb, he was walking down the road to Emmaus and two of his disciples were walking with him but didn’t recognize him. When they got to Emmaus, he broke bread and gave it to his disciples and then they recognized him. There’s an icon called ‘The Road to Emmaus.’” The other priests liked the name, so the cobblestone road became Emmaus Way. He worked with a leadership team on funding the project, MacKinnon said. And the lawn crypts were put in place early so that interments could start taking place. By the time the chapel was being built, interments had already been made; memorials were already in place. The Orthodox community also has no problem with acquiring resting places before need. “A lot of families want to be close to the chapel,” MacKinnon said. Pre-need purchases, which included a tax-deductible donation toward the chapel project, helped build the chapel. One interesting footnote to the development of the Orthodox Garden is that MacKinnon ended up moving his own planned resting place. “The lots I had reserved for myself were right by the chapel,” MacKinnon said, “but I wanted to place the chapel in the best location in the “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

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S E R V I C E T O FA M I L I E S & C O M M U N I T I E S

Above, wooden beams are put into place on the stone columns of the pergola. Like the chapel, it was built to last. Above far right, the pergola in place. Right, an icon depicting the road to Emmaus, specially commissioned for this project. Below, the eight-person mausoleum in place on the side of Emmaus Way reserved for mausoleums and family estates.

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ICCFA Magazine

cemetery, and that happened to be on top of my lots. I had to give my lots back to the cemetery.” He didn’t move far away, though. On the other side of the chapel is a 20-by20-foot granite patio with one bench (and room for more). “That’s where I will be resting in the future; I’ll go right underneath the granite patio. I built it as a sitting area so that if people want to donate to the chapel they can be recognized on the granite caps.” Though the patio is not an official part of the Orthodox Garden, he did see sitting areas and benches in some of the cemeteries he visited, so he felt that it fit in.

The evolution of the cemetery’s mission

The influence of this project, and of interacting with the Orthodox community, has spread far beyond the development of one garden, MacKinnon said. It has affected the way he sees the cemetery’s mission— and his own. “I initially approached the Orthodox Garden and chapel as a building project, sort of a ‘build it and they will come,” MacKinnon said. “The Orthodox commu­ nity has a strong belief in burial and a great respect for customs and traditions. In undertaking this project, I felt I could count on the loyalty of the Orthodox community to and sustain it.” That all turned out to be true, Mac­ Kinnon said, but what he didn’t anticipate was how his years-long involvement in this project would change “the way we view what a cemetery is, what we do and how we do it.” “A lot of the Orthodox customs and traditions that we help them with take place after the service and are about helping people heal.” They hold nine-day, 40-day and one-year memorial services—and these can now be conducted in the Holy Resurrection Chapel. ➤to page 78 “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

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S E R V I C E T O FA M I L I E S & C O M M U N I T I E S The Orthodox Christian community of Greater Boston is truly blessed with the addition of the Holy Resurrection Chapel and Orthodox Garden at the Gardens at Gethsemane Cemetery. It is, as far as anyone knows, the only Orthodox chapel in a secular cemetery in the country and we are most grateful for that distinction. Thanks to Alan MacKinnon’s unique vision and dedication, we now have a beautiful Byzantine styled Church surrounded by a serene burial garden in keeping with the time-honored traditions and customs of Eastern Christians. It is a special blessing to offer our prayers at the Holy Resurrection Chapel and to bless the graves of our departed loved ones buried there. We are thankful to know that future generations will reverence this sacred ground and lift their voices on high as they pray at the Holy Resurrection Chapel —Father Timothy Joseph Ferguson, St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church of Boston ➤from page 76 In addition, “They come back to the cemetery, they place eternal lights, they plant flowers. These are things that are forbidden in a lot of other cemeteries, but I decided that we’re a very intimate cemetery, and we provide a level of hospitality no one else can match, so why can’t we let people do these things here? “There are about 40 women who come here every day and make sure the candle’s

lit for their husband or their mom or dad. It’s changed my thinking about what we do here. “Years ago, when I first started (as the foreman), I thought, ‘I work in a cemetery. I dig graves; I bury people.’ “Years later, I started getting hugs and kisses from these Orthodox women saying, ‘Thank you for taking care of my husband.’ Or, ‘Thank you for taking care of my parents.’ I wasn’t a huggy-kissy kind of guy,

so I sort of thought, ‘Oh, OK, lady.’ “But after a while, they made me understand that I was doing something special: I was taking care of people they still loved.” He also was influenced by the people who worked with him, advisors he named to his leadership team. They had no cemetery experience—except, perhaps, making arrangements for a family member. They attended ICCFA conferences “and

The Gardens emphasizes relationship selling

W

illiam Ernest Garneau is one of the advistors to The Gardens President Alan Mac­Kinnon, CCE; he serves as program manager for the Orthodox Garden project and helps with community outreach. His involvement with the cemetery goes back to when his father asked him to find a place—“a place that’s local so the kids or grandkids can come and visit, can come and talk to me if they’re having a hard time”—for him and Garneau’s mother. He had been to services at The Gardens and thought it was a “really nice cemetery,” so that’s where he purchased resting places for his parents. About four months later, his mother died. The graveside service was “unbelievable,” Garneau said. It was a raw March day. There were heated tents, but despite that, his father was cold. “And out of nowhere, Alan brings over a blanket and he wraps it around my father.” Garneau has more than 30 years of experience in nonprofit fundraising and

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management, and is no stranger to eventplanning. He notices attention to detail. “Somebody had to really think about that, plan it—have the blankets there.” Several months later, there was a second service at The Gardens, for his father. This time, it was a military service. “I just started talking to Alan; he’s an interesting guy—he looks at things very deeply.” One of the things MacKinnon has thought about a great deal is sales, always a major concern for cemeteries. How do you conduct sales and how to you measure the effectiveness of your sales efforts? At The Gardens, they measure success via the emails, letters and face-to-face comments they receive, MacKinnon said. “We don’t have any high-pressure sales. We don’t have any quotas,” he said. “But ninety-nine percent of the people who walk through this door wanting a resting place choose one at The Gardens. So that’s our closing rate: 99 percent.” MacKinnon’s low-key approach seems to work, Garneau said. Community outreach is becoming more important

as traditional sales and fund-raising approaches have become more difficult. “I know a lot about phone calling and telemarketing,” Garneau said. “First of all, you can’t even get people on the phone today. And when you do get them on the phone, they’ve been trained to hang up on you. “The whole trend in sales is relationship selling, reaching out to the community.” Which, of course, is what MacKinnon has been doing, not only with the Orthodox community but with all families. The cemetery sponsors events such as its annual Pumpkin Festival, which draws thousands of people; flag retirement ceremonies; a motorcycle run and blessing of the bikes; and MacKinnon’s annual holiday open house, where everyone is welcome to come by and enjoy music, food and drink in the family room. “We are not a ‘sad, bad, scary place,’” MacKinnon said. “We are the place where people you love and people your children love are resting.” r

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S E R V I C E T O FA M I L I E S & C O M M U N I T I E S

Because MacKinnon lives at the cemetery, his home and office are together and he welcomes visitors. “On the weekends, we leave the front door open. People can come into the family room, where we have coffee and pastry available all weekend. We’re available 24/7.” came back with an energized feeling that we’re doing something different here.” MacKinnon was accustomed to going to conferences and coming back with a head full of ideas, and his team helped him pull everything together. Over the years, he’s felt a shift in the cemetery’s mission and focus from selling graves and promoting the beauty of the grounds to one of asking people “How can I help?” of being there to serve. “Once, a few years ago, I came back from a conference and busted out a wall in the office and went out and bought some comfortable living room furniture and put in a fireplace and created a more welcoming family and visitor center. “When you come in the front door and into the family room, there used to be an oval table sitting there. It seemed to tell people: ‘Sit down; we’re going to do some business here. We’re going to sign some papers.’ “Now when people come in, we sit down in comfortable chairs and we talk about Mom or Dad, the people they love.” He’s attended a lot of ICCFA Wide World of Sales conferences and found he had to adapt what speakers were talking about to make them workable for The Gardens. “We’re a smaller operation. We don’t have a sales force. We don’t give scripted presentations in homes. I’ve never made a cold call.” At this year’s sales conference, one speaker said, “The people are there. Why aren’t you?” That describes the approach at The Gardens, MacKinnon said. “That’s us. We’re everywhere. We have events here at The Gardens; we’re at other groups’ events; we’re in people’s homes; we’re sponsoring coffee hours at churches.” In New England, combination operations are not allowed. Funeral homes, cemeteries and monument companies are all separate. The local funeral directors “either love us and say there’s something different ,” MacKinnon said, “or they think we’re jerks, causing problems: ‘What do you mean, you want to see the family before the service?!’” “Some funeral directors wonder why a family representative has to visit the 80

ICCFA Magazine

MacKinnon show off some of the figs now growing in his garden. He has about 30 fig trees. “Sometimes the Greek and Lebanese women, when they find out I have fig trees, say, ‘If you don’t give me figs, I will kill you.’ I say, ‘You just hugged me and thanked me for taking care of your mom and dad and now if I don’t give you figs, you’re going to kill me?’ ‘Yes.’ They really love figs!” He also plants tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini and herbs and gives produce away to cemetery visitors.

cemetery,” MacKinnon said of families who have purchased pre-need. “The main reason is that we need to the resting place, learn who the authorized representative is and get a signature in person.” This is also a way to build relationships of trust and rapport. As part of their “What can we do to help?” attitude, cemetery staff will go with family to the funeral home, will invite monument companies to meet with families at the cemetery office, will give referrals to independent or assisted living or to hospice, will provide the names of local florists. “This might be normal practice for cemeteries in other areas of the country, but not in our area,” MacKinnon said. He said he likes families to feel a seam­ less continuum of care in the transi­tion from the funeral home to the cemetery—which can be challenging where funeral homes and

cemeteries are separate organizations. The Gardens invites local funeral directors to its events, and visits them. One of his advisors, Marion Kelly, executive director of the local YMCA, made appoint­ments with eight or nine funeral homes and conducted in-person interviews with the directors at each one. She asked them what they thought about The Gardens and what they would change, if they could change just one thing. Kelly compiled the results in a spread­ sheet and presented them to the rest of the team at The Gardens without disclosing who said what, and they made some internal changes in how they did things, to make their service more seamless, friendly and inviting. Because he lives at the cemetery, his home and office are together and he welcomes visitors. “On the weekends, we leave the front door open. People can come into the family room, where we have coffee and pastry available all weekend. We’re available 24/7.” MacKinnon plants a vegetable and herb garden and welcomes people to come in and pick some vegetables. He might fire up the grill for a barbecue. “People stay and tell us stories about Mom and Dad; they feel comfortable sharing.” This is not a close-at-dusk cemetery. Some people have graveside services in the evening, or come at night to visit their loved ones’ memorials. If cemetery staff are not available when people phone, an answer­ ing service handles the call so that callers don’t end up talking to a machine. Not that MacKinnon is allergic to tech­ nology. “We work with webceme­teries.com and Cemetery360. Every person resting here at The Gardens has their own website where family can share pictures and videos and memories, and GPS can guide you right to someone’s resting place.”

Changing the sign—and the rules

One of the things they’ve changed at The Gardens is the entrance signage. There is a sign that says “The Gardens,” and one that says “Office and Visitor Center. Welcome.” There used to be a sign that started off in a friendly enough way, MacKinnon said: “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

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S E R V I C E T O FA M I L I E S & C O M M U N I T I E S

If a staff member sees someone taking plants and a shovel out of their trunk, they’ll come over and offer to help, MacKinnon said. He realizes that allowing planting makes maintaining the grounds more difficult for cemetery staff, but decided that it was more important to help families heal than make things easier for the cemetery. “We’ll trim around the plants—after all, we’re weed-whacking professionals.”

MacKinnon designed the family room at The Gardens to encourage people to sit down and talk in comfortable surroundings. Here the room is decorated for Christmas. He holds a holiday open house after the first of the year.

“If we can be of any assistance, please stop in the office and speak with Alan or Eunice.” (Eunice A. Davis is a Certified Celebrant and is in charge of family services.) He thought including names was a nice, personal touch. But then the sign went on to say, “As we maintain the cemetery, we ask you to refrain from the following …” What followed were the typical cemetery prohibitions against doing things such as planting flowers. “I walk around the cemetery almost on a daily basis,” MacKinnon said, “and we do remove items occasionally.” But they’ve loosened up on what is allowed, and try to use education rather than prohibition to steer people away from things that would create maintenance hardships. If he sees someone aiming to plant a rose bush, he’ll stop by and ask if 82

ICCFA Magazine

they could plant the roses at home and plant something else at the cemetery. “I might say, ‘Some people who aren’t as conscientious as you, who won’t come back to the cemetery to visit and take care of the roses like you will, will see your bush and want to plant one, too.’” In any case, they talk to people first. “We don’t go through and just start ripping stuff out. That happens in a lot of places, and that’s when you get angry people coming into the office.” If a staff member sees someone taking plants and a shovel out of their trunk, they’ll come over and offer to help, MacKinnon said. And on Mother’s Day, every visitor is offered a free potted plant. He realizes that allowing planting makes maintaining the grounds more difficult for cemetery staff, but decided that it was more important to help families heal than make

things easier for the cemetery. “We’ll trim around the plants—after all, we’re weedwhacking professionals.” The Gardens also provides hoses attached to the water drawoffs so that visitors can water their plants. The strategic business plan at The Gardens is to differentiate the cemetery by allowing families to follow their customs and traditions, MacKinnon said. “We provide a ministry of healing and comionate care. We want to provide exceptional service and allow families to grieve the way they want to grieve—within reason. As long as you’re not surrounding the resting place with cobblestones, or parking your car somewhere it shouldn’t be. “What really came out of all this was a ministry of comionate care and healing services that could be stated and adhered to in our vision, mission and values.” r “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

Visit the new and improved www.iccfa.com

March-April 2018

83

by Alice Adams [email protected]

SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY

ICCFA Magazine spotlight

“The real heroes are the people of Las Vegas. We were just there to them.” —Michael Soper, president, Legacy Funeral Group

➤Adams is an award-

winning columnist and has been editor for more than a decade of Texas Director, published by the Texas Funeral Directors Association. She is associate editor and feature writer for Southern Calls Magazine and has been an advocate for funeral service professionals for more than 20 years.

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munications from The University of Texas and a doctorate in education from the University of Houston.

713.529.5770 ➤Michael Soper is

CEO and president of Legacy Funeral Group LLC, Houston, Texas, which he founded in 1998. The company owns and operates funeral homes and cemeteries in Texas, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas and Las Vegas, Nevada, and is among the fastest-growing companies in the funeral business.

➤Before founding Legacy, he was president of Memorial Pre-Care, a prearranged funeral and burial benefits company. Prior to that, he was a vice president at South­west Guaranty Trust Co., overseeing investment management for funeral homes spanning 34 states. He graduated from Texas Christian University in 1989 and began his career with Kanaly Trust Co. in 1990. www.legacyfuneralgroup.com

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ICCFA Magazine

Davis Funeral Homes, part of Legacy Funeral Group, was on call to handle removals on October 1, 2017, following the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival. Here Davis Manager Allen Kopp works at the scene.

How Davis Funeral Homes and the Las Vegas community came together to help families

T

he temperature in Las Vegas had comfortably settled into the mid60s that evening. It was Sunday, October 1, 2017, and the third day of the annual three-day Route 91 Harvest Music Festival. Over the sprawling venue, some 22,000 music lovers had been lulled into a communal happy place, a space created by booze, beer and the music provided by the festival often called “the neon sleepover.” The crowd’s anticipation had been building for the 9:40 p.m. appearance of Country Singer of the Year Jason Aldean, and right on schedule, the festival’s headliner and his band began playing the first number of the festival’s last set. Twenty-five minutes into the set, Aldean had just launched into a new song.

That’s when the audience heard what they thought were fireworks, signaling the end of the festival. Aldean said later he thought a speaker had blown, resulting in a crackling sound. Within a matter of minutes, a wellarmed shooter, stationed in a hotel room across the street and high above the concert venue, had ruthlessly ended 58 lives and forever changed another 500. The chaos after the shooting finally stopped was filled with screams, stampeding concertgoers, helpless sobbing and the wail of sirens. In Clark County, the city of Las Vegas rotates the duty of removals for fatality auto accidents, drownings, homicides and suicides among local funeral homes. Davis “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

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SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY

“As we made the many removals from the concert grounds, I was relying on my faith, focusing on removing the bodies to safety, preparing them and getting them home with all the dignity and honor they deserved.”—Bill “Billly” Vallie Jr., manager of Davis Funeral Homes’ Rainbow Chapel Funeral Homes was on duty October 1.

First call to a mass shooting

Las Vegas funeral director Billy Vallie’s phone rang at 1:45 a.m. The caller was Davis Funeral Homes Manager Allen Kopp. He had just received a call from the county coroner’s office, wanting Davis first-call

teams on standby, ready to respond when the crime scene was released. It was going to be a long night-into-morning. Vallie said he knew Davis was next up on the coroner’s rotation, and both he and Kopp had seen the initial reporting on TV before retiring for the evening, “so I was waiting for the call.”

Above, Davis Funeral Home & Memorial Park provides a green oasis in the Vegas desert. Below, a ground-level view of the funeral home located at the cemetery.

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ICCFA Magazine

“Allen and I got to the coroner’s about 3 a.m.,” Vallie said, “and waited until the scene was released at about 3:30 a.m. At that point, we were told there were approximately 30 fatalities.” By 4 a.m., Davis personnel had begun the bloody and gruesome task of remov­ing the sniper’s victims from the concrete venue and transporting them to the medical examiner’s office. “It was a scene impossible to imagine, impossible to ‘unsee,’” a member of the removal team later remarked. In the past when on coroner’s call, Davis had made up to 35 removals, from multiple scenes, throughout one day. “You could say we were physically prepared—equipment- and facility-wise— to respond to a mass fatality,” Vallie said, “but there was no way we could have imagined what we encountered at the concert venue. Seeing so many victims, and just seeing all the cell phones, all the personal belongings strewn over the site, left behind by the people who fled the rain of bullets—people who one minute were enjoying the concert and the next, running for their lives. “For most of our removal team, our job training took over.” Vallie, a second-generation funeral director who manages the Davis Rainbow Chapel location, said he had grown up in the profession and, early in his career, had served in a small West Texas town, where he had seen victims of traffic accidents, multiple fatalities from tractor-trailer accidents and train wrecks. “As we made the many removals from the concert grounds, I was relying on my faith, focusing on removing the bodies to safety, preparing them and getting them home with all the dignity and honor they deserved,” said Vallie. A few hours later in Houston, Michael Soper, president and CEO of Legacy Funeral Group, owner of the Davis loca­ tions in Vegas, was walking down­stairs for breakfast. “My wife Andrea was watching the TV news coverage about the massacre, and I immediately called the area’s regional manager for more details.” Soper quickly lost track of the ava­“Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

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SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY

“During my time in Las Vegas, I saw a part of that city few people see—the faith-based community— and they began reaching out almost immediately. These were complete strangers, just wanting to do something—anything—to help.”—Bill Vallie Sr., regional manager, Legacy Funeral Group

Funeral director Bryan Hicks, far right, a former clergyman, stands beside a victim’s family as he delivers a prayer, ed by the deceased’s fellow law enforcement officers. The family was thrilled with the informal tribute to their loved one, Soper said.

lanche of calls he received—and made— that Monday. “The number of victims made me know we would need more embalmers, so we dispatched two of the best from loca­tions outside of Nevada,” he said. “I also notified three additional funeral directors we’d be needing their help as well.” Traveling to Las Vegas, Soper made two decisions: (1) Every one of the victims entrusted to the care of Davis Funeral Homes would be embalmed so their families could view and spend as much time as they needed with their loved ones; and (2) The families would not be charged for the care of their loved ones. “I thought it would be a good idea, once I arrived in Vegas and before we became too busy, to gather everybody in 88

ICCFA Magazine

the chapel,” Soper said. “Previously, in the aftermath of hurricanes, we asked our employees to take care of their families, to make sure their families were safe. Responding to a massacre would be different. It wasn’t a weather-tragedy like we’d experienced along the Gulf Coast. “In Las Vegas, I asked employees to go home, hug their spouse, kiss their babies and then come back, ready to work, because it looked like we were going to be busy for the next week—maybe 10 days.”

The focus: The victims and their families

As Soper and his team awaited the coro­ ner’s release of the massacre’s victims, Jennifer Kandt, executive director of the Nevada State Funeral and Cemetery

Services Board, helped expedite temporary permits through Gov. Brian Sandoval’s office for the out-of-state personnel who had come to work in Las Vegas. “She was immense­ly helpful with this and also connected me with SCI regional manage­ ment, who had offered to help,” Soper said. Wednesday, when the coroner com­ pleted the autopsies and released the victims, 32 of the victims were released back to Davis Funeral Homes. They were the inno­cent mothers, fathers, best friends, husbands, wives veterans, teachers, the couple celebrating their anniversary—all of whom had come to Las Vegas to make a special memory and were felled by the crazed shooter’s bullets. “The professionals from SCI were a great help, allowing us to transport some “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY of the social service cases and the Jane/ John Does awaiting identification we had in our cooler at the time. I wanted all of the shooting victims we were caring for under one roof for security,” Soper explained. Was the shooter (who took his own life as law enforcement descended on his hotel room) among those cases? “I don’t know the mortuary his next-ofkin selected,” Soper said, “but we did not handle his remains.” Serving as a helping hand for his employees, Soper spent the next five days moving between the basement prep room and arrangement offices on the floor above. Were the victims going to be viewable when their families arrived? What about the young man shot in the face? “In fact, after hours of work by our team of embalmers, that young man’s family was able to view him, spend time with him, and they were comforted,” Soper said. Chaplains and counselors were also on site, offering emotional or simply someone to talk with when needed by funeral home employees, who were working around the clock, or surviving family who came to view their loved ones before shipping their bodies back home for services and final disposition. “Everyone focused on the victim’s families. In a way, we all became caregivers, prep room personnel, receptionists, funeral assistants, counselors and drivers,” Soper said. “We all came together, giving our best, knowing we would probably never see these people again. But it was our duty to be there for them, our duty to provide a meaningful, final farewell.”

A community comes together

Until the last victim had been transported to the airport for a final trip home and services had been held for the victims who lived in Las Vegas, a cadre of law enforcement personnel surrounded the funeral home. They were there to shield the families from questions from the press and overzealous paparazzi. Most of these men and women had volunteered. Funeral home employees were counseled not to speak with the media, risking their jobs if they did. When word got out that funeral home personnel were working around the clock, the community began bringing gifts of food, both

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SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY

“Previously, in the aftermath of hurricanes, we asked our employees to take care of their families, to make sure their families were safe. Responding to a massacre would be different. It wasn’t a weather-tragedy like we’d experienced along the Gulf Coast. In Las Vegas, I asked employees to go home, hug their spouse, kiss their babies and then come back, ready to work, because it looked like we were going to be busy for the next week—maybe 10 days.” —Michael Soper, CEO, Legacy Funeral Group

Above left, Britani Thorn, Tammy Villarreal-Crabb, Cara and Allen Kopp and Michael Soper with food dropped off at the funeral home by the middle school where Cara Kopp is a teacher and Villlarreal-Crabb is principal. Kopp’s wife also had of the school’s volleyball team sign a ball that was presented to the husband of a victim who had been a volleyball coach. Above right, sack lunches packed by Las Vegas elementary schoolchildren for the funeral home employees.

to take care of the employees and to make sure the bereaved families had plenty to eat. “It was not only remarkable,” said Soper, “it was simply touching how many people from the community, from the casinos and restaurants, were reaching out to take care of us.” Bill Vallie Sr., a regional manager with Legacy Funeral Group, arrived in Las Vegas on Wednesday from Texas to assist Davis personnel as the coroner released bodies for the next four days. This would be the veteran director’s second mass disaster. “In 1987, a tornado struck the small town of Zaragosa, Texas,” he recalled. “Thirty lives were lost. More than 100 were injured. I spent several weeks identifying the dead and moving deceased people from a refer unit parked behind the funeral home. “During my time in Las Vegas, I saw a part of that city few people see—the faith-based community—and they began reaching out almost immediately. “These were complete strangers, just 90

ICCFA Magazine

wanting to do something—anything—to help,” Vallie explained. “One congregation brought a basket of gift cards for the families. Still others brought cases of bottled water, toothbrushes and toothpaste and food—lots of food. One lady brought cases of bottled water and a homemade pie.” A group of elementary schoolchildren came to the funeral home with sack lunches they had made for the employees. “It was a moment we’ll never forget,” Soper said. “So much food was brought to the funeral home, we decided to take quite a bit to the families of the victims who were staying in local hotels,” Bill Vallie Sr. said. “Then we took the extra food to other funeral homes, and when directors came to make removals, we’d invite them to take all they wanted. There was still so much, we took food to homeless shelters around the city.” Inside the funeral home, funeral directors attempted, as much as possible, to personalize the care of each victim. Hearing that one was from Canada, Vallie found a flag company and purchased a Canadian

flag he would later use to drape the casket. Flags representing the home states of each victim were also found and purchased. Another of the victims, a volleyball coach, was honored by a local volleyball team. “We found a volleyball and General Manager Allen Kopp’s wife, a teacher at a nearby high school, had of their team sign the ball,” Soper said. “When the victim’s husband came to the funeral home, we presented the ball, honoring his wife, to him. It meant a lot.” Bill Vallie Sr. said he felt especially honored by the duty of delivering one of the deceased—a U.S. Navy veteran and corrections officer—to the local airport for shipping back home. “As the body was delivered to the aircraft, 40 people—mostly TSA agents— lined both sides of the route from the terminal to the plane. It was their way of honoring this gentleman, with dignity and respect,” he said. It was during the first week when Soper stepped outside one sunny afternoon. He “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

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SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY

Soper also praised the cooperation of Eagle’s Wings Air and the airlines that shipped bodies back home, waiving charges for shipping and comping enger tickets for family . Matthews offered caskets at no charge. Vault companies provided vaults. At the end of the day, the staff at Davis and other Las Vegas funeral homes were broadly ed by the funeral service profession and its suppliers.

Above, funeral director Matthew D’Orio delivers cremated remains to a victim’s family at a Las Vegas hotel. Right, Two handlers brought therapy dogs in to comfort families during arrangements and services. With them are Legacy Vice President of Sales Brian Nichols (left), Regional Manager Bill Vallie Sr. (center) and Pre-need Sales Manager Char Peters (right). Above right, the Canadian flag that Bill Vallie Sr. purchased to drape the casket of one of the victims, who was from Canada.

saw the uniformed guards, the clear blue sky and the bright sunshine. “Sometimes you need to take a break, and when I went outside and found such a beautiful day, something told me it was the right time and place to honor one of the victims, a prison guard.” Back inside, working with Texas director and former clergyman Bryan Hicks of Elmwood Funeral Home in Abilene, Texas, Soper received permission from the family to conduct informal honors. “We draped the casket with an American flag. We had an honor guard of uniformed officers, we had the family and Bryan, our clergyman,” Soper recalled. “We also had a fairly large group of employees and counselors who stood by as we conducted what you might call a ‘pop-up’ service. “The whole idea may seem crazy, but I can tell you, the family was thrilled and thanked us for such a meaningful tribute. 92

ICCFA Magazine

The guards were honored to be a part and we saw it as another way to honor the victims and families we were serving in a personal and relevant way.”

A life-changing experience

Only weeks after witnessing horrific flood­ ing in Houston and assisting his em­ployees in getting their lives and opera­tions back on track, Soper felt he was called to be with his employees in Las Vegas. “I couldn’t stay in Houston. I had to be with our people, and it was the best decision I made after getting the news,” he said. “I’m also glad I went because, as a leader, I really came to understand why God put me into this profession. “From the time I got there until the weekend, when my team insisted I leave, I was organizing, finding needed resources and sitting in on arrangements, making sure we were fulfilling families’ every need.

“During that time, God empowered me as a leader and worked through me,” he said. “Everything I did was in collaboration. I didn’t just go in like a commanding general. We worked together, and SCI and Carriage Services were outstanding in wanting to help, even though we compete in many markets.” Soper also praised the cooperation of Eagle’s Wings Air and the airlines that shipped bodies back home, waiving charges for shipping and comping enger tickets for family . Matthews offered caskets—not clothcovered baskets but beautiful caskets—at no charge. Vault companies also provided vaults in the victims’ home towns. At the end of the day, the staff at Davis and other Las Vegas funeral homes were broadly ed by the funeral service profession and its suppliers. Working long, emotionally draining “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY life, but a week that made me so proud of the profession God led me to serve. “This was the experience of a lifetime that reconfirmed our calling. I felt God working through me; I felt His presence everywhere.” Author’s note: In the aftermath of this tragedy, the father-son team of Bill Vallie Sr. and Bill “Billy” Vallie Jr. worked together, seeing families, making arrangements and planning logistics.

These are Bill Vallie Sr.’s comments about this experience: “This was the proudest moment of my life. How many fathers get to see their child from where he was to where he is today? I saw Billy’s leadership, his strong work ethic and how people trust him and respect him. “I am so very proud of the director he has become. I talk to Billy every day, and most often, it’s a question about funeral service. He’s a man with a servant’s heart and sets a high bar—for himself, for all of us.” r

Bill Vallie Sr., right, a regional manager for Legacy Funeral Group, worked with his son, Bill “Billy” Vallie Jr., left, mana­ ger of Davis Funeral Homes’ Rain­bow Chapel, after the Las Vegas tragedy. Billy made removals and transported victims to the coroner’s office early the morning after the concert. The fatherson team met with families, helped with preparation and transported families and ship-outs to the airport.

hours with victims’ families, Soper said he often felt his late father’s presence during his week in Las Vegas. “I kept hearing, ‘Slow down; take a breath,’ and believe it or not, that had a real calming effect. I knew he was watching me work through some difficult situations.” “With a tragedy like this, where one person took the lives of so many, the party in Vegas ended, if only for a few hours or a few days,” Vallie said. “Even the casinos were hurt, not financially but emotionally. “In every instance, in every situation, we made sure we were professional, respectful and dignified. We wore coats and ties, listened, and did our best to help each family, to show respect, to show we truly cared about them and their loved ones. “The Davis group did an outstanding job. In every case and in every way, we created the best scenario possible in the aftermath of a tragedy of this magnitude,” Vallie concluded. Back at home in Houston, Soper first gave long, emotional hugs to his family. Then he reiterated his belief that traveling to Las Vegas to the Davis team and the victims’ families had been the right decision. “It was important to be to be with our employees as they worked through this challenging time,” Soper said. “It was important to be there, to collaborate and assist them. It was the worst week of my Visit the new and improved www.iccfa.com

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by Leslie Aaron [email protected] ICCFA Magazine spotlight ➤Aaron works across the globe as a nutritionist in both community development and disaster response contexts, serving in Central America, Africa and Asia. Currently she is working in Bangladesh with Medical Teams International in the refugee camps. ➤Her family roots in the cemetery and funeral industry keep her connected to an interest in the experience of death as viewed across cultures around the world. She has a bachelor’s degree in nutrition and a master’s degree in international community development from Northwest University.

Leslie Aaron with her father, Paul Elvig, at her wedding.

➤Aaron’s father is Paul Elvig, who will receive the ICCFA Hall of Fame Award at the 2018 ICCFA Annual Convention, April 18-21. Elvig retired in 2008 as general manager of Evergreen-Washelli Memorial Park and Funeral Home, Seattle, Washington. He is a past president and former secretary of the ICCFA who has testified on behalf of the association at many governmental hearings and has written many articles for ICCFA Magazine. More on page 144.

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I N T E R N AT I O N A L S T U D I E S

When you grow up in the funeral and cemetery profession, you never outgrow an interest in the subject, even when your own professional focus is on keeping people alive. While helping refugees in Bangladesh, ICCFA Past President Paul Elvig’s daughter wanted to know how they care for their dead.

How refugees are giving refuge to their dead

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e had just started our clinic for the day in the refugee camp. As the clinic nutritionist, I was preparing patient information for a malnourished baby. I turned around to head down the hallway of our bamboo tent when I saw him. He was lying on a stretcher on the dirt floor, a family member holding an IV bag above his head. The man was very thin and looked to be in his 60s. We suspected tuberculosis, which used to be called consumption because it slowly consumes the body’s resources and leaves the person a thin, malnourished shell of themselves. His face was shrouded in fear, with tears streaming down his cheeks. He knew. We knew. It was obvious today was his last day on this earth, and he was terrified. It turns out he was only 40. At that age, he probably had several children at home, about whom he now worried. How would they and his widow survive? No wonder the fear of death was written on his face. Later that day, as I moved through the camp, my translator and I ed by two men carrying a blue cradle-like bed on a long bamboo pole. “Do you know what that is?” my translator asked. I didn’t, and he answered his own question, “It’s for carrying the dead out of their home.” I had spent my first week in the camp being preoccupied with babies losing weight, thin children and nutrition deficiencies, and I hadn’t thought about death until that day. But in a camp of 850,000 people, I knew that somehow they had to take care of their dead. But how, and where? This large city of makeshift camps and tents had popped up in a short six months

as people fled intense persecution in Myanmar. There was little to no planning done for many services—services for the dead included. I broached the subject with one of our translators, Ahmed. Death is always an interesting but sometimes risky topic across cultures, as you never know what might be taboo. But he was open to it and said he could show me the graveyard in the camp. He knew where it was. We went up hills and down valleys, snaking around tents and water pumps, until we finally reached enough of a clearing to offer a bit of a view. “There it is,” said Ahmed. “That’s the graveyard.” Up on a hill higher than the rest of the camp was a plain, underwhelming and undeveloped piece of land where I could see some bamboo boxes on plots of land—the graves. I didn’t know if I should be relieved or concerned that the cemetery was at such an elevation above the camp. There is a reason for the valleys and hills in this camp. The valleys are actually flood plains. When monsoon season strikes, many of the valleys will become rivers. Some of these valleys have houses built in them. Some have clinics. An estimated 100,000 people are directly in areas that will be underwater in the floods that come during monsoon season. At least the cemetery isn’t in a valley. But then again, the hill location should be rethought, too. Before the camps, this was densely packed forest, and the trees protected the hillside during the rain. With virtually all trees scraped off to make room for housing and to collect building and firewood materials, these hills are simply “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

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I N T E R N AT I O N A L S T U D I E S

Before the camps, this was densely packed forest, and the trees protected the hillside during the rain. With virtually all trees scraped off to make room for housing and to collect building and firewood materials, these hills are simply landslides waiting to happen.

Some of the camp’s low-lying areas will be flooded in monsoon season. Graves are located on the hill above the river valleys.

landslides waiting to happen. During the landslides, no one yet knows just what—or who—will wash up. Now I’m not so sure that a cemetery on a hill is a good idea, either. Ahmed handed me over to another translator, Muraad, who had been waiting at the foot of the cemetery for us. Now that we were all together, finally they could ask what they had been curious about: “Why did you want to see the graveyard?” Growing up in the Elvig household, it has never seemed odd to make cemetery stops during our travels. I have since learned that this is an unusual request for “normal” travelers, but at this point I can no longer help who I am. I tried to explain that cemeteries were, in a way, a family business for us. I said that I had even worked in one, too. Their eyes wide, they asked the first question I commonly get asked in developing countries after people learn of my connection to cemeteries: “Have you ever seen spirits?” They added, “Have you ever seen jinn?” Jinn are a type of invisible yet fiery being, originating from Arabic mythology, and are where the stories of 96

ICCFA Magazine

and the word for “genie” come from. I said I’ve never seen any of them. That never fails to amaze people. Muraad had never been to the cemetery, but we saw two men way up on the hill. He called to them to come meet us so that I could ask some questions. As we waited for the men to us, another man ed by and asked what we were doing. Muraad explained that I was interested in the cemetery. “It is strictly forbidden for women to enter the cemetery,” the man responded. He immediately reiterated in a solemn and cautionary voice: “Strictly forbidden.” He explained that Muraad may enter, but he must remove his shoes. This is their tradition. Muraad declined the offer. The men arrived, and I meekly explained my purpose for the visit. They offered up that they were burying their cousin. There are no services provided for the graveyard; plots are free and are firstcome, first-served, and the graves must be dug by male family . Then they must build a bamboo box over the grave. “What are the boxes for?” I asked. “They are to keep people from stepping

on the graves and disrespecting the dead,” one of them responded. He added, “And to keep animals out.” Many of their traditions surrounding death come from Islam, as 90 percent of the population is Muslim. When someone dies, they wash the body immediately and carefully wrap the deceased in burial cloths. The funeral is held at home, then the body is removed and carried to the graveyard in the cradle that I saw. The body is placed in the grave with the head north, the feet south and the face turned toward Mecca. For inexplicable reasons other than, “because that’s how our prophets did it,” men are buried in a grave about waist deep, while women are buried about chest deep. Keeping animals out is certainly important at such shallow depths. There are no markers for these graves. The resources simply aren’t there in a refugee camp, and they are forbidden by the Bangladeshi government to leave the camp. Without markers or other distinct landmarks, and with all boxes the same, how would anyone who was buried where? ➤to page 97 “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

I N T E R N AT I O N A L S T U D I E S

There are no services provided for the graveyard; plots are free and are first-come, first-served, and the graves must be dug by male family . Then they must build a bamboo box over the grave.

Recent graves on the hillside cemetery are protected with bamboo boxes to keep people from walking on them and animals from disturbing them.

➤from page 96 But that’s not a question that crosses their minds too much. As refugees, simply having refuge for themselves—and for their dead—is enough. The Rohingya have been forced to stare death in the face since violence broke out on August 25, 2017, causing them to flee for safety to Bangladesh from Myanmar, where they are an unwanted ethnic minority. Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) has been able confirm the reports by refugees of the deaths of at least 6,700 Rohingya, but most likely more, in the month after violence broke out. Mass graves have been found in Rhakine state in Myanmar, filled with Rohingya who have been killed by the military, in what the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights calls “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.” Compared to mass graves where the Visit the new and improved www.iccfa.com

dead become nameless, an unmarked grave fenced in a bamboo box is a place of refuge for the dead, much like tents made of tarps and bamboo are refuge for the living. Because of the enormous pressure and intense persecution the Rohingya faced in Myanmar, they are happier in Bangladesh. They face danger from the looming monsoon season that will bring floods and landslides, the return of elephants to the camp searching for food and the increased potential for snake bites as water snakes return with the coming rain. There is also the tension around the fact that Bangladesh doesn’t want them there at all. Despite these challenges, the Rohingya are glad to put up with these relatively minor inconveniences in exchange for being able to sleep at night without fear of the military. As we left the cemetery, my time of questioning was over, but theirs was only beginning. With my cemetery experience,

I was now viewed as some kind of an expert on angels and demons, as well as jinn. They had plenty they wanted to know about the spirit world. “Have you seen these children with the black cords tied around their bellies?” Muraad asked. I said yes, and he asked if I knew what it meant. I’ve seen this practice throughout Africa as well, and I responded, “It’s to protect them from spirits.” He told me that I was correct. “And you are protecting yourself from spirits, too?” he asked. Muraad and Ahmed figured that, with my years of exper­ience working in a cemetery—hence my presumed knowledge of the world of spirits—I was extra keen on protection from them. I knew right away why he was asking this. I looked down at my wrist that had two black “cords” on it. I chuckled and said, “No, these aren’t for protecting against spirits. These are just hair ties.” r March-April 2018

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by Dale Filhaber ICCFA Magazine spotlight dale@dataman group.com 1.800.771.3282 ➤Dale “Data Dale”

Filhaber is president of Dataman Group Direct, a direct marketing company based in Boca Raton, Florida. Dataman Group was founded in 1981 and has provided thousands of clients across the country with targeted direct mail lists, telemarketing data and digital marketing solutions.

➤In the past 30+ years, Data Dale has

trained many marketers in the latest direct marketing and lead generation techniques, incorporating direct mail, telemarketing, social media, brand building and on-line lead generation.

➤She is a frequent contributor to many

death-care industry publications, including ICCFA Magazine, Southern Funeral Directors and America Funeral Director. She has also presented at various industry conferences, including the ICCFA, FCCFA and the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association, lecturing on lead generation, direct marketing and using different media channels for success.

➤Dataman Group Direct, founded in

1981, provides results-driven direct mail and telemarketing lists to hundreds of clients across the country. The Dataman Group Direct website has a dedicated area for Death Care Industry marketing with lots of actionable tips and information www.datamangroup.com

Editor’s note

Pre-need Sales Success, an ICCFA Magazine column by various authors, focuses on building success in sales, particularly the pre-need sale of cemetery, cremation and funeral products and services. Submission inquiries are welcome. For details, ICCFA Magazine Managing Editor Susan Loving, [email protected].

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PRE-NEED SALES SUCCESS

Marketing today isn’t about talking to ive listeners, it’s about having a conversation with people, engaging in a back-and-forth relationship. It’s called engagement marketing, and here’s how you do it.

Using engagement marketing to attract new customers

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arketing people want to create relationships; salespeople just want to close the sale. Consumers have so many more choices than ever before. There is tremendous competition in the death-care market, and many cemeteries and funeral homes offer similar options. People shop online to get the best price and expect you to match it. The end result of all this is that it gets harder and harder to close that sale based simply on features and price. To move past this, today’s marketing needs to build relationships that override basic features and price. In the old days, we called that building rapport. Nowadays, we call it building engagement. Unlike traditional approaches to marketing where you specifically target prospects with a direct response offer to convert the sale, engagement marketing allows your audience and potential customers to interact with you, to shape how they would like to communicate and develop a relationship with you. The overriding concept is that people will buy from you because they trust you. And, when you are selling an expensive product like pre-need funeral and cemetery products and services, trust is one of the key motivators of the transaction. So, how do they learn to trust you? Through engagement marketing. With engagement marketing, you are creating trust by driving your interested audience toward these goals: • Encouraging a dialogue with indivi­ duals to help them to make an educated purchase decision. An educated, engaged customer is likely to become your loyal customer. • Cultivating individuals as advocates of your thought leadership and market image. You want to develop a cadre of advocates

who will recommend your funeral home or cemetery to their network of friends and business colleagues.

Engagement marketing tips

Here are the 10 easy tips on engage­ment marketing to attract customers and build their trust: 1. Develop an engagement plan. To be successful, you need to start with a clear strategy, plan and approach for your engagement marketing. Your plan will have to include how you will reach out to your audience, which media you will use and how you will respond and interact with your engaged participants. 2. Integrate your plan with your marketing mix. All aspects of your marketing communications need to blend together seamlessly, which is why creating a comprehensive engagement plan is so important. Every outreach in your arsenal needs to include a “call to action” for engagement. Use direct mail, email, social media and even telemarketing, where it’s appropriate, for your outreach. Try to move your audience from one marketing channel to another to increase engagement. For more, go to https://www.datamangroup.com/ top-5-ways-maximize-engagement-acrossdirect-mail-email-telemarketing-socialmedia/. 3. Focus on content and relationships. Your audience needs to feel you are providing them with information and a service level they can’t get from anyone else. That’s why they are hanging on your every word. Building genuine relationships by providing great content that is important to each individual is the best way of achieving the two key goals of engagement marketing: creating loyalty and being the expert people turn to for information. “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

PRE-NEED SALES SUCCESS 4. Become a thought leader. Expand your reach by becoming a guest blogger or commentator on other sites. Consider writing articles for the local newspaper or speaking about death-care planning at the local Chamber of Commerce. Many death-care professionals speak at community houses of worship; some facilitate grief counseling programs offsite. These actions give you more credibility and opportunity for additional interactions. 5. Grow your list. Use permissionbased techniques to encourage subscriptions to your own email list so you can reach out to customers and prospects via email, phone or direct mail. For more information, go to https://www. datamangroup.com/lists-for-funeralhomes-and-chapels/. Ways to do this may include holding a contest (example: contest to name a memory garden), setting up subscription registration or using a lead magnet to drive interest. Then, add look-alikes to your list, using rented prospect lists for both mail and electronic marketing. 6. Invite people to interact with your blog. Establish a culture and enthusiasm for engagement by encouraging your audience to contribute with comments and suggestions to your blog posts. This helps them connect with you even further, and their comments get broadcast to their network, which further increases your reach with their connected communities. 7. Conduct surveys and polls. Run surveys from time to time to give your customers and prospects opportunities to tell you what they think. An example might be asking how people feel about alkaline hydrolysis. This is another way to initiate engagement and to learn from and about your listening community. Use surveys or web polls to start the dialogue that is relevant to the individual. 8. Engage with social networking. If your goal is to attract consumers, try Facebook and Instagram. Most funeral homes are already participating in some kind of interaction on social media. If you’re looking for a younger consumer segment, consider Snapchat. For B2B, use LinkedIn. , in social networking, you are not hard-selling, you are engaging with people in their own interest areas. Your goal is to post interesting content that Visit the new and improved www.iccfa.com

people will share with their own networks. 9. Market on social sites. Marketing on social networking sites is not the same as networking and posting puppy pictures. This is your opportunity to boost your outreach to look-alike audiences and start the engagement process on the social media sites using sponsored posts and ads. 10. Ask for testimonials after the sale. Encourage customers to give you great reviews on your products and services and share those reviews with their networks.

, once you have an interested community engaging with you, make sure you keep the lines of communication going. This way you can learn and adjust your strategy to ensure your engagement marketing will deliver bottom-line results to your business by increasing your customer base and repeat sales from your engaged customers. First, make them trust you. Then they r will buy from you.

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by Nathan Nardi [email protected] ICCFA Magazine spotlight ➤Nardi has been a

cemetery director.

death-care professional for over 20 years in both funeral service as a funeral director/ manager and as a

➤He is director of cemetery operations for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, ing the 50+ Catholic parish cemeteries, writing policies that guide cemetery operations, performing market research and in general ing cemetery operations, sales and new project management. He is also the director of the New Cathedral Cemetery in Baltimore.

➤In 2015, when he was executive director of Rose Hill Cemetery, Hagerstown, Maryland, he won a KIP Award for a memorial urn cover developed to cover “temporary” cremation containers for a more pleasing presentation at services. ➤In 2018, he will be returning to ICCFA University as a junior. More from this author ➤Nardi writes a blog, which can be read

at www.thecemeteryguy.com. One of his blog posts:

Think outside the niche

M

ore families are arriving the day of the committal service with an urn in the back seat of their car these days. With no funeral director and sometimes no pastor to direct the service, how can you provide them with the service they need in order to make things easier for both them and their guests? Take charge! Invite the family to meet 30 minutes prior to the published start time of the service. This time can be used to take care of last-minute paperwork, answer any questions they may have or take custody of the urn for transportation to the committal site. A lot of families will appreciate not having to carry the urn to the grave. In fact, the logistics of just who will do that has probably been on their minds. Provide music at the committal site ➤to page 102

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C R E M AT I O N

Why do some families choose cremation while others stay with the traditional burial their parents and grandparents chose, even though cremation might be less expensive? Statistics can tell you some interesting things that can guide your marketing strategy.

Is there a connection between breastfeeding, cremation rates?

I

n a study done by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), a connection is made between mothers who do not nurse their children and poverty. The reason they do not may actually shed light on the reason some of the poorest communities in the country tend to choose traditional funerals. So to answer the question: Yes, there is a connection between breastfeeding and cremation rates, but you have to look a little deeper than just breastfeeding statistics to understand the correlation. For years, funeral professionals have been studying consumer trends and watch­ ing the cremation rate increase. The Crema­tion Association of North America (CANA), estimates the national cremation rate will exceed 51 percent in 2018 and project it to continue an upward trend for years to come. A lot of focus has been given to those who choose cremation, but what is behind the huge difference in state-by-state cremation statistics across the United States? Statistically, seven out of 10 of the poorest states in America, based on median household income, have some of the nation’s lowest cremation rates. These include Mississippi (20 percent), Alabama (25 percent) and Kentucky (27 percent). Seven of the top 10 wealthiest states in the nation cremate at substantially higher than the national average rate. The wealthy states with the highest cremation rates are Hawaii (72 percent), New Hampshire (71 percent) and Alaska (65 percent). Americans in lower-income classes tend to choose formula over nursing more than their affluent counterparts, in spite of the nursing option being free. According to the CDC, the percentage of

mothers in the US who chose nursing over bottle feeding in 2014 was 82.5 percent. According to the same study, the states with the lowest median household income also had below-average numbers of nursing mothers. Another barrier for lower-income families is lack of education. According to the United States Census Bureau study of the percent of people living in each state with at least a high school education, the states with the lowest household income rates are represented with state rankings as 48, 47 and 46. Limited educational opportunities can lead to employment at lower-paying jobs with limited benefits. Education and employment are two primary reasons that people in lower-income classes often tend to continue to live near family and the place they were born. They rely on religious and familial networks for and community. Because of this, their social network can be smaller, almost bubble-like, while more affluent families’ social networks tend to be larger. Within their religious and familial network “bubble” of , the tradition of “doing what’s always been done” is more likely to continue. Are you beginning to see the similari­ ties? Traditional funeral services may be selected by poorer families because of their connection to tradition: “We had a traditional funeral for our grandparents, so that’s what we’ll do.” Historically, cremation was synony­ mous with not having a funeral service. The “bubble” effect and the lack of educa­ tion about the variety of services available could be the reason this false association is still being made. Because neither education nor employment causes many of these family “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

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C R E M AT I O N ➤NICHE from page 100 prior to the service by streaming songs from your smartphone to a wireless speaker. A little background music can help relax people prior to the service and adds an unexpected dimension to the experience. Offer families an assortment of display equipment at the committal site to showcase keepsakes and photos. Because this may be the family’s only opportunity to display these items, you should facilitate the sharing of these treasurers and the stories behind them. Offer tables, table-top tripods and easels for a polished display look.

The family will appreciate how prepared you are to help and that you understand how important displaying mom’s crafts or dad’s model airplane collection is. Make it easy for attendees to find the burial site by providing directions at the main entrance of the cemetery. Offer attendees a map card of the cemetery with the route to the committal service highlighted. On this card, you can provide the name of the deceased, the name and address of the next of kin and, if the family asked for memorial contributions in lieu of flowers, insert that information there, too. The map

card is an excellent way to offer friends and family discounts or information about your pre-need packages, as well. When it comes to serving our fami­lies, we have to think outside the niche. More families are choosing to arrange their own services these days, and this is a good thing. Take this opportunity to shine. Do your best to allow the flexibility your families need to express their loss and provide a good experience for their guests. Email me with how you think outside the niche. I’ll post your comments. —Nathan Nardi

Communities are made up of individuals in all socioeconomic groups. Knowing what we know about the buying preferences of our consumers, it would be wise to employ a micromarketing strategy to reach individuals within each socioeconomic group. to leave the place where they grew up, their proximity to each other is more accommodating to the stricter timeline demands of three to four days between death and burial. Those from more affluent families tend to move away from home and select cremation for the convenience of scheduling services at a time when they can travel or in order to have more time to contemplate decisions about memorialization and a final resting place. These “bubbles” define tradition about many things, from the number of children breastfed to the type of funeral service you might have. Despite cremation being less expensive than traditional burial in many parts of the country and the fact that breastfeeding is free while formula is not, people living in these bubbles are willing to pay more to follow their traditions, and that’s not a bad thing. Just as there are many benefits to bottle feeding vs. nursing (widespread acceptance in diverse populations and flexibility for those with less-accommodating working conditions, to name two), there are benefits to traditional funeral services vs. cremation services (closure which sometimes is not received without seeing the body and the satisfaction of following traditional, religious or personal values, for example). People might select traditional funerals to honor religious preferences, family 102

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values and/or their sense of community and their place in it. No one can put a price on the pride a person may feel in fulfilling the final wishes of a family member. Communities are made up of individuals in all socioeconomic groups. Knowing what we know about the buying preferences of our consumers, it would be wise to employ a micromarketing strategy to reach individuals within each socioeconomic group. By developing promotional materials that target our customers in this way, we can provide information about the services that most interest all groups in our community. Posting targeted ads on Facebook is one example of how this is being done by some organizations. Many funeral homes and cemeteries create Facebook ads using definable demographic parameters to reach people in certain age ranges. What if we take that a step further and employ what we know about the traditional values of some and the more non-traditional values of others to help us design advertising pieces that highlight the services we provide that most interest each group? Gone are the “one ad fits all” cookiecutter days of advertising. Our customers have become more complex and so must our marketing strategies. In addition, the more you know about your community, the more you can

diversify the services you provide in order to meet people where they are. Funeral homes in lower-socioeconomic-class neighborhoods should focus on the benefits of traditional funerals and strive to be the best in their communities at providing those services. Cemeteries in more affluent neighborhoods should focus on providing alternative services to cremation-seeking families in order to satisfy their needs. Whether you run a funeral home, cemetery or cremation service (or any combination of the three), understanding your community’s values when it comes to funerals and permanent memorialization is the key to success in a future of increasing cremation rates. Sources: CDC https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/ mmwrhtml/mm6205a1.htm USCB (median household income by state) https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/ tableservices/jsf/pages/productview. xhtml?src=bkmk CDC (breastfeeding rates in America) https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/data/ nis_data/rates-any-exclusive-bf-state-2014. htm CANA http://www.cremationassociation.org/ r page/IndustryStatistics “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

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Don’t be fooled by imitations! (Todd (Todd W. W. Van Van Beck, Beck, CFuE CFuE -- Director Director of of Continuing Continuing Education, Education, John John A. A. Gupton Gupton ICCFA is the only international, all-inclusive association in the deathcare industry. College) College) Why settle for one association when you can have them all – for one low introductory special of $245 the first year! ICCFA ICCFA strives strives to to meet meet the the variety variety of of consumer consumer demands demands by by fostering fostering aa progressive, progressive, creative, creative, and and diverse diverse culture. culture. ICCFA.com ICCFA.com today today for for aa more more hip in ICCFA gives you access to member networking events, access assured assured tomorrow. events for all faucets of the to money saving member only offers, tomorrow. educational deathcare industry and so much more. today at ICCFA.com

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by Daniel M. Isard, MSFS 1.800.426.0165 danisard@theforesight companies.com ICCFA Magazine spotlight ➤Isard is president of The Foresight Companies LLC, a Phoenixbased business and management consulting firm specializing in mergers and acquisitions, valuations, ing, financing and customer surveys.

MANAGEMENT: FINANCES

As always when there is a change in tax law, how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will affect your organization depends on a number of factors and should be considered well before time to file.

➤He is the author of several books, and frequently speaks at industry conventions. More from this author ➤Educational information, including

copies of this article, can be found at www.theforesightcompanies.com

➤You can follow Isard on Twitter at @f4sight, LinkedIn and “like” The Foresight Companies on Facebook. Editor’s note

The Cemetery Impossible column is written by the staff of The Foresight Companies. If you have a question you want to be featured in this column, please send it to [email protected]. Dan Isard or a member of his staff will call you to get more information and a recommendation will be provided via this column, helping not only you but also others who are facing similar challenges.

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A detail of the building in Washington, D.C., housing the Internal Revenue Service.

How the tax act will affect funeral homes, cemeteries

Dear Dan, OK, how is this new tax law going to affect my funeral home or cemetery? Wondering about TC&JA in TN

funeral homes and cemeteries (combina­ tion operations). If something affects either a funeral home or a cemetery specifically, I make it clear which entity it applies to.

Dear Wondering, The “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” (TC&JA) was signed into law just before Christmas of 2017. The new tax law affects business owners in three broad ways: 1. Deductions for operations. 2. Income tax on the profits of the business. 3. Ability to transfer the business or the after-tax sale proceeds by a change in the estate tax. Allow me to explain all three of these items. Basic ing and tax law is simple. Revenue, minus costs of goods, minus costs of operations, equals profit. You have to keep this operating paradigm in the back of your head at all times. Nothing has changed in a way that affects this paradigm. For the sake of clarity, I will address some of these matters that affect both

Operating deductions

The single biggest change in TC&JA affecting operating deductions is the change to Section 179. Section 179 affects the ability to depreciate equipment used in the production of income in a trade or business. The question in tax law has always been is something deductible or depreciable? The answer has been simple: If something is used up or presumed to be used within one year, it is deductible. If something is used over multiple years, it is depreciable. For example, a business buys a pencil. It is assumed that pencil will be consumed within a year, so it is deductible. However, if that same business buys a mechanical pencil, it is assumed the mechanical pencil will last longer than a year. In theory, that mechanical pencil should be depreciated over its useful life. (Of course, the lead to refill the mechanical pencil would be “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

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MANAGEMENT: FINANCES

Before a taxpayer operating a funeral home or cemetery rushes out to buy equipment or vehicles to use in their business, there should be some thought and planning involved despite these changes. , at best, for every piece of equipment you buy, the government might provide a tax reduction of 30-40 percent, but that means you, as the purchaser, are paying 60-70 percent. expensed as being used up within a year). Obviously, businesses would rather deduct than depreciate. It involves less paperwork and fewer staff resources to track deductions and gives a more cash-oncash focused understanding of profit. There is a great deal of debate as to what the term of a depreciation should be. The useful life of the same object could be longer or shorter depending on how or where the taxpayer uses an asset. A car used by a mortuary could last 20 years, but that same car being used by an Uber/Lyft driver could last three years. Which period of time do you use, as both are business uses of a vehicle? To stimulate the economy, Section 179 was added to the Internal Revenue Code. Section 179 simply states a taxpayer can elect to deduct the cost of certain types of property as an expense, rather than requiring the cost of the property to be capitalized and depreciated. This property is generally limited to tangible, depreciable, personal property acquired by purchase for use in the active conduct of a trade or business. Initially some real estate used in business was not included as “property” eligible for Section 179, but since the age of the 2010 tax law, some real estate has qualified for Section 179 use. Section 179 allows for a large deduction for property, rather than the annual depre­ ciation of that same property. The limit of how much can qualify under Section 179 has changed over the years. The Section 179 election is subject to three important limitations: 1. There is a dollar limitation. Under section 179(b)(1), the maximum deduction a taxpayer may elect to take in a year is $1 million. Prior to the TC&JA it was $500,000. 2. There is a total limit. This is intended to be a benefit for smaller businesses. If a taxpayer places more than $2.5 million worth of section 179 property into service during a single taxable year, the Section 179 deduction is reduced, dollar for dollar, by the amount 106

ICCFA Magazine

exceeding the $2.5 million threshold. 3. The Section 179 deduction for any taxable year may not exceed the taxpayer’s aggregate income from the active conduct of trade or business by the taxpayer for that year. If, for example, the taxpayer’s net trade or business income from active conduct of trade or business was $100,000 in 2018, then the taxpayer’s Section 179 deduction cannot exceed $100,000 for 2018. However, any Section 179 deduction not allowed for in a year because of this limitation can be carried over to the next year. The TC&JA also includes an increase for bonus depreciation. The mechanical and personal property used in operating a cemetery as well as a funeral home will all qualify under this new law. There are new limits on new vehicles and new trucks. The 2018 vehicle depreciation caps will increase. IRC Sec. 280F calls for use of the “new cars” and “new trucks” components to once again increase slightly from the previous year. From 2012 through 2017, depreciation levels for new cars and trucks remained the same. The first-year allowance for bonus depreciation is 100 percent up to a limit of $8,000 starting in 2018 for all qualifying vehicles. The luxury auto depreciation limits under Code Sec. 280F for enger automobiles placed in service in 2018 are: • $10,000 for the first year (if bonus depreciation is not elected) • $16,000 for the second tax year • $9,600 for the third year • $5,760 for each tax year thereafter Section 162 of the IRC covers the deduction of business expenses. Any ques­ tion about whether the auto deduction would qualify should be viewed by tax practitioners from a Section 162 perspec­ tive. If it qualifies under Section 162, then it will probably qualify under the Section 280F perspective. The projected maximum depreciation limits for trucks and vans first placed in service during the 2018 calendar year most

likely will be ed for under the bonus depreciation provisions of section 168. This will allow the business to take a 100 percent deduction for the cost of the vehicle that weighs in excess of 6,000 pounds. Before a taxpayer operating a funeral home or cemetery rushes out to buy equip­ ment or vehicles to use in their business, there should be some thought and planning involved despite these changes. , at best, for every piece of equipment you buy, the government might provide a tax reduction of 30-40 percent, but that means you, as the purchaser, are paying 60-70 percent. Rather than buying new equipment to lower tax bills, pay the tax on your existing, still perfectly fine vehicles and keep the difference in your pocket.

Tax rates

All the headlines focus on the change in the tax rates. In simple, after reading this over from every angle, it appears to reduce the tax rates of the highest income earners about 2.5 percent. However, there are other tax traps that will reclaim this benefit for most. The law sought to bring some equal­ity for business owners, whether C corpora­ tions or -through entities such as sole proprie­tor­ships, S corporations and partnerships. By my estimate, most cemeteries that are taxable entities are S corporations or partnerships, therefore they are through entities. Only about 25 percent of funeral homes are C corporations. Income from -through business entities are taxed at the shareholder’s income tax rate, whatever rate that might be, based upon the amount of other income that taxpayer has. C corporations have always had their own tax rate, and therefore pay income tax at the corporate level. That income tax rate progressed up from 15 percent to 39.6 percent for most small businesses. The taxpayer got to choose which type of entity they wanted to operate as, with the associated income tax being just one factor to consider. ➤to page 108 “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

MANAGEMENT: FINANCES ➤from page 107 The objective of the TC&JA was to pro­ vide -through entities an additional reduction to bring their taxes more in line with the lower corporate rate for C corporations. Section 199A of the TC&JA has created the qualified business income (QBI) provisions. In basic , the QBI qualification will provide a 20 percent deduction of -through income on the owner’s income tax returns. This new rule is subject to certain limitations for wages and other items. To define QBI requires us to split out salary for the owner doing services and the qualifying profits. Salary is taxed as salary and QBI as -through income. , as an employee you get some benefits such as half of the payroll taxes, health insurance, Social Security and Medicare tax up to $128,400 and inclusion in retirement plans sponsored by the company. QBI is only on the excess distributed from your business, not on wages or capital gains or losses, dividend income or interest income. For example, suppose your funeral home pays you a salary of $100,000. It is a -through business and earns $50,000 as business profit. You are the only owner. Therefore the $100,000 would be taxed as wages, subject to that tax rate. The $50,000 would be QBI and you would receive a $10,000 deduction against the $50,000 on your personal return. Should you try and claim it all as QBI, omitting a salary? No, because you would then not be entitled to the deduction because it is limited to 50 percent of the company’s wages, including the owners.

Estate tax

The good news is, only those people with a net worth of more than $11,200,000 ($22,400,000 for married folks) will have to do tax-focused planning. This change in the federal estate tax will not change any state transfer taxes, but they have never been very large as a percentage of an estate. This is not to say that estates don’t require good planning. They will continue to need it if only because you just can’t drop a seven-figure check into the hands of most children. We need to protect this wealth, but that is a different topic and involves different methodology than protecting it from taxation. r Visit the new and improved www.iccfa.com

March-April 2018

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by MaryAnne Scheuble ARCHITECTURE & INTERIOR DESIGN

Building a new facility is always a challenge. There are design and financing decisions to be made and sometimes site-specific problems to be overcome. This is the story about how the team responsible for Divine Mercy Funeral Home met those challenges.

1.866.763.0485 [email protected] ICCFA Magazine spotlight ➤Scheuble is the Hekman Furniture spe-

cialist to the memorial industry. Her design experience began with Ethan Allen as an interior decorator in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After working in education for several years, she ed Cressy Memorial Group, where she works with funeral and cemetery business owners, managers, marketing directors and interior decorators.

➤Cressy Memorial Group, Mishawaka, Indiana, includes Crowne Vault, Howard Miller Memorials and Furniture, Hekman Furniture and R&S Design Gallery. www.cressymemorial.com ➤Casey Miller has been in cemetery management since 1982. In addition to being executive director of Divine Mercy Funeral Home and Catholic Cemetery, he is executive director of the Indiana Cemetery Association. He chaired the Indiana State Board of Funeral and Cemetery Service for two years. More from this author ➤Scheuble will be at the

Howard Miller/Hekman booth in the Expo Hall during the ICCFA 2018 Convention & Expo, April 18-21, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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The lobby of Divine Mercy Funeral Home in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Stone rather than brick was chosen so that the building would not look like a church, and a modern, open feel was incorporated into the design. Selecting durable and attractive carpeting was a challenge. In the end, carpet squares were chosen.

Building a state-of-the-art Catholic funeral home in a traditional Midwest market

C

asey Miller, executive director of Divine Mercy Funeral Home and Catholic Cemetery in Fort Wayne, Indiana, managed what few people thought was possible. In a very traditional Midwest market, in concert with an amazing team, he created a state-of-the-art funeral home. But that alone doesn’t make what he did exceptionally interesting. What makes this achievement notable is that the funeral home is located on the property of a viable 125-year-old Catholic cemetery. On top of that, the market area contains 20+ wellestablished competing funeral homes. At the unveiling of the facility, Miller knew they had achieved their goal. Some guests were so overcome by the beauty

and spirit of the place that they became emotional. Guest comments included: “There’s nothing like this in Fort Wayne!” and “It doesn’t look like a new funeral home—it just looks beautiful!” and “I’m sorry I don’t live here. I’d pre-plan right now if I did.”

The concept

Originally conceived in 2000 but twice denied approval by the Fort Wayne-South Bend diocese, Divine Mercy Funeral Home finally received the go-ahead for construction to begin in August 2016. The Most Reverend Bishop Kevin C. Rhodes was fully committed to this idea of a Catholic and affordable nonprofit “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

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ARCHITECTURE & INTERIOR DESIGN

A view of the funeral home from the outside, showing its location on the grounds of Divine Mercy Catholic Cemetery.

I didn’t want a building that looked like a church, so we changed the design

from brick to stone. The original consideration of using stained glass was revised to include large, clear, arched windows which bring in lots of natural light. It was also important that the building felt open and bright and had a different feel.

—Casey Miller, executive director of Divine Mercy Funeral Home and Catholic Cemetery ministry that buries the dead and cares for the grieving. The inspirational theme was “divine mercy.” Bill Carr, the architect and lead designer with Grinsfelder Associates, provided some history: “Back in 2012 our firm was invited by the diocese to participate in a design competition. We had not designed a funeral home before so, looking for inspiration, we visited California, where we saw dioceseowned funeral home-cemetery combinations. While we won the competition, no action was taken for a few more years.” Then, in January 2015 when newlyhired Casey Miller appeared at his first Catholic cemetery board meeting, he was surprised to be asked how he felt about a

diocese-owned funeral home. “Having worked in the industry for more than 30 years, I was excited by the opportunity and eager for the challenge,” Miller said. “The first order of business was to increase profits of the 175-acre cemetery so as to accommodate the building expense. Thanks to the expertise of our staff, we made it happen.”

The design

“Bill Carr and I met to discuss the vision,” Miller said. “I felt it was crucial to have a unique concept. I didn’t want a building that looked like a church, so we changed the design from brick to stone. The ori­ ginal consideration of using stained glass

was revised to include large, clear, arched windows which bring in lots of natural light. It was also important that the building felt open and bright and had a different feel. “We wanted the design to incorporate a Catholic identity but without exclusivity. With respect to our heritage, the goal was for all to feel welcomed and comfortable, no matter their religious affiliation.” Miller’s design vision required a focus on three main areas: 1. Visitation rooms 2. istrative offices 3. Service space (garage and prep areas). Carr agreed it was important to physically show that the three areas were separate components. To complete the

Above left and right, a visitation room, featuring warm colors, comfortable seating, high ceilings and 60-inch TV monitors. 110

ICCFA Magazine

“Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

ARCHITECTURE & INTERIOR DESIGN distinction, three crosses were placed—one on the roof of the main area and one on each side wing, symbolizing the Trinity. By August 2016, the cemetery board had approved the design and they were able to move forward with construction.

The construction

Bids were solicited and the contract was awarded to Schenkel Construction, a fifth- and sixth-generation Fort Wayne company. “Before starting construction, we visited other funeral homes in several states to glean the best practices,” Chris Schenkel said. “Because of the unique nature of the building, this project required an outstanding collaboration of seasoned professionals from a variety of industries.” Ground was broken on March 1, 2017. The project was completed in an impressively short amount of time, being finished on November 2, 2017.

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The design details

Tradition and innovation have been incorporated into every aspect of this funeral home, starting with the captivating “Divine Mercy” mosaic. A religious tradition is evident but not imposing. “There were design elements we wanted to focus on and others we really wanted to avoid,” Miller explained. “Three complimentary carpet patterns and laminate flooring were selected so as to offer a little variety.” According to Miller there were some design musts, including: • Warm colors (no gray) • High ceilings • Natural lighting • Mixes of fabrics and patterns • Acoustical ceiling tiles for large spaces. • 60-inch TV monitors throughout (there ended up being 18 of them) • Stenciled scriptural ages “My favorite furniture pieces are the Heckman curio cabinets,” Miller said. “There are two in each visitation room used for family memorabilia and for heritage displays—collections we have. Families love these. “I can’t say enough about the great job Cressy Memorial and specifically Mary Anne Scheuble did. When MaryAnne first presented the storyboard of colorful room vignettes for each space, we knew she Visit the new and improved www.iccfa.com

March-April 2018

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ARCHITECTURE & INTERIOR DESIGN

My favorite furniture pieces are the curio cabinets. There are two in each visitation room used for family memorabilia and for heritage displays—collections we have. Families love these.— Casey Miller, executive director of Divine Mercy Funeral Home and Catholic Cemetery

Another view of a visitation room, showcasing the large arched window. Plain glass, rather than stained glass, was chosen to provide more natural lighting.

Above, each visitation room has two curio cabinets. Below, a seating area in the funeral home’s entry.

understood our vision. From the bariatric chairs to tall receiving chairs to the curved modular seating in our selection room, each piece of furniture was selected for a specific need and mindful of the overall design. “The furniture we received was of exceptionally high quality and really exceeded our expectations. Heckman Contract designs furniture for commercial use, but are so pleased with how attractive it is. Several visitors have commented that it makes our place look warm and inviting— like home only better.”

The team

Throughout the process, Miller, who has additional duties as the current executive director of the Indiana Cemetery Association, received advice and from a variety of sources. He can’t say enough about the “design team,” as he calls them. In addition to Carr, Schenkel and Scheuble, he consulted his own staff for design decisions. The Divine Mercy team is comprised of funeral directors Robert “Bob” Jesch and Monte Freeze, Director of Preplanning Karen Lonergan, preplanning advisors Mary Didion and Todd Busick and Director of Maintenance Scott Guerrero. Each was selected based on outstanding reputation and years of experience. It was a huge blessing that there was no learning curve; all personalities blended well. The project also received valuable 112

ICCFA Magazine

advice from professional associates Jan Smith, Tony Lloyd and Ted Mau from Flanner & Buchanan Funeral Homes. Carr, Schenkel and the cemetery board of directors visited numerous Flanner & Buchanan funeral centers to study contemporary design options.

The challenges

Even though the cemetery board ed the idea of a Catholic funeral home, the most difficult challenge was obtaining approval from the diocese, Miller said. Since it was a dramatically new idea, parish priests, deacons and the bishop had to the project before it could progress. Once things were underway, they were faced with a more tangible challenge: Selecting the carpeting. “Selecting a pattern and texture that would be durable, attractive and easy to work with was difficult,” Miller said. “The local carpet store had limited selections for commercial grade carpeting, most of which were solid colors. An internet search of funeral home interiors showed flooring options we liked. We returned to the carpet store knowing what we wanted. The only way to go is carpet squares.” The architectural challenge, said Carr, involved learning the what is involved in funeral care. Design features that he had never had to consider before were mandatory for this project (think preparation room, crematory). Carr was surprised by what he didn’t “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

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ARCHITECTURE & INTERIOR DESIGN

Per Miller, while there were no cost overruns on this project, it’s advisable to budget 5 percent over the contractor’s cost for new builds and have a 10 percent contingency fund available for remodels, just to be prepared for the unexpected.

Another view of the lobby. Scriptural quotations are stencilled on the walls througout the building.

know and all of the behind-the-scenes details that must be taken care of to provide superior funeral service. While he always had great respect for the profession, he now is in awe of needs addressed and care provided. The architects also found themselves forced to deal with “bad soil.” Soil borings revealed that a section on which the building would sit did not have the correct bearing capacity due to the soil mix. It was necessary to remove the bad soil, then replace and pack it. This, plus the rainy season, caused a building delay and some additional costs. Schenkel said that in addition to the “bad soil,” which held too much moisture, access to the site was a challenge because of major sewer line replacements taking place along nearby roads. “Fortunately, we were able to work it out to schedule timely deliveries of materials.” “I learned that running a funeral home is not a job but a calling,” Schenkel said. “I was humbled and honored to work on this project and to be part of such a great team.” There also were design challenges, said Scheuble. “With only gentle direction plus carpet, paint and stone samples, I was chal­ lenged to create comfortable floor plans in this 14,000-square-foot facility which in­ 114

ICCFA Magazine

cludes a crematory waiting room and family hospitality rooms. The furniture had to be extra-durable but welcoming and attractive. “I took a chance in mixing quite a few patterns and colors in each space. The result is lively, welcoming furniture that’s extremely useful and easy to re-position. My favorites are the teal vinyl chairs in the family space and nature-themed accessories. “The hallway spaces also proved challenging. People always congregate outside the viewing room. We had to accommodate those who need to sit. Chairs and lamp tables were too bulky and tend to obstruct traffic. Benches were the perfect choice, as they come in different lengths and take up less of a footprint.”

The financials

Divine Mercy Funeral Home was given a budget of $3 million. Even with the $130,000 cost to fix the soil issue, the project still came in under budget. It proved to be a smart decision to use the full services of the Grinsfelder Associates. A design-bid option was offered at 3 percent of total cost; there also was a choice to go “full service” at 6 percent. The design-bid option did not allow choices on incidentals such as lighting

fixtures, towel dispensers, etc. Going full service allowed choices on small design details, and they still saved money. Per Miller, while there were no cost overruns on this project, it’s advisable to budget 5 percent over the contractor’s cost for new builds and have a 10 percent contingency fund available for remodels, just to be prepared for the unexpected.

The finished product

Just one step inside gives the visitor a sensation of welcome, light and hope. Tall windows invite a look at surrounding scenery; beautiful décor honors each visitor with comfort and color; soaring ceilings encourage inspiration to rise above grief; exterior stonework echoes permanence and stability. As for functionality, the cremation viewing room is a thoughtful addition, while the conference room allows for group presentations or meetings. This beautiful funeral home provides comfort and joy and serves as an oasis to the bereaved. So, if the design team could change anything, what would it be? Carr, Schenkel and Scheuble concurred that they wouldn’t change a thing. Miller thought for a moment and then said with a smile, “Well, a few more offices would be nice.” r “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

A S S O C I AT I O N Q & A

Question from a new member to a hypothetical room full of ICCFA :

“What makes you ionate about death care?”

Christine Toson Hentges, CCE, president and CEO, The Tribute Companies, Hartland, Wisconsin; president-elect, ICCFA I’ve always viewed this as a special profession, and it certainly is not for everyone. Those of us who have found this ion find it by having a sincere interest in helping families with a topic that is relatively foreign for most people.

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IS TOO HIGH.” How do You Respond? Don’t lower your prices. Help families understand the value you deliver. Cremation with Confidence was created to give you and your staff the tools to defend your price. Call us to learn more about becoming a Cremation with Confidence provider, and exclusively license your county today. @2018 Cremation with Confidence

Jennifer Olvera, CCE, events coordinator, manager of customer service, safety & claims, Green Hills Memorial Park, Rancho Palos Verdes, California; former ICCFA board member I am ionate about death care because I am ionate about service. In my opinion, in order to do what we do and do it to the best of our ability, whether in death care or any profession, you have to have ion— otherwise what is our true purpose? , guidance, comion, hard work, strength, patience and dedication are all key components of ion, components I continue to strive for on daily basis. For many years, I have been compared to my father and was asked in an interview once, “Is it hard following in your father’s footsteps?” My response was simply, “Not really!” I indicated that the only shoes I walk in are the ones that fit my size-10 feet, and if it appears I am following in his footsteps, that is because we just happen to share the same ion in life and in business. “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”—Steve Jobs r

It is a quasi-sacred profession, and we need to behave in a way that expresses this at all times. Most people cannot do that because it requires energy, commitment and having a servant leader mentality. Our society is not good at dealing with death; if I can find a way to help show a family how important this ultimate life event is, I’ve done my job. We make changes one family at a time, and when you know you’ve done good, everyone benefits and that creates the ion that keeps me going. r

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by William H. “Bill” Williams Jr., LFD

MANAGEMENT: FINANCES

ICCFA Magazine spotlight

[email protected]

Unitrust distribution is being adopted by more and more states. Learn what it is and how it is affecting cemeteries now allowed to use this method for drawing on endowment care funds.

➤Williams is president

and CEO of Funeral Services Inc. and serves on the FSI Board of Directors as vice chairman. He ed FSI in 2001 as vice president. He was named president in 2003. Under his leadership, FSI has expanded to offer services in 19 states across the country.

➤Williams has experience in every aspect of the funeral service profession, including ownership and management of funeral homes and cemeteries. He began his career in the death-care profession when he became a licensed funeral director in 1980. He is a graduate of Gupton-Jones College of Mortuary Science in Atlanta, Georgia. www.FSITrust.com

➤Funeral Services Inc., Tallahassee, Florida, is a trust and record-keeping company with more than 40 years of experience in the deathcare profession, serving funeral homes, cemeteries, associations and financial institutions. More from this author ➤Williams will be at the

FSI booth in the Expo Hall during the ICCFA 2018 Convention & Expo, April 18-21, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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How unitrust distribution is providing more money for cemetery maintenance

I

n the first quarter of 2017, the state of Florida officially adopted the unitrust distribution method for the death-care profession. Fast forward to today, where just over one year later, we have literally seen the financial capabilities and performances of many cemeteries, not just in Florida, increase significantly, all because of unitrust—a very promising sign for our profession and the clients we serve. For those who have not heard of unitrust, this bold statement likely caught your attention, and you are probably wondering how you can secure that level of growth for your organization. To start, allow me to provide you with some background information on unitrust, the income-distribution approach that is taking the death-care profession by storm. In short, unitrust—also known as a total return trust—does not limit distributions to the income generated by the trust and provides financial stability to your business. Under unitrust, you can determine an annual distribution between three and five percent, based on the market value of your endowment care trust. So, rather than focusing on just the produc­tion of income, a unitrust transitions the investment goal to focus on increasing the total value of the trust and creating a higher total annual return. The end result can develop a greater annual distribution for the maintenance and care of the cemetery while simultaneously growing the total trust at a steady rate. At FSI, one of our primary focuses, among others, is to ensure that your trust deposits and withdrawals are made in a timely manner and correctly. These duties have enabled us to see the incredible financial benefit unitrust has delivered for organizations across the country. One of our many loyal clients, John

Williams, president of Farley Funeral Homes & Crematory and Venice Memorial Gardens, Venice, Florida, was kind enough to share his personal experience with unitrust and how it has impacted his business. How has unitrust impacted your business from an operations standpoint? As many know, your care and maintenance trust is critical to the ongoing perpetual care of your cemetery. Without adequate funds coming from that trust, the grounds of your cemetery will suffer. We have been in business John for more than 40 years, and Williams during that time I have gained a lot of knowledge about how to achieve success, but maybe one of the most important points I have learned is that “maintenance is marketing.” In other words, the success of your cemetery is dependent on the maintenance of your cemetery—there is truly a direct correlation between the two. Unitrust has enabled us to hire more employees and therefore log more hours into main­taining our grounds. Specifically, just in the past year, we have seen a 25 percent increase in full-time-equivalent employees and have put in more time improving our grounds than we probably have in the last 20 years. Our team has used this increased capacity to take on new projects and address current ones, such as removing old trees and instal­ ling new landscaping, more quickly than ever. When maintenance is marketing, you need a dedicated team to keep your grounds at the highest level, and unitrust has a played a major role in allowing that to happen for our business. How much has unitrust increased your revenue for your care and maintenance fund? “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

MANAGEMENT: FINANCES In­just­one­year,­my­distributable­funds­for­ cemetery maintenance have increased by 2.3 times thanks to unitrust. The impact that unitrust has had on the company is truly remarkable and I am not sure how we were successful without it! I would be wrong to not thank Bill Williams and his team at FSI for being such strong advocates of unitrust, helping Florida officially­adopt­it,­and­making­the­transition­ absolutely seamless. We look forward to how we can further serve our clients in 2018 and beyond thanks to the increased resources that unitrust made possible. How has unitrust benefitted your clients? Clients come to us with a variety of needs on­a­daily­basis.­Whether­it­be­for­flowers,­ burials, a visitation or other services, our business is now prepared to meet any and all of those needs quickly thanks to the increased funds unitrust has provided. We have additional inventory, so clients always have a healthy choice of options, and also more staff to help clients with any requests,­such­as­choosing­flowers,­assisting­ with directions or being led to a grave. This exceptional customer service was not always available before unitrust was introduced to us. Why do you think it’s important to use unitrust for your organization and in the death-care profession? Having funds available to maintain your grounds is one of the most important aspects of your business. When your cemetery is “sold out,” it is critical that your care and maintenance­fund­holds­sufficient­income­to­ preserve the cemetery into perpetuity. If­the­income­falls­short­of­those­finan­ cial needs and the grounds are not managed properly, the cemetery’s upkeep becomes a community liability that taxpayers must fund. Unitrust helps eliminate that possibility because it allows your trustee and investment advisor to invest for both your short-term income and the long-term growth of your trust. Before unitrust, cemetery owners were typically forced to pick between receiving sufficient­short­term­income­or­growing­the­ trust over time. With unitrust, you can set your sights on both,­efficiently­funding­your­day­to­day­ operations while still investing for the longterm growth and preservation of your trust. Is there anything else you’d like to share? Unitrust is available in many states across the U.S., so I recommend that everyone looks to see if their organization is eligible to deploy unitrust. If unitrust is not available in your Visit the new and improved www.iccfa.com

state right now, there are steps you can take to­legalize­it­and­begin­enjoying­all­of­its­ financial­and­operational­benefits­for­your­ cemetery.

Conclusion

As John mentioned, there are opportunities for you to proactively advocate for unitrust if it is not currently available in your state. Some background: Most states’ cemetery laws restrict distributing income from investments to the cemetery for its use in caring for and maintaining the grounds. Therefore, a change in law is typically required in order for your trustee to distribute a portion of the total return of the trust to the cemetery. In some states, a minor change in a rule or regulation will allow you to make use of unitrust, but often it requires more work upfront. But not to worry—there are a number of stakeholders you can educate and engage to help you adopt unitrust in your state, including local colleagues and industry associations. Once you have organized an

advocacy group of death-care professionals, you can approach industry regulators and the legislature—whatever is necessary in your state—to encourage the use of unitrust. More information on the adoption process can be found in an earlier article, “How to enable your cemetery to use the unitrust method,” by Bill Williams and Wendy Wiener, ICCFA Magazine, August-September 2017. Feel free to email me for a copy. The popularity of unitrust continues to grow as the number of states that have adopted it increases year by year. It is hard to argue against the positive impact it has had on cemeteries across the nation, providing owners with a reliable and fruitful distribution to accomplish their short-term goals while preserving the long-term sustainability of their trusts. Just­one­year­after­its­official­adoption­in­ Florida, we have seen unitrust completely change the landscape of how cemetery owners run their businesses—all for the better. One fact is certain: Unitrust is the present and future of income distribution in the death-care industry. r

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by Kelly Rehan ICCFA Magazine spotlight ➤Rehan is a freelance

writer and editor based in Des Moines, Iowa.

C R E M AT I O N

Cremation has become the disposition of choice in the United States only recently, but it has a long history. A new exhibit at the National Museum of Funeral History will take visitors through that history and inform them about today’s cremation options.

How to be a part of the history of cremation exhibit

T

he History of Cremation exhibit is a first-of-its-kind undertaking. You can be included by providing monetary and/or donating artifacts. Several monetary donation options are available: • Niche wall donors ( National Museum of Funeral History President Genevieve Keeney for pricing information): Commit your donor space by June 1, 2018, to ensure your engraved urn with your company’s name is on Keeney display in the niche wall in time for the grand opening. • Urn donors ($1,000): Commit your donation by July 1, 2018, to ensure your company name is listed on the contribution wall in time for the grand opening. • Keepsake donors ($500): Commit your donation by July 1, 2018, to ensure your company name is listed on the contribution wall in time for the grand opening. Contributors will receive a signature keepsake urn commemorating their donation. Niche space donors will have an urn engraved with their company’s name placed in the donor niche wall for a five-year period with the option to renew. Donors may also elect to place their own urn in the niche space upon approval. All donors will receive a personal invitation to the grand opening of the History of Cremation exhibit in the fall of 2018. Want to make a financial contribution? Keeney, [email protected], 832.419.3705.

Interested in donating an artifact? If you have an urn, photo, pamphlet or other historical cremation item you’d like to donate to the History of Cremation exhibit collection, CANA Historian Jason Engler, cremationhistorian@ hotmail.com, 479.381.4424. r

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Depiction of the first cremation in the United States, of Baron De Palm at the LeMoyne Crematory in Pennsylvania.

Exhibit will tell (and show) visitors about cremation in the US, past and present

I

n 1876, the LeMoyne Crematory in Pennsylvania became the first crematory in the United States. That same year, a man named Baron De Palm was the first person cremated there. The inaugural cremation was an event. Local Board of Health and physicians were invited. Crowds gathered outside the crematory hoping to get a glimpse of this new (to the U.S.) method of disposition by fire. A handful of honored guests received a small, clear apothecary jar filled with a portion of De Palm’s remains. Those jars signify the birth of cremation in America. And one of them will be on display at the History of Cremation exhibit opening fall 2018 at the National Museum

of Funeral History (NMFH) in Houston, Texas. The exhibit is a t project of the NMFH and the Cremation Association of North America (CANA). It is a firstof-its kind undertaking—telling a visual story of cremation in America through historical urns, pamphlets, replicas of original equipment and other artifacts, while educating visitors about the technology and memorialization possibilities of modern cremation.

The time is right

Cremation in America has seen a major change in acceptance since its inception in 1876. In the past there were religious “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

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C R E M AT I O N

Above, an aerial view of the History of Cremation exhibit at the National Museum of Funeral History. Below, a view of the entrance to the exhibit, which will take visitors past a kiosk explaining the early history of cremation and into the LeMoyne Crematory room.

outcries labeling it a pagan practice. It took nearly 100 years, until 1972, for the national cremation rate to reach 5 percent. Beginning in 2016, cremation became consumers’ disposition method of choice. But a knowledge gap exists: Consumers

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today prefer cremation over full-body burial, but they know relatively little about it. That’s where the History of Cremation exhibit comes in. “The profession is looking at cremation, at worst, as a necessary evil and, at best,

a real opportunity and new way to serve families,” said CANA Executive Director Barbara Kemmis. “The time is so right for this exhibit. People can gain a better understanding of our roots and what our future can look like.” Kemmis said the seeds of the exhibit were planted when funeral director Jason Engler ed CANA as its official historian. Kemmis Engler, who has collected cremation memorabilia for most of his life, said becoming CANA’s historian made him wonder whether his stock of artifacts could be enjoyed on a grander scale. “Funeral service history is well studied, but not as much has been dedicated to cremation.” Wanting to share Engler’s collection to a bigger audience, CANA pitched the idea of an exhibit to the NMFH. Genevieve Keeney, NMFH president and curator, didn’t take much convincing. “Not only was the exhibition driven by the obvious increase in cremation, but I also walk the museum floor and listen to my visitors,” Keeney said. “It gives me insight on what’s needed. A lot “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

C R E M AT I O N of the comments were about the lack of information on cremation.” Keeney said the exhibit has been three years in the making. In addition to Engler’s extensive historical knowledge, CANA donated time, resources and artifacts—all to help consumers and the funeral services industry better understand cremation and the possibilities for memorialization. “It’s exciting to me to tell the cremation story and to help dispel the myth of how cremation has always been disposal,” Engler says. “It came from a fascinating beginning.”

Four Generations of Caring for Generations to Come.

Architectural Design

A sneak peek inside the exhibit

Though the History of Cremation exhibit won’t open until fall 2018, here is a first look at what to expect. While the exhibit primarily focuses on cremation in the United States, the first thing visitors see at the front of the exhibit is a kiosk where they can learn about the ancient history of cremation, giving them a “full circle” view of cremation’s evolution. The exhibit will then focus on the history of cremation in the United States. And there’s no better way to begin that history than at the LeMoyne Crematory. As visitors approach the opening to the exhibit, they will stand before an exact replica of that facility’s façade. It will be as if they have been transported from Houston, Texas, to Washington, Pennsylvania. Visitors then will enter a room modeled after LeMoyne Crematory’s cremation chamber. From there, they will continue to walk through displays about how the cremation process and memorialization evolved over time in the United States, and CANA’s central role in America’s cremation story. A large part of the historical exhibit comes from Engler’s personal collection of cremation artifacts. He is donating about 90 percent of his extensive collection to the exhibit, including: • 140 books, pamphlets and brochures about historic cremation facilities • 120 urns, some dating back to the late 1890s • 60 postcards depicting various crematories • 20 urn catalogues printed from the 1890s to the 1990s Visit the new and improved www.iccfa.com

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C R E M AT I O N

4 misconceptions and 1 odd fact about cremation

T

he story of cremation’s history in the United States has largely been untold, so the industry is shrouded in mystery and myth. CANA Historian Jason Engler shares four common cremation misconceptions and an Engler oddity he’s observed over the years: 1. If you’re cremated, you must be scattered or kept in an urn in the home. “People often ask, ‘Why would you put a pretty urn in ground?’ People don’t understand that urns are meaningful receptacles to hold remains and may be

treated as a casket.” 2. Cremated remains have always been pulverized into a powder. Not true. In fact, early cremationists in America would not pulverize cremated remains because they considered it desecration of the remains. “They believed if you left cremated remains undisturbed, it would aid in a permanent memorial as opposed to scattering.” 3. It’s impossible to know whether cremated remains belong to your loved one. Many people don’t understand that a cremation chamber holds one body, so only one person is cremated at a time. Also, reputable crematories today use

Above left and center, urns from Art Urn Co. that sold for $10. Above right, one of the National Museum of Funeral History’s keepsake urns, available in a variety of colors.

• 20 original articles, documents, certificates and images about different aspects of cremation Other stand-out items from Engler’s collection include a copy of “Modern Cremation: Its History and Practice,” signed by author Sir Henry Thompson, founder of the Cremation Society of Great Britain, and a copy of “The Cremation of the Dead,” written by CANA founder Hugo Erichsen. Engler is also contributing a unique photograph of the exterior of Rosehill Crematory in Linden, New Jersey. The photo shows a hearse carrying the body of Charles Lindbergh Jr. turning up the driveway in front of the crematory. “It was a tragedy, but at the same time, the photo shows a fascinating glimpse that cremation was happening even then,” 124

ICCFA Magazine

Engler says. In addition to Engler’s personal collection, the exhibit will showcase several prized items from America’s first crematory: • A notebook listing all who were cremated at LeMoyne Crematory, which was kept by the crematory’s designer, builder and operator • A book written by Dr. Francis Julius LeMoyne, LeMoyne Crematory’s founder • A copy of the exclusive invitation for the cremation of Baron De Palm, the first modern cremation in the United States • The casket plate from De Palm’s casket • An apothecary jar containing a portion of De Palm’s remains The exhibit also will showcase the

technology to track the cremated remains throughout the entire cremation process, giving families the assurance that remains returned to them are those of their loved ones. 4. Cremated remains are ashes. Crema­ ted remains are technically pulverized bone fragments. 5. People almost always try to open the urn. This is a fascinating consumer habit Engler has observed over the years. “When a family is selecting an urn, it has been my experience that the first thing they usually do is grab the top and start twisting. Is it human nature to see what’s inside?” r casket lid of the first woman cremated in America, Jane Pitman, who died in 1878. Visitors also will see a letter written by her husband, Benjamin Pitman, requesting her cremation. After the historical portion of the exhibit, the content will shift from past to present. Visitors will stand before a modern cremation chamber. In the opening where the body is placed within the chamber, a video screen will detail the cremation process from start to finish. In the modern cremation portion of the exhibit, visitors will learn the science behind cremation—how it is methodical and well-controlled. “It will open up peoples’ minds to understand the process of cremation and perhaps give them more of an appreciation for cremation,” Keeney said. “The exhibition will allow people to go behind the scenes—seeing cremation containers, the process, how we recycle, how we memorialize.”

Spotlight on products and suppliers

Visitors won’t simply learn the history of cremation and the modern-day processes, they also will see some of the suppliers, manufacturers and funeral professionals behind cremation. This affords the cremation industry a unique opportunity to showcase their products and services to a captive audience. “We help visitors see all the opportuni­ties they can have with cremation—from urns to celebrant services,” Engler said. “We call “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

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C R E M AT I O N

From left, Tina Di Troia, Genevieve Keeney, Jason Engler and JP Di Troia , at the 2017 CANA convention in New York City. JP and Tina DiTroia, owners of NYC’s Fresh Pond Crematory, donated historical urns and photos for the History of Cremation exhibit.

3 ways to stay updated on the History of Cremation exhibit

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he History of Cremation exhibit will celebrate its grand opening in the fall of 2018 at Houston’s National Museum of Funeral History. In the meantime, stay connected on its progress by: • Visiting www.NMFH.org • g up for the NMFH’s monthly e-newsletter via NMFH’s website • Liking the NMFH on Facebook

it our product and services show­case, and it’s a wonderful way for us to introduce a company’s products and services.” Engler said the final thing visitors will see as they leave the exhibit is the donor niche wall, provided by Carrier Mausoleums Construction Inc. The niches will contain urns engraved with the names of businesses and individuals who have ed the exhibit. The wall serves as a visual representation of the array of products, services and people who make cremation a trusted and dignified part of death care. Keeney said the donor niche wall not only will recognize the companies who participate in the exhibit but also give those firms name recognition in the minds of the consumers who through the exhibit. “In a time of grief, people tend to look for some sense of familiarity and comfort,” Keeney said. “My goal is for people to 126

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come to the exhibit, see a company name, and learn about their products and services when they aren’t distracted by grief. In a time of need, they may come across that company and will want it to be part of their loved one’s funeral process because it is familiar. “I want companies to see this as more than simply a donation to a nonprofit organization. It’s a relationship-builder with consumers that you won’t get anywhere else.”

Learning about memorialization

The History of Cremation exhibit shows and tells America’s cremation story in one place, in a way that’s never been done before. To Engler, the exhibit delivers clarity to consumers about an industry shrouded in mystery. “It’s a positive way to help the public

understand everything from memoriali­ zation options to creating ‘gee-whiz’ moments that open their eyes to things they never knew about cremation,” Engler said. Historic crematories that get involved in the exhibit will also benefit, Engler said, as it will provide an outlet where they can tell their stories and show people their focus is memorialization, not body disposal. “While we do talk about the process and history of cremation, what we want the visitor to leave with is the enduring theme of memorialization and how it is achieved in modern times,” Engler said. Kemmis agreed, saying she hopes the exhibit will demystify cremation for both funeral practitioners and the public. Specifically, she hopes it will show that cremation memorialization means more than scattering remains or placing an urn on a mantle. “Cremation isn’t just direct disposal,” Kemmis said. “It’s a way to memorialize in new and creative ways. We hope this exhibit gives people a greater understanding of the cremation process, the options for memorialization and the fact that funeral directors and cemeterians are resources for the public to make us of to explore options for permanent placement of their cremated remains.” Kemmis noted that while cremation continues to rise in the United States— more than half of Americans are choosing it—too often, people stop at “just cremate me.” Where will the cremated remains rest permanently? Cemeteries struggle to capture cremation families and get them to place remains in a permanent resting place. Even seasoned funeral directors and cemeterians struggle with presenting all the options and effectively educating consumers. “Consumers are choosing cremation, but they may not clearly understand what they are choosing,” Kemmis said. “Cremation is a new tradition, so the endless options are overwhelming for everyone.” As consumers continue to choose cremation, the challenge, she said, is showing consumers the seemingly limitless possibilities of memorialization after cremation. “This is a perfect time to highlight the profession,” Kemmis said. “Consumers are already excited about this; now it’s time to get professionals on board and educate r everyone about the process.” “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

Matthew C. Smith Owner & Licensed Funeral Director Spicer-Mullikin Funeral Homes & Crematory

Harvey C. Smith, Jr Former Owner Spicer-Mullikin Funeral Homes & Crematory

FINANCING GROWTH, HONORING TRADITION If you are planning to purchase or grow your funeral home business, Live Oak Bank’s lending experts are ready to guide you through the process. Tim Bridgers at 910.685.7446 to learn more.

©2017 Live Oak Banking Company. All rights reserved. Member FDIC. Visit the new and improved www.iccfa.com

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Supply Line

Bonsai Urn’s celedon urn with a traditional windswept juniper.

Some of Chaton Urns offerings.

Hina Heritage’s chessthemed pawn urn.

READERS: To find the products and services you need online, go to www. iccfa.com for the Supply Link Search Engine, the fastest way to find the products and services you need at your funeral home, cemetery or crematory. SUPPLIERS: Send your press releases about your new products and services, and about awards, personnel changes and other news to [email protected] for inclusion in Supply Line.

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n BONSAI URN, Novato, California, offers urns designed for growing bonsai trees. The urns can be purchased with a several-years-old bonsai tree in place, or the purchaser may buy the tree from a nursery. Each tree comes with special soil, detailed planting instructions and a mixing cup. Trees available are the ficus retusa, willow leaf ficus, braided money tree, Hawaiian umbrella tree, traditional windswept juniper tree and trained tiered juniper. www.bonsaiurn.com

n CHATON URNS, Boerne, Texas, is a family-owned company offering fine handcrafted urn designs in solid wood, exotic veneers and Spanish lacquers. Urns are available for both human and pet remains. 830.368.4797; www.chatonurns.com

n AGES INTERNATIONAL, Albuquerque, New Mexico, has hired Drew Lara as sales manager and Rene Lopez as part of the customer service and inside sales team. Lara studied psychology and strategic communications at the University of New Mexico. Lopez studened strategic communcations and Spanish at the UNM. 1.888.480.6400; sales@agesinternationalcom; www.agesInternational.com

n HINA HERITAGE HANDICRAFTS, Karachi, Pakistan, has introduced a pawn-shaped coral cremation urn. The chess-piece marble and onyxurn is 8 x 8 x 10 inches and has a metal lid opening on the bottom. www.hinaheritagehandicraft.com

n BROWNYARD GROUP, Bay Shore, New York, has launched Memorialpro, a new insurance program with coverage designed for cemeteries and crematories. The program will be written through a carrier with an A.M. Best Co. A+ rating. Brownyard has partner with Regan Agency Inc. of Babylon, New York, an insurance broker to the cemetery business. Memorialpro offers general liability, professional liability, commercial auto, property, inland marine and crime and fidelity coverage. Additional policies—commercial excess and a combined directors and officers and employment practices liability policy—are available. Memorialpro will initial be available in New Jersey and Connecticut and will roll out nationwide later in 2018. http://brownyard.com/

n JOHNSON CONSULTING, Scottsdale, Arizona, has hired Lori Salberg as its new senior business development consultant. She has more than 16 years of experience in cemetery, funeral home and pre-need Salberg sales management. She also directed the development of two proprietary cemetery and funeral home enterprise software systems. She began her career in 2001 as a family service counselor for the Catholic Cemeteries in San Jose, California. She quickly moved into management and rose to associate director of three cemetery locations. In 2010, she became general manager of Holy Sepulchre Cemetery and Holy Angels Funeral and Cremation Center in Hayward, California, where she also ed the Catholic Management Services leadership team as director of istration and IT. In 2015, Salberg ed PlotBox as vice president of sales. She contributed to the development of an SaaS cemetery software program, and was principally responsible for introducing it to the US market. She is a frequent speaker at many state and regional industry events and has written for many industry magazines. She is also a member of the ICCFA Sales and Marketing Committee, which plans and oversees the Annual Wide World of Sales Conference each January. 1.888.250.7747; [email protected] www.johnsonconsulting.com n One of the pre-need marketing programs from PRECOA, Portland, Oregon, received national publicity via a television news story. A Milwaukee television story about a “pizza & preplan” community education event at Krause Funeral Homes and Cremation Service was picked up by media outlets nationwide, including Fox News, the Today Show, the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times. The informal gathering and comfort food are designed to create a warmer, less-intimidating environment in which to start the conversation about death and the importance of funeral service. www.precoa.com

n FUNERAL DIRECTORS LIFE INSURANCE CO., Abilene, Texas, is now offering daily commission payments for sales professionals. www.funeraldirectorslife.com

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S U P P LY L I N E n MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has acquired Star Granite & Bronze, Elberton Georgia, for $41.2 million, subject to a working capital adjustment and potential contingent consideration adjustment based on future performance. The family-owned business has approximately 200 employees and revenues of $31.3 million in 2017. Matthews plans to integrate Star within its Matthews Cemetery Products business. Also, Matthews Cemetery products has hired Paul Rauch as sales manager for Matthews Gibraltar Mausoleum. Rauch has extensive sales and management experience, including 20 years with the concrete Rauch and construction industries, and has a bachelor’s degree in industrial technology from Eastern Michigan University. 1.800.223.4964; www.matw.com

n LINK MANUFACTURING, Sioux Center, Iowa, has promoted Jeff Vierkant to vice president of manufacturing. He ed Link in December 2015 as director of manufacturing. Prior to ing the company, he Vierkant gained more than 20 years of operational experience in manufacturing and human resources throughout North America, Europe and Asia. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Southwest Minnesota State University, and an MBA from the University of Iowa. 1.800.222.6283; www.linkmfg.com

n UNITY FINANCIAL LIFE INSURANCE CO., Cincinnati, Ohio, has introduced Spanish-language policies in Texas. The program includes policies, enrollment forms, G&S contracts and sales and marketing materials. Bilingual customer service representatives are available.Additional states will be added in the future. Also, Unity employees recently volunteers at Cincinnati’s Ronald McDonald House. They prepared and served a meal through the Taste of Hope Program that offers families nutritious meals while they are staying at the house to be near their critically ill children. 1.877.523.3231; www.uflife.com

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n TERRYBEAR, St. Paul, Minnesota, and has introduced an infinity cross pendant. The necklace features an intricate infinity design that represents the endless love shared between two people. The cross is completed with a single cubic zirconia on the front. The collection is made with 316 stainless steel and is available in 14k gold-plated (bronze), or stainless finish (pewter). The design can hold a nominal amount of remains and includes a threaded compartment for secure closure. Each piece comes with a matching 19-inch chain (14 k gold-plated or stainless finish) and fill kit. 1.888.588.8767; www.terrybear.com n CHATEAU URNS, Wellington, Florida, has added two new finishes to its Society line of urns. The new finishes are coastal gray and rustic oak. Both urns are 6 x 7.7 x 4.6 inches and hold up to 213 cubic inches of remains. 1.888.536.5450; www.chateauurns.com

n KUBOTA, Torrance, California, has introduced the new RTV-X1120 model utility vehicles. They offer a 24.8-grosshorsepower diesel engine and a top speed of 29 mph, as well as ergonimally-designed 60:40 split bucket seats, digital dashboard display, fully hydraulic power steering, easily accessible parking brake and large under-seat storage compartments. They are available in orange and camo colors. 1.888.458.2682, ext. 900; www.kubota.com n KELCO SUPPLY CO., Minneapolis, Minnesota, raised money for the Children’s Grief Connection. The Kelco Cold Water Crew jumped into the frigid waters of Lake Waconia on March 3, 2018, having obtained pledges from ers to donate to the Children’s Grief Connection, which s camps that help grieving children and their families after the loss of a loved one. The plunge into frigid waters, or “frunge,” was followed by lunch and cocktails. 1.800.328.7720; www.kelcosupply.com

Terrybear’s new infinity crosses.

Chateu Urns’ new coastal gray finish urn in its Society line.

Kubota’s RTV-X1120 utility vehicle.

Kelco’s Cold Water Crew participates in the 2017 fundraising plunge into Lake Waconia.

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S U P P LY L I N E The System’s personal goal planner.

From left, Lori Asmus, development director for Hospice of Cincinnati & Fernside (hospice that offers a bereavement program for children); Bruce Buchanan, owner of the Buchanan Group Inc.; and Larry Schildmeyer Jr., vice president for Tufts Schildmeyer Family Funeral Homes & Cremation Center.

n THE SYSTEM UNIVERSITY, Sterling, Virginia, has released its 2018 personal goal planner. The 32-page planner was created specifically for funeral home and cemetery sales activities, and includes space for recording prospecting hours, appointments, presentations, number of sales and volume. www.thesystemuniversity.com

n PRIVATE LABEL, Indianapolis, Indiana, recently made several charitable donations. Four organizations received $500 each: Hospice of Cincinnati & Fernside, an that offers a bereavement program to children, nominated by by Tufts Schildmeyer Family Funeral Homes & Cremation Center; Operation Honor Guard, nominated by Sunset Funeral Home for providing financial assistance to veterans organizations that provide military rites at funerals for veterans; Mission of Our Lady of the Angels, nomiated by Smith-Corcoran Funeral Home for its community service to the West Humboldt Park area on Chicago’s west side; and Wreaths Across America, nominated by Holman-Howel Funeral Home for its efforts to honor veterans. Private Label is a division of the Buchanan Group. 317.454.7070 www.BuchananPrivateLabel.com n HEKMAN, Zeeland, Michigan, offers a hospitality cabinet. The cabinet, which has room for a mini-fridge and four drawers, is available in a variety of stain finishes. An optional hutch top is available. 616.748.2660; www.hekman.com n GREAT WESTERN INSURANCE CO., Ogden, Utah, has been acquired by American Republic Insurance Co., a subsidiary of American Enterprise Group, Des Moines, Iowa. The acquisition doubles the assets managed by AEG. John E. Lindquist, GWIC founder, will remain involved and continue to play a key role with funeral home and distribution relationships. AEG COO Dave Keith is leading the integration efforts, overseeing a team consisting of leaders from both organizations. 1.866.689.1415; www.gwic.com

Heckman Contract’s hospitality cabinet.

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n THE DODGE CO., Billerica, Massachusetts, has promoted Tim Collison and Kristin Doucet. Collinson, who has been vice president of sales and marketing since 2008, has been named COO, and will continue with his sales and marketing responsibilities while overseeing overall operations. He started at Dodge in 1986 as a sales representatives in Michigan, becoming sales manager in 2006. Doucet, who was named vice president

of operations, ed Dodge in 2000 as an istrative assistant. 1.800.443.6343; www.dodgeco.com

n EXPRESS FUNERAL FUNDING, Clarksville, Indiana, has promoted Kory McLaughlin to processing manager. He ed the company in 2011 and has years of ing experience in addition to experiMcLaughlin ence with claims processing. 1.800.231.8383; www.expressfuneralfunding.com n VANDOR CORP., Richmond, Indiana, has introduced One Source Prime, which offers funeral professional a bulk purchasing program that significantly reduces overall product cost when half or full semi-trailer-loads are purchased. The list of funeral supplies that can be ordered through the One Source Prime program includes traditional metal and wood caskets; clothcovered, veneer and cremation caskets; ceremonial rental caskets and inserts; cremation urns and other crematory supplies. www.vandorcorp.com

n PIERCE CHEMICAL, Broadview, Illinois, recently presented sales achievement awards to three sales representatives and a distributor for their 2017 accomplishments. Sales representative Randy Emmert received the Bill Pierce Award, given to someone who demonstrates exemplary professionalism and above-and-beyond efforts. He covers the states of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and parts of Kansas. Sales representative Ryan Lee earned two awards, the Top Increase in Fluid Sales Award and the Largest Increase in Revenues Award. Covering the states of California, Hawaii and Nevada, he had just completed his second year with Pierce. Sales representative Don Summers received the Top Sales in Memorial Books Award for 2017. He covers Texas. American Wilbert Vault Corp., Bridgeview, Illinois, received the Top Distributor Sales Growth Award for the second year in a row. 1.800.527.6419; www.piercechemical.com

n ARE, San Francisco, California, has released the next generation of its online Family Collaboration Center. It helps funeral directors directors connect and communicate with families throughout the funeral planning process, from imminent need planning to follow-up items such as death “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

S U P P LY L I N E certificate tracking. Family , friends and even caregivers can be invited to collaborate on arrangements in real time to enter biographical information, service preferences, obituary information and much more. Expanatory and educational videos that guide families through the funeral planning process and provide answers to frequently asked questions have been added. A new section called “Loved One’s Story” was added so family and friends can share information that helps build a more personal and meaningful tribute for their loved one. Other additions include document-sharing capabilities, links to funeral planning resources and reminders. 925.968.9495; www.are.com

n Forty-nine licenses of WILBERT FUNERAL SERVICES, Broadview, Illinois, earned the 2017 Ultimate Service Provider designation. Those who received the designation are Elm Cap Industries, West Hartford, Connecticut; Gulf Coast Wilbert Inc., Crestview, Florida; DePue-Wilbert Vault Co., Savannah, Georgia; Northern Illinois Vault Co. Inc., Belvidere, Illinois; Kelley Vault Co. Inc., Danville, Illinois; Knauer Industries LLC, Joliet, Illinois; Quad Cities Concrete Products LLC, Milan, Illinois; Sterling Vault Co., Sterling, Illinois; Schultz Wilbert Vault Co., Streator, Illinois; Burlington Wilbert Vault Works Inc., Burlington, Iowa; Clinton Wilbert Vaults Inc., Clinton, Iowa; Wilbert Burial Vault Co., Fort Dodge, Iowa; Roland-Wilbert Vault Co., Marion, Iowa; Mason City Wilbert Vault Co., Mason City, Iowa; Ottumwa Wilbert Vault Co., Ottumwa, Iowa; and Waterloo Wilbert Vault Co., Waterloo, Iowa. Also, Wilbert Funeral Services, Kinsley, Kansas; Wilbert Funeral Services, Parsons, Kansas; Wilbert Funeral Services, Wichita, Kansas; Wilbert Vault of Somerset Inc., Somerset, Kentucky; Richards-Wilbert Inc., Hagerstown, Maryland; Detroit Wilbert Vault Corp., Detroit, Michigan; May Wilbert Vault Corp., Port Huron, Michigan; Wilbert Funeral Services, Grandview, Missouri; Wilbert Funeral Services, Jackson, Missouri; Wilbert Funeral Services, Moberly, Missouri; Wilbert Funeral Services, Mountain Grove, Missouri; Wilbert Funeral Services, St. Joseph, Missouri; St. Louis Wilbert Vault Co., St. Louis, Missouri; and Wilbert Funeral Services, Versailles, Missouri. Also, Josten Wilbert Vault Co., North Platte, Nebraska; Asheville Wilbert Vault Service Inc., Candler, North Carolina; Baxter Burial Vault Service, Cincinnati, Ohio; Visit the new and improved www.iccfa.com

Longstreth-Wilbert, Galion, Ohio; Ohio Vault Works Inc., Valley View, Ohio; Wilbert Funeral Services, Lawton, Oklahoma; Wilbert Funeral Services, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Wilbert Funeral Services, Girard, Pennsylvania; Evans Burial Vaults, Leola, Pennsylvania; Columbia Wilbert Vault Co., Cayce, South Carolina; Wilbert Burial Vault Co. Inc., Greenville, South Carolina; Charleston Wilbert Vault Co., Summerville, South

Carolina; Lawrenceburg Burial Vault Co., Lawrenceburg, Tennessee; Wilbert Vaults of Houston LLP, Houston, Texas; RichardsWilbert Inc./Roanoke Valley, Salem, Virginia; Carr Concrete, Waverly, West Virginia; Brown-Wilbert Inc., Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Fond du Lac Wilbert Vault Corp., Fond du Lac, Wisconsin; and Brown-Wilbert Inc., Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. r 1.888.WILBERT; www.wilbert.com

ARE YOU ATTENDING THE ICCFA CONFERENCE IN APRIL?

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Update

Send in news about your cemetery, funeral home, crematory or association to [email protected] or mail to: Susan Loving, ICCFA, 107 Carpenter Drive, Suite 100, Sterling, VA 20164.

CCMS’s newly trained Certified Celebrants, who received their training as part of their curriculum in the mortuary science degree program.

n Twenty-seven bachelor of mortuary science degree students at CINCINNATI COLLEGE OF MORTUARY SCIENCE, Cincinnati, Ohio, recently completed a three-day training to become InSight Certified Celebrants. The training was done by CCMS faculty Teresa Dutko and Wanda Lee, funeral celebrant trainers. Celebrants learn to meet the needs of families by creating services that honor the stories and personalities of a family’s loved one. “Celebrant training is so important that it is part of our degree program,” said CCMS President and CEO Jack E. Lechner Jr., CFSP. “Death-care professionals need foundational training to ensure they can meet the specific needs of the families they will serve, and this training is critical to that end.” Doug Manning and Glenda Stansbury of the Insight Institute reached a longterm goal three years ago to train others to provide the celebrant program they’ve been offering since 1999. They started by developing a training and franchise license that can be incorporated into mortuary programs curriculum. Lee and Dutko, who has trained as celebrants in 2005 and 2006, respectively, were the first to answer this call. The newly certified celebrants are Melanie Anderson, Leigh Badyna, Cath132

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erine Collins, Emily Doan, Jessica Eckstein, Anastasia Elencovf, Mason Elrod, Aaron Engle, Courtney Evans, Michael Faraco, Sydney Heinle, Alecia Hellkamp, Samuel Henson, Lynne Hoffman, Brandon Jackson, Jordan Kill, Vanessa Leon-Verde, Brandon Miller, Emma Miner, Nikita Ogard, Delzie Osborne, Layne Perone, Sandra Sanders, Sarah Stansbery, Tyra Turk, Jessica Wavra and Katia White.

n SERVICE CORPORATION INTERNATIONAL, Houston, Texas, and its brand, Dignity Memorial, have presented Diane Gansauer with the SCI Service Excellence Award for Excellence in Market Leadership. Gansauer is director of celebrant services at Olinger Crown Hill Mortuary and Cemetery, Denver, Colorado. She was recognized for going beyond the call of duty in her work, exceeding expectations in service and executing tasks with accuracy, precision and creativity. Gansauer has managed the Celebrant Services Program since November 2013, during which time the Denver area has grown to have the largest celebrant program of all Dignity Memorial markets. Certified celebrants have been trained and certified to meet the needs of families during their time of loss by providing a funeral service, memorial service or service tribute that is personalized and individual-

ized to reflect the personality and lifestyle of the person ed. The location will serve more than 200 Denver families this year with ceremonies that are unique to their loved one. “Without Diane, our celebrant program would not be so successful,” said Denver Market Director Matthew Whaley. “She has hired and mentored 10 celebrants for us here in Denver and her amazing ability to create a service like no other—which

Diane Gansauer receives the SCI Service Excellence Award from Denver Market Director Matthew Whaley. “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

U P D AT E is our brand promise—is second to none. Diane works long hours putting the final touches on these unique and special stories, and she does it because she truly wants to bring out the essence of the life lived.” Gansauer began working at Olinger Crown Hill Mortuary after a 25-year career in wildlife and land conservation. During that time, she met Robert Waltrip, founder of SCI, while working on the protection of the wildlife habitat on his ranch property. Waltrip was impressed with the ceremony she planned to honor the completion of the multi-year effort to install conservation easements on the property and connected her with Whaley.

n Julie Olds, director of community relations and education at SCHOEDINGER FUNERAL AND CREMATION SERVICE, Columbus, Ohio, has recently received certification in thanatology. The Certified Thanatologist credential is sponsored through the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Candidates are required to have a bachelor’s degree, two years of related work experience and 60 credit hours of continuing education, and then must a standardized exam covering the following topics: contemporary perspectives of death; loss and grief; coping with dying; life-span issues; bereavement through interventions; cultural implications; and ethics, regulatory and legislative issues. Schoedinger strives to provide cutting-edge programs and to the professional healthcare community of Central Ohio, as well as to the families they serve. Olds’ certification ensures that their programs and information follow the latest in death, dying, grief and bereavement theories and practices. n CARRIAGE SERVICES, Houston, Texas, has acquired Thomas F. Dalton Funeral Homes, Long Island, New York. The funeral home dates back to 1924 when Thomas F. Dalton began serving the families of Floral Park from a single facility. The third generation, Tim Dalton and Dalton-Costello, entered the family business in 1977 and 1983, respectively, and later transitioned owner owners. Under their leadership, the business has grown to the surrounding communities and now serves more than 900 families annually with five chapels. Beth Dalton-Costello will be staying on at the business under a five-year employment agreement. Visit the new and improved www.iccfa.com

Come GROW with Us Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice

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U P D AT E ment for Center City District and executive director of its foundation and as chief of staff for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. West Laurel Hill Cemetery was founded in 1869. In 1996, West Laurel Hill acquired Bringhurst Funeral Home, and built the funeral home on the grounds. In 2005, it purchased Turner Funeral Home.

The holiday party and fundraiser held at US Columbarium co-sponsored by the columbarium and thse Queens West Kiwanis Foundation.

n US COLUMBARIUM CO., Middle Village, New York, partnered with the Queens West Kiwanis Foundation for a holiday party and fundraiser for St. Mary’s Hospital for Children in Bayside, New York. New York State Association of Cemeteries Past Pesident Ray Planell, who is a St. Mary’s board member, attended the event, which raised more than $2,000. A woman whose daughter received open heart surgery at the hospital spoke at the event, which also featured musical performances. US Columbarium is at Fresh Pond Crematory. President is J.P. Di Troia.

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n WEST LAUREL HILL CEMETERY & FUNERAL HOME and LAUREL HILL CEMETERY, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, has a new president and CEO, Nancy Goldenberg. She also will provide oversight Goldenberg to the Friends of Laurel Hill Cemetery. She has a degree in urban studies from George Washington University, Washington, D.C., and a master’s degree in city planning from the University of Pennsylvania. She previously served as vice president for planning and develop-

n Randy C. Reeves was recently confirmed as under secretary for memorial affairs of the NATIONAL CEMETERY ISTRATION, Washington, D.C., As under secretary, he leads 135 national cemeterReeves ies in providing dignified burial services for veterans and eligible family . His responsibilities include maintaining the cemeteries as national shrines; design and construction activities related to the establishment of new national cemeteries; overseeing memorial programs to honor the service of veterans, including the provision of headstones, markers, medallions and presidential memorial certificates; and istering federal grants to help states, territories and tribal governments establish veterans cemeteries. Prior to his confirmation, Reeves served as the executive director of the Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board from 2011 to 2017. During his tenure, he drastically increased service to Mississippi veterans while consistently improving fiscal ability and efficiency of operations. Reeves originally entered military service in 1980 when he enlisted in the United States Air Force. He served for eight years as an enlisted man in the Air Force and was commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy in 1988. He is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm and the Global War on Terrorism with multiple deployments during combat operations. He is a Certified Public Manager and a graduate of the John F. Kennedy School of Government Senior Executive Program at Harvard University, the John C. Stennis Institute State Executive Development Institute at Mississippi State University and the Institute for Educational Leadership Education Policy Fellowship program. He earned a master’s degree in health science from Touro University and a bachelor’s degree in management from Peru State College in Nebraska.

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U P D AT E n Archer Harmon, general manager of FAIRFAX MEMORIAL FUNERAL HOME, Fairfax, Virginia, recently made a presentation to the consular corps of Washington, D.C., on repatriation of human remains. The training session, “From Death Through Repatriation of Remains: What Every Consul Needs to Know,” held at the Embassy of New Zealand, was designed to inform consuls of what to do when they receive word that one of their country’s nationals has died in the U.S. D.C. Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Robert Jeff Touchette, memorial design special- Mitchell talked about about consuls need to ist for Albany Diocesan Cemeteries. know and do once a body has been identified. Harmon talked about what needs to be done n ALBANY DIOCESAN CEMETERafter the coroner has finished his or her work IES, Albany, New York, has opened its and signed the death certificate. He agreed new Catholic Monument Design center. to fill in at the last minute after the untimely Jeff Touchette is serving as memorial design specialist. The website lists the dif- death of original presenter Carson Sprow of International Mortuary Shipping (see obituferent design option categories available, ary, below). including memorials and markers; memorial tributes, including mausoleum emHarmon explained what happens after a blems and portraits; mausoleum artwork funeral home receives the body, including the such as mosaics and icons; memorial, embalming and preparation of the body for trees, bluebird boxes and benches; private travel or cremation, the paperwork required mausoleums; and family heritage lots. before repatriation and the logistics involved

In memoriam Carson Wade Sprow

Carson Wade Sprow, president and founder of International Mortuary Shipping LLC, died unexpectedly on February 18, 2018. He was a U.S. Army combat veteran (February 1979-August 1989), having served as an Army Ranger, 2nd Bn, 75th Infantry, and an instructor in the Florida Phase and Desert Phase Ranger School during his final five years of service. He graduated from the Commonwealth Institute of Funeral Service, Houston, Texas, in 1990. During his career, he taught restorative arts in the Piedmont Technical College mortuary program and served as preceptor for students completing the internships required for licensing. He also co-authored the Standard Operating Procedures for identification of human remains through prosthetics and orthodontics with the late Dr. Tony Manoukian, chief medical examiner for the state of Hawaii. The SOP was first used following Visit the new and improved www.iccfa.com

Hurricane Katrina and later adapted for use by other disaster organizations. He was a member of the National Funeral Directors Association, the South Carolina Funeral Directors Association, the South Carolina Coroner’s Association and ALPAR (the Association of Latin American Funeral Homes and Cemeteries). Survivors include his wife, Gale Plotkin Sprow, and his brother, Carl Sprow. He was predeceased by his son, Wade Sprow. Visitation was held at the S.R. Holcombe Funeral Home, Union, South Carolina, followed by burial at the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton. Memorial donations can be made to The Rebecca Kutchins Fund, 1101 Perimeter Drive, Suite 760, Shaumberg, IL 60173; or to MD Anderson, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, #426, Houston, TX 77030.

Franklin O.L. Steinberg

Franklin O.L. Steinberg, 83, funeral director, president and owner of Sunset Chapels, Manhasset, New York, died January 12, 2018. He was past president and longstanding board member of the Metropolitan Funeral Directors Association.

Fairfax Memorial Funeral Home General Manager Archer Harmon with New Zealand Consul General Anna Law after Harmon’s repatriation presentation to the consular corps of Washington, D.C.

in repatriation. He explained metal caskets for transportation, as well as casket alternatives and oversees shipping containers, as well as the requirements for shipping cemated remains. The organizer thanked Harmon for his explanation of the step-by-step process of preparing the necessary paperwork, and noted that the presentation was, unfortunatley very timely, as a diplomatic colleague of one attendee died less than 12 hours later. r A visitation and religious funeral services were held at Fairchild Sons Funeral Chapel in Manhasset. Interment was at Mt. Ararat Cemetery, Lindenhurst, New York.

Steven Frank Vincent

Steven Frank Vincent, 70 of Galena, Illinois, died from congestive heart failure on January 23, 2018. He earned a degree in business and ing at the University of Wisconsin Platteville. He became a fourth-generation owner of J.P. Vincent & Sons in 1970. He was elected to the Doric Products Board of Directors in 1991 and had been serving as president since 2006. He had served as a member of the St. Michael Cemetery Committee and as secretary of Greenwood Cemetery. Survivors include his wife, Patti, son Michael and daughter Stephanie. A visitation and funeral were held at the Furlong Funeral Chapel, Galena. Burial was in Greenwood Cemetery, Galena. Memorials may be given to Greenwood Cemetery, P.O. Box 326, Galena, IL 61036. r

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U P D AT E

The River Room at Riverview Funeral Home, with a view of the Hudson River, is the most spacious room for services in the area.

Riverview Funeral Home by Halvey opens

R

iverview Funeral Home by Halvey, a Beacon, New York, business founded in 1933, celebrated its new riverview facility with a grand opening celebration at the end of 2017. “We are excited to welcome the Beacon community to our new riverview location,” said Riverview Funeral Home President Patrick Halvey. “Moving from 24 Willow Street to 2 Beekman Street gives us the opportunity to provide the Beacon Halvey community with a modern, spacious and beautiful facility to serve families in their time of need.” Attendees enjoyed tours of the new faci­lity; beautiful Hudson River views; and spirits, beer and food from Beacon merchants. Raffles for gift certificates to local ➤to page 138 136

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Riverview Funeral Home by Halvey, in Beacon, New York. “Like” the ICCFA on Facebook & friend “ICCFA Staff ”

U P D AT E

Above and below left, the Mountain Room provides a serene space for families wanting a smaller gathering. It also can be used as a lounge or overflow space for large services. The grand foyer, below right, has a stone tile floor and a chandelier. The room is dominated by the original painting “Beacon’s Long Dock.”

Left, the River Room includes a traditional seating area as well as a cozier living-room atmosphere. Families often choose to display pictures on the dressers and tables while also being able to display a photo montage or video tribute of their loved one on the monitors. Visit the new and improved www.iccfa.com

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U P D AT E

One of the photos on the firm’s website emphasizes the view of the Hudson River.

➤from page 136

restaurants were held throughout the event. “The Halveys have created an extra­ ordinary funeral home, with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the majestic Hudson River, to serve families in their time of need,” said Beacon architect Aryeh Siegel, who designed the facility.

The funeral home is on a hillside overlook­ing the Hudson River, which provides a backdrop for families to gather in a peaceful, tranquil environment. The funeral home includes a family arrangement room where all merchandise can be viewed online in 3D on a 72-inch television monitor in a comfortable setting. In addition to Siegel, the Halveys em­ ployed more than a dozen Beacon contractors to complete the construction of the building. Riverview by Halvey Funeral Home also commissioned a special painting of the view from Beacon’s Long Dock Park from local artist Russ Cusick of Russell Cusick Gallery to hang in the entryway of the building. The funeral home, now one of the largest in New York’s Hudson Valley, has been fully rebuilt with a substantial patio, two spacious

service rooms and endless views of the Hudson River. While maintaining a classic traditional style cohesive with the existing neighborhood, the new facility is a modern, 100 percent handicappedaccessible building with plenty of onsite Zoey Halvey, community outreach parking. The funeral home manager. also employs Zoey Halvey, a goldendoodle, as its community outreach manager. The funeral home is a third-generation business started by John Halvey. r

as the student who, through qualities of leadership, professional conduct and good citizenship, best typifies the ideals of the student body. The John Rebol Award was presented to Juliana Fortunato, who had maintained the highest scholastic average for the school year. On behalf of the PIMS Board of Directors, she also received a $500 scholarship. Londyn Hutson received the William J. Musmanno Memorial Award in recognition of her outstanding ability, attitude, commitment and achievement in the clinical embalming setting. She received a $500 scholarship approved by the PIMS Board of Directors and an embalming kit from PIMS alumnus Wayne Urbine. The Pierce Chemical Chemical Restorative Art Award was presented to Amanda Champney in recognition of her outstanding ability, commitment, attitude and achievement in the areas of restorative

art and cosmetology. Pierce representative Michael Kuruc, a PIMS alumnus, made this award available. Derek Anderson received the Dodge Award recognizing a student who demonstrated both exceptional and theoretical expertise throughout the embalming curricula practicum. Matt Black, Dodge representative and PIMS alumnus, made this award available. Anderson also received a complete Dodge embalming kit. Joseph Barnett received The Champion Award for Mortuary Science. The award is given to the student recognized by the PIMS science faculty to have demonstrated the overall scholarship, aptitude and practical skills specifically in the core science component of PIMS program. Paul Bauman, Champion vice-president and general manager, presented Barnett with a plaque and a $500 product credit towards Champion products. Alistair Kamm received the Eugene C. Ogrodnick Entrepreneurial Award, based on stewardship, scholarship and leadership. The award is presented to the student chosen by the core business faculty of PIMS as having the entrepreneurial spirit and greatest potential to impact the funeral service industry at large. Kamm received a $1,000 check, half from PIMS and half from PIMS President Eugene Ogrodnik and his wife, Karen. Ten percent of the graduates received the Mu Sigma Alpha Award, established by the National Association of Colleges of Mortuary Science to recognize scholarship and citizenship. They are Nicholas Beck, Alina Fields, Rachael Harris, Karl Meyer and Neil Smith.r

Some of the students in PIMS’ most recent graduating class

n PITTSBURGH INSTITUTE OF MORTUARY SCIENCE, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, recently held its 165th commencement exercise. The commencement address was delivered by Susan A. Stuart, president and CEO of the Center for Organ Recovery and Education. Candidates received diplomas in embalming and funeral directing or associate degrees in funeral service arts and sciences. One student received a bachelor’s degree from Thiel College in Greenville, Pennsylvania. Through PIMS’ cooperative bachelor degree programs, he was able to combine course work from PIMS with his education at Thiel. PIMS also has three other colleges/universities it shares a cooperative bachelor’s degree program with. Several awards were presented at the ceremony. The Memorial Award was presented to Joseph Greenfield, chosen by his classmates 138

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I C C FA S TA F F P R O F I L E S

Giroux keeps track of the association’s money Name: Teresa Giroux

Started with the ICCFA: January 2016 Job title: ing coordinator What you do for our (primary duties): All aspects of s receivable, including cash receipts, magazine, music license and sponsorship invoicing, as well as check and credit card processing. I also help process s payable invoices and payments on a weekly basis. Professional background prior to coming to the ICCFA: I worked in the ing department for a trade association for 18 years but have worked in the ing field for the past 25 years. What do you like most about working at the ICCFA? The people and the small office makes it feel like family. I have worked for mid-size and small companies throughout my career but have gravitated toward a small business environment. What have you learned about the cemetery or funeral profession that has surprised you the most? That ashes can be made into almost anything—amazing. What’s your answer to people who say, “You work where?” I just laugh. I worked

ICCFA ing Coordinator Teresa Giroux.

for an automotive trade association and people used to say “I can’t believe you work in an auto shop!” Now they say “What? You work with bodies? Why can’t you get a normal job!” Like I said, I just laugh. Outside interests/hobbies/accomplish­ ments: I have two teenagers who keep me

busy the majority of the time, but I love to read, take my dog on long walks and just hang out with family and friends. I love the beach, so most vacations are spent in North Carolina, but I hope to travel to Hawaii one of these days! I am an avid country music fan, so one of the highlights of my 2017 was getting to meet Jo Dee Messina at our convention in Nashville. r

Guidone coordinates meetings, conferences for ICCFA Name: Jaclyn Guidone Started with the ICCFA: July 2017 Job title: Meeting coordinator/planner What you do for our (primary duties): I handle everything related to registration, coordinate details of each meetings, and schedule and organize speakers for two of the ICCFA meetings.

ICCFA Meeting Coordinator/Planner Jaclyn Guidone. Visit the new and improved www.iccfa.com

Professional background prior to coming to the ICCFA: Most recently I was a client coordinator at WJ Weiser and Associates, an association management

company in the Chicagoland area, where my main responsibilities were meeting coordination and working directly with to help them for meetings, pay hip dues, obtain CE information and certificates, etc. What do you like most about working at the ICCFA? I most enjoy learning about all the different facets of the industry and working with all the comionate people in death care. Working at ICCFA makes me feel like we are a part of helping our and attendees better serve their families. r

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A S S O C I AT I O N Q & A

Questions from a new member to a hypothetical room full of ICCFA :

“For pet cremation, how do you attract more veterinary clients?” Coleen Ellis, CT, LP, managing partner and chief marekting officer, The Pet Loss Center, Dallas, Texas; co-chair of the PLPA First of all, there is no quick and easy answer to this question. Attracting more veterinary clients is a process that needs to happen every day. Initially, make sure the offering of your enterprise is

relevant, and under­stand if your pricing is appropriate for your services and is fairly set. Next, consistently making sales calls to understand a clinic’s needs and desires will be key. Consistently making sales calls, as well as being persistent in getting to the person who needs to hear your story, are crucial. In addition, find events and places you can attend to continue to share your

New

Providing exceptional education, networking and legislative guidance and to progressive cemetery, funeral and cremation professionals worldwide

FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE ICCFA AND HIP • Go to www.iccfa.com/hip to a benefits brochure and an application form. • Call 1.800.645.7700 to have hip information faxed or mailed to you.

Regular

Bateman Newport LLC Newport, Oregon Brown-Forward Funeral Service Shaker Heights, Ohio Callaway-Smith-Cobb Funeral and Cremation Services Marlow, Oklahoma Clymer Cremations & Funeral Home Palm Coast, Florida Desert Valley Mortuary* Somerton, Arizona Joseph P Reardon Funeral Home and Cremation Service Ventura, California Karl N Flagg Serenity Memorial Chapel Inc. Palatka, Florida Music City Mortuary Nashville, Tennessee Oakwood Memorial Park Ottawa, Illinois Perinchief Chapels Mount Holly, New Jersey Puertas del Cielo SA de CV Puebla, Mexico

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brand and commitment to partnering with veterinary clients. You will need to share your story time and time and time again. To reiterate: There is no quick and easy answer to this question other than planning your work and working your plan for sales and marketing calls. And, persistency and consistency in these sales calls will also be a bonus. r

HIP APPLICATIONS ission to ICCFA hip normally requires a majority vote of those present and voting at any meeting of the executive committee. The names of all applicants must be published in this magazine. ICCFA objecting to an application must do so in writing to the ICCFA executive director within 45 days of publication. In the event of an objection, the executive committee will conduct an inquiry. If an applicant is rejected, they will be granted an appeal upon written request. The decision of the Board of Directors shall be final.

Professional/Supplier

Arrow Vault Co. Inc. Lafayette, Indiana Ash Beads Eureka, California Bonsai Urn Novato, California Brownyard Group Bay Shore, New York Cremation By Grandview Maryville, Tennessee Foothill Funeral & Cremation Service Glendora, California Handful of Home Dublin, Ireland HIS Crystal Memory Co. Tomball, Texas Infinite Innovations Springfield, Missouri Modularium Structures Inc. Tillsonburg, Ontario Partner Plus Media Charlotte, North Carolina Phoenix Memorial* Champlain, New York

Phyll The Love LLC Greenwood Village, Colorado Qingdao Heng Ming Da Co Ltd. Qingdao, Shandong, China Saint Francis Cromo Inc. Sun Valley, California SongPods of Solace Tippecanoe, Ohio The Price Shopper Greeley, Colorado

Professional: Pet Loss Services

Faithful Friends Pet Memory Center Florence, Kentucky Monroe Veterinary Associates Rochester, New York Only Cremations for Pets Newport Beach, California Resting Waters Aquamation Seattle, Washington *reed

r

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I C C FA N E W S

Winners of the 2017 Keeping It Personal Awards

R

esults for the 2017 Keeping It Personal (KIP) Awards are in! The KIP Awards showcase the very best in personalization in the death-care profession. We received 51 entries from around the world, including Bermuda, Canada, Guatemala and the United States. The winners are:

Most Personalized Service or Memorial First Place and Grand Prize Winner Pray Funeral Home: “The Celebration of Evan Adams” Charlotte, Michigan Honorable Mention Mountain View Funeral Home “Memorial for Princess Kaia Howard” Lakewood, Washington

Best Practice/Personal Touch

First Place Striffler-Hamby Mortuary: “Cremated Remains with a Personal Touch” Columbus, Georgia Honorable Mention Legacy Touch: “The Legacy Touch Advantage” Lee’s Summit, Missouri

Best Event

First Place French Funerals-Cremations/Sunset Memorial Park: “Scatter Day” Albuquerque, New Mexico

Honorable Mention Los Parques, S.A. : “Memories of Light” Guatemala City, Guatemala

Innovative Personalized Product

KP KI

Best in Personalization

A wardd

First Place Heaven’s Maid: “Graveside Cleaning Online Platform” Hazel Park, Michigan Honorable Mention Memorial Reefs International LLC: “Reef Balls” Hamilton Parrish, Bermuda

Most Personalized Pet Service or Memorial

First Place Clock Timeless Pets: “A Hero’s Final Farewell” Muskegon, Michigan Honorable Mention Timberland Urns: “Chad’s Labrador Retriever Photo Urn” Eagan, Minnesota

All KIP Award first place and honorable mention winners will be showcased at the 2018 Annual Convention & Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, April 18-21. Each year, the grand prize winner receives a free registration to the convention. All winners will be featured this year in ICCFA Magazine. For more information on the winners, visit www.iccfa.com/kip. q

WWS attendees leave NOLA with lagniappe to

Y

ou just can’t go to New Orleans and not have a good time! From the minute you get to town, the atmosphere of the place takes over, and leaves you open to an experience you can’t get anywhere else. Ask anyone who attended the 2018 Wide World of Sales Conference and they’ll tell you the January conference is a great way to set the tone for the coming year. As one attendee put it, the WWS program is filled with “great practical content to take home and use every day.” Attending a sales conference, you would expect to hear about prospecting, presenting and closing a sale, but have you ever thought about counting how many no’s you get, instead of how many yes’s? Or what about throwing out your canned sales piece and turning your presentation into a conversation? Or maybe, just maybe, renting space at your local farmers’ market is a fresh way to meet potential families. of the Sales & Marketing Committee at Everyone who attended WWS 2018 left with “a little something extra,” a the 2018 Wide World of Sales in New Orleans lagniappe of some sort. For some, it may have been the motivation to make 2018 a record-breaking year, for others, maybe a new professional or two, a new idea to spruce up their aftercare program or a revised strategy for reaching beyond the expected. No matter what it may have been, there is no denying that WWS 2018 had something for everyone. Details for the 2019 Wide World of Sales are coming soon. Check www.wideworldofsales.com for continuous updates on the 2019 WWS dates and venue. q Visit the new and improved www.iccfa.com

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I C C FA N E W S

THANK YOU TO OUR 2018 ANNUAL CONVENTION SPONSORS ACADEMY OF PROFESSIONAL FUNERAL SERVICE PRACTICE ANSWERING SERVICE FOR DIRECTORS (ASD) ARGENT TRUST ASSURANT ASTRAL INDUSTRIES INC. BATESVILLE BLACKSTONE CEMETERY DEVELOPMENT C&J FINANCIAL CAVE HILL CEMETERY CHOSEN PAYMENTS CLEARPOINT FEDERAL BANK & TRUST COLDSPRING CORE SCIENTIFIC CREEDY & CO. CYPRESS LAWN DAVEY TREE DISRUPT MEDIA ECKCO PRODUCTS EMBALM CALC ETERNITY GARDENS FOREST LAWN MEMORIAL-PARKS & MORTUARIES FUNERAL DIRECTORS LIFE INSURANCE GIBRALTAR REMEMBRANCE SERVICES GLOBAL ATLANTIC FINANCIAL GROUP GLOBAL RECRUITERS CINCINNATI

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GUERRA & GUTIERREZ MORTUARY HEPBURN SUPERIOR US CHEMICAL HILLSIDE MEMORIAL PARK & MORTUARY HOMESTEADERS IMSA INGLEWOOD PARK CEMETERY JOHNSON CONSULTING GROUP LANDMARK CONTROL SERVICES LEGACY.COM LENDING USA MADELYN CO. MATTHEWS MEMORIALIZATION MERENDINO CEMETERY CARE MILLER CONSULTANTS NGL INSURANCE GROUP NOMIS PUBLICATIONS INC. NORTHSTAR MEMORIAL GROUP PHYSICIANS MUTUAL PLOTBOX PRECOA SERVICE CORPORATION INTERNATIONAL SPRING GROVE CEMETERY & ARBORETUM STONEMOR PARTNERS LP THE GARDENS AT GETHSEMANE THE SIGNATURE GROUP WEBCEMETERIES.COM

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I C C FA N E W S

Tom Flynn to receive the 2018 Lasting Impact Award

F

uneral and cemetery professionals may recognize Tom Flynn as a regular attendee of International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) educational events, often accompanied by a grief therapy dog—these days, Soloman, and in years past, Derek, the first Canine Companions for Independence grief therapy dog placed with a cemetery-funeral professional. But to many people he became a familiar face years ago, when he started the famous Avenue of 444 Flags by adding one American flag to the cemetery’s entrance for each day Americans were held hostage in Iran after the 1979 embassy takeover. In recent years, he added the War on Terror Memorial to his Hermitage, Pennsylvania, cemetery, America’s Cemetery. His dedication to honor those who have died in the name of freedom and teach future generations about the high price of that freedom is a testament to his vision, moral code and character.

“Tom Flynn is such a natural to be honored and celebrated, based on his lifelong mentoring and educating of so many individuals in our profession,” said ICCFA Educational Foundation President Jim Price, CCFE, CCrE.

Tom Flynn with grief therapy dog Soloman.

The Educational Foundation’s Lasting Impact Award will be presented to Flynn at a reception on April 19, 2018, during the ICCFA Annual Convention & Exposition in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Lasting Impact Award is presented annually to an individual who has made significant contributions to our profession in education and memorialization. The 2018 ICCFA Annual Convention & Expo will also feature three keynote speakers as well as breakout sessions that focus on issues such as sales, cremation, human resources and more. This year, a ticket to the Educational Foundation Reception is free with each full or guest registration, and each exhibiting company will receive one free ticket per 10-by-10 booth space. Full program details and registration are available at www. iccfaconvention.com. The ICCFA Educational Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, tax-free entity the sole purpose of which is to provide financial assistance to help students attend ICCFA University and ICCFA’s Wide World of Sales Conference. Thirty-six scholarships were awarded in 2017. For additional information, please visit www.iccfa.education. q Tom Flynn and Soloman visit the Family Bronze booth at the 2017 ICCFA Convention & Expo.

Lasting Impact Award recipients Jan Scruggs (2017) James “Big Jim” Darby (2016) Dave Wharmby, CCE (2015) Gary O’Sullivan, CCFE (2014) Todd W. Van Beck, CFuE (2014) Visit the new and improved www.iccfa.com

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I C C FA N E W S

Above, Elvig in Washington, D.C., speaking at the Federal Trade Commission’s public forum on the Telemarketing Sales Rule. Elvig has frequently spoken on behalf of the association at Washington hearings.

Left, Elvig and Anderson Cooper on the set of “60 Minutes,” where Elvig represented the association.

Paul Elvig to receive 2018 ICCFA Hall of Fame Award

T

he ICCFA will honor Paul M. Elvig with its prestigious Hall of Fame Award during the ICCFA 2018 Convention & Exposition, April 18-21 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Elvig is the retired general manager of Evergreen-Washelli Memorial Park and Funeral Home in Seattle, Washington. He served as ICCFA president in 2007-2008. He also served the association in many capacities through the years, including as secretary and as fundraising chair for the ICCFA PAC, where he single-handedly raised tens of thousands of dollars for the association’s political action committee.

Elvig has been the ICCFA’s “go-to” spokesperson, testifying on many occasions before the Federal Trade Commission and House and Senate Congressional committees and, most memorably, representing the association on the “60 Minutes” television show, where he was interviewed by Anderson Cooper. Elvig continues to chair the ICCFA State Association & Regulation Subcommittee. Elvig has been a participant in many legal and legislative s at the ICCFA Annual Convention and at the association’s Fall Management Conference. For many years after serving as president, Elvig attended the convention with his camera and visited every booth in the expo hall, often with the current president, greeting each exhibitor and taking photos of every booth. The Hall of Fame award is the ICCFA’s highest honor. It was created to honor those people who have demonstrated unselfish service and outstanding contributions to the ICCFA, to the cemetery, funeral, cremation or memorialization service profession, and, ultimately, to the public. Since its creation in 1965, it has been awarded to only 34 individuals. q 144

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Above, Elvig greeting first-time attendees at the 2011 ICCFA Convention & Expo. Below, Elvig confers with ICCFA Legal Counsel Robert Fells in Sen. John Barrasso’s office during a visit by ICCFA representatives to congressional offices.

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Calendar ➤E-mail calendar listings and additions or corrections ➤For continually updated meeting listings and direct links to websites for associations, to [email protected]. go to www.iccfa.com, click on Events and then go to View Full Calendar of Events. March 28: Alliance of Illinois Cemeterians Workshop, Chippiannock Cemetery, Rock Island. www.aicemeterians.org April 4-6: Order of the Golden Rule 59th Annual Conf., Savannah, Georgia. www.ogr.org April 5-7: TANEXPO, Bologna, Italy. www.tanexpo.com

April 9-11: North Dakota Funeral Directors Assn. Annual Convention, Fargo. www.ndfda.org

April 14-17: Oklahoma Funeral Directors Assn. 116th Annual Convention, Norman. www.okfda.org

April 18-21: ICCFA Annual Convention & Expo, Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada. www.iccfa.com April 25: ICCFA Cremation Operator Training, Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Service, Decatur, Georgia. www.iccfa.com April 25: Selected Independent Funeral Homes Spring Management Summit, The DeSoto Hotel, Savannah, Georgia. www.selectedfuneralhomes.org April 26: CANA Cremation Operations Certification Program, Kansas City, Kansas. www.cremationassociation.org

April 27: Alliance of Illinois Cemeterians Workshop,Funk’s Grove Cemetery, McLean. www.aicemeterians.org

April 29-May 2: Kansas Funeral Directors Assn. Annual Convention, Topeka. www.ksfda.org May 1: Florida Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Assn. Embalming Seminar, Orlan­ do. www.thefccfa.com

May 2-3: Utah Funeral Directors Assn. An-

Go to www.iccfa.com for the online association event calendar, which is constantly updated. From the home page, choose Education/Events/View full calendar of events. nual Convention, Sandy. www.ufda.org

May 2-4: South Dakota Funeral Directors Assn. 119th Annual Convention, Sioux Falls. www.sdfda.org May 8: Batesville webinar, “Bridging the Digital Divide—Using Technology to Drive Consumer Value.” www.Batesville.com May 8: CANA Cremation Operations

Certification Program, Vancouver, British Columbia. www.cremationassociation.org May 8-10: Nebraska Funeral Directors Assn. Annual Convention, Lincoln. www.nefda.org

May 9: ICCFA Cremation Operator Training, Mid-America College of Funeral Service, Jeffersonville, Indiana. www.iccfa.com



➤to page 146

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AD INDEX 45 A.C. Furniture 133 Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice 13 Aftercare.com 133 American Cemetery/Mortuary Consultants 45 American Funeral & Cemetery Trust Services 67 ASD—Answering Service for Directors 35 Astral Industries 2 Batesville Casket 5 Biondan North America Inc. 49 Blackstone Cemetery Development 23 C&J Financial 133 Cave Co. 53 Cherokee Casket 95 Clearpoint Federal Bank & Trust 31 Columbarium by Design LLC 33 Continental Computer Corp. 79 Cooperative Funeral Fund 131 Core Scientific 115 Cremation With Confidence 85 Custom Air Trays 61 Doric Products 63 Eagle’s Wings Air 85 Eickhof Columbaria Inc. 15 Ensure-A-Seal 77 Express Funeral Funding 39 Federal Coach Co. 21 Flowers for Cemeteries 109 Foundation Partners Group 81 Funeral Call Answering Service 101 Funeral Director’s Management System

43 Funeral Home Gifts 113 Funeral Services Inc. 148 funeralOne 105 Global Atlantic Financial Group 71 Great Western Insurance Co. 67 Grever & Ward 83 Heritage Flower Co. 21 Holland Supply 79 Holy Land Stone 51 Homesteaders Life Co. 147 IMSA 121 Inman Shipping Worldwide 91 Johnson Consulting 23 Kryprotek 87 LA Ads 55 Legacy Touch 3 Lending USA 127 Live Oak Bank 37 LoveUrns LLC 131 Madelyn Co. 9 Matthews Cemetery Products 69 Matthews Environmental Solutions 81 Mausoleum Supply Inc. 29 McCleskey Mausoleums 21 McLean, Koehler, Sparks & Hammond 119 Meadow Hill Corp. 7 Memorial Reefs International 19 Merendino Cemetery Care 47 MKJ Marketing 73 National Guardian Life Insurance Co. 53 National Mortuary Shipping & Cremation 84 National Museum of Funeral History 67 Nomis Publications

111 Northeast Mausoleum 81 Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel 93 OM Stone 81 PlotBox 89 Precoa 45 RBC Wealth Management 111 SEP Technologies 74 Sich Caskets 75 Sich Caskets 79 SongPods of Solace 107 Southern Cemetery, Cremation & Funeral Association 125 SRS Computing 27 Star Granite & Bronze 11 StoneMor Partners 79 Supply Link 24 Terrybear Urns & Memorials 25 Terrybear Urns & Memorials 13 The Bancorp 99 The Foresight Companies LLC 43 THE SYSTEM 121 THE SYSTEM 123 The Tribute Companies 65 Trigard 29 Triple H Co. 17 U.S. Metalcraft 116 Vandor Corp./Starmark Funeral Products 117 Vandor Corp./Starmark Funeral Products 63 Vantage Products Corp. 123 VKM International 41 Wilbert Funeral Services 67 WithumSmith + Brown 37 Zontec Ozone

r

CALENDAR ➤from page 146

May 10-12: BEFA Forum, Düsseldorf Exhibition Grounds, Düsseldorf, . www.befa-forum.com May 11-13: Independent Funeral Directors of Texas Assn. Annual Convention, Dallas. www.ifdatexas.org

May 14-17: Indiana Funeral Directors Assn. Annual Convention, Florence. www.indiana-fda.org

May 15-17: Iowa Funeral Directors Assn. Annual Convention, Altoona. www.iafda.org

May 25: CANA Cremation Operations Certification Program, r Wheeling, Illinois.

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ICCFA Magazine

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What if a picture

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March-April 2018

ICCFA Magazine

MAGAZINE CEMETERY

CREMATION

FUNERAL

The Gardens at Gethsemane

Going above & beyond to serve families

• How Davis Funeral Homes & the Vegas community helped families after tragedy

• How refugees are giving refuge to their dead

Cremation:

• Lemasters: Cremation & your basic service fee • The breastfeedingcremation rate link • NMFH’s new exhibit

Also: March-April 2018

• Isard on the impact of the new tax law • Building a state-ofthe-art funeral home • How unitrust is working in Florida • Filhaber on using engagement marketing • Exhibitor profiles • Paul Elvig and Tom Flynn

to be honored at convention • KIP winners announced