Raleigh, NC: Alan Creedy, chief strategist at Creedy and Company, is known to say, “For funeral home owners, nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes and succession”. At some point in their career, every owner is confronted with the question, “What do I do now?” Creedy’s “A Dummies Guide to Buying and Selling” workshop will help funeral home owners begin the process of planning for the inevitable exit from the profession – or, conversely, how to go about acquiring additional firms should that be the goal. “Years ago, I realized that practitioners don’t learn well in seminars. Too often, they return home and fail to apply what they learned to their own business,” commented Creedy. “So, I developed the Un-seminar, styled after the book Blue Ocean Strategy. My Blue Ocean Tours take practitioners through ‘hands-on’ experiential workshops that enable them to apply what they are hearing to their own business… before they go home.” Blue Ocean Tours have been specifically designed to empower practitioners to learn and apply simplified concepts to their own business. The results have been dramatic and permanent. Blue Ocean attendees implement what they learn within months of returning home with great results. “According to The Financial Post magazine, as much as 75% of small business owners are expected to exit their business in the next ten years,” added Creedy. “This means that almost every independent funeral home owner will be sitting on either the buying or the selling side of the table in some respect.” This one and a half day workshop is intended for those seeking to learn more about the buying and selling process. The workshop is scheduled to take place from March 31 to April 2 and held in downtown Charlotte. As with past Blue Ocean workshops, the seminar will include a mix of classroom learning and a field trip. Key Workshop Takeaways for Sellers
Key Workshop Takeaways for Buyers
Creedy has assembled an all-star faculty of speakers for the seminar including: David Hernandez – a first generation funeral director who over the past decade has grown from one location to ten firms, serving more than 1200 families each year. Greg Rollings –the President and CEO of Rollings Funeral Service. Since 2001 Greg has accumulated a total of 35 firms serving more than 4000 families each year. Erin Whitaker – the Senior Vice President of Foundation Partners Group, focusing on Business Development. This role gives her a sound and practical perspective on buying and selling. Danny Jefferson – American Funeral Director Magazine’s 2017 Funeral Director of The Year, Danny has a rich and successful funeral service career. Steve Shaffer – is the President and CEO of Homesteaders Life Company. Steve is a well-known and influential executive in the funeral and cemetery business. In addition to learning the various aspects of succession planning, attendees will also understand how to address critical management and staffing issues including how to position a firm as the community innovator and how to improve sales value in the arrangement conference. Cost to attend the seminar is $995. Additional members from the same firm can attend for $795. Lodging and travel accommodations will be arranged directly by each attendee. Workshop fees include seminar workbook (paper and electronic), all meals as well as bus transportation to and from all offsite events associated with the seminar. More details about the seminar as well as information on registration are available at: https://funeralhomeconsulting.org/2019-blue-ocean-tour/ “This year’s ICCFA convention begins April 2nd in Charlotte and we have booked the headquarters hotel, the Westin Downtown Charlotte, for our seminar,” added Creedy. “This will allow seminar attendees to stay over and attend the convention with minimal hassles or interruptions.” About Creedy & Company: Headquartered in Greensboro, NC, Creedy & Company is a Business Advisory Service founded by Alan Creedy in 2008. His hands-on industry experience of more than 35 years enables him to quickly analyze core problems, develop and prioritize solutions and implement strategies for quick turnaround. For more information, visit www.funeralhomeconsulting.org. The post Creedy Announces “A Dummies Guide to Buying & Selling” Workshop appeared first on Connecting Directors. Creedy Announces “A Dummies Guide to Buying & Selling” Workshop published first on YouTube via Tumblr Creedy Announces “A Dummies Guide to Buying & Selling” Workshop
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The Netflix documentary/reality show Casketeers chronicles the daily events at Tipene Funerals in Onehunga, New Zealand. The manager and focus of the show is Francis Tipene who is an exuberant and delightfully eccentric funeral director who loves cleaning, singing, and irritating his wife in that cute-angry kind of way. Casketeers follows his average funeral director life including leaf blowing his funeral home’s parking lot, removals, picking out a new mirror, and interacting with tragically-hurting families. The show is over a year old, but I wanted to reflect on it because season 2 just started airing in New Zealand last week. We can expect to see it in the U.S. later in 2019 via Netflix. I binged the entire 6-episode season with my (non-death care) brother last week and it was astonishing how entertained he was by what was one of the most unremarkable shows I’ve ever seen. His captivation highlighted an idea that I often forget… preparing our dead has been so far removed from modern life that any glimpse of it (even if it’s painfully mundane) can stroke an itching curiosity. “There’s a dead person!,” my brother said when the sheet was removed to expose the foot of a decedent. All we saw was a yellowish foot from a distance and he had that entranced kind of excitement that exposed his level of captivation. I’m not poking fun at my brother here, he just happened to be the non-death industry subject in the room whose behavior I could observe… When you pull back the curtain to a cultural taboo that is handled by an industry that strives to make everything feel like magic then pretty much anything you expose will be compelling as f**k. They could have spent an entire episode in an arraignment and achieved outstanding entertainment value (although to be fair that can lean more reality TV drama than a documentary comedy…). I wonder if people will look to Casketeers to educate themselves about the realities of funeral care? This actually wouldn’t be so bad… Francis is incredibly professional during any family-facing interactions and his charming and light-hearted humor humanize funeral directors and staff at Tipene Funerals. This image leads the perception of the funeral director FAR away from the dark-and-morbid stereotypes and towards a far more relatable character with the same silly jokes, struggles, and insecurities as the average person. Francis is making funerals less scary. The downside is that although Casketeers paints a friendly image of the funeral space… it isn’t actually how most funeral homes feel. Francis is a born showman (perfect for staring in a TV show), which he talks about in the show and, realistically, most funeral directors are not going to sing, play guitar, and dance at a funeral. If you are in the death care profession I recommend you watch at least couple episodes of Casketeers. It’s a funny portrayal of funeral care that is relatable – there is a comforting feeling of camaraderie in that. The show also depicts New Zealand’s funeral traditions which are interesting. Their caskets are stunning and the casket preparation is fascinating to watch. Ultimately, though, for industry insiders, it’s a boring, sometimes painful, show to watch. Not everyone feels this way though, Casketeers won Best Original Reality Series at the 2018 Huawei Mate20 New Zealand Television Awards. Following The Great British Bake Off, baking spiked in popularity and after The Great Pottery Throw Down, pottery classes all over England filled up. Maybe Casketeers will make funerals… cool? The post A Review of Casketeers | This Netflix Documentary Comedy Follows a New Zealand Mortuary appeared first on Connecting Directors. A Review of Casketeers | This Netflix Documentary Comedy Follows a New Zealand Mortuary published first on YouTube via Tumblr A Review of Casketeers | This Netflix Documentary Comedy Follows a New Zealand Mortuary Are you a funeral profession just peeking your head out of the cave for the first time since before the holiday season? Chances are, you likely just stepped out of an incredibly busy, high stress time. In fact, we already know from science that there are 10% more deaths happening around the holidays than any […] The post 5 Science-Backed & Sanity Saving Tips for a Stressed Funeral Director appeared first on funeralOne Blog. 5 Science-Backed & Sanity Saving Tips for a Stressed Funeral Director published first on YouTube via Tumblr 5 Science-Backed & Sanity Saving Tips for a Stressed Funeral Director Crowdfunding can help many families who are caught off guard when it’s time to pay for a funeral or cremation. via Tumblr Videos: How to Find Funeral Financing Alternatives Brookfield, Wis. – Registration is open for the foremost gathering for women in funeral service: the National Funeral Directors Association’s Professional Women’s Conference. This intimate gathering, taking place April 12-14 in Annapolis, Md., is the perfect setting for funeral directors, educators, students and suppliers to generate new ideas, grow personally and professionally, and create lasting relationships with other professionals. “I have been attending this conference for over 20 years,” said a funeral professional who attended last year’s conference. “Friendships and business relationships have been developed through the awesome networking. The energy from a group of women sharing their experiences is just amazing.” Attendees can look forward to engaging conference sessions led by experts covering a wide range of topics:
“I am so proud to be a woman professional in such an important field as this,” said another 2018 Professional Women’s Conference attendee. “I appreciate the opportunity to be able to network with other women in my field at a conference set aside especially for us. It is so uplifting to share stories, challenges and success and to encourage each other as we continue to serve in a field that is emotionally difficult at times.” Attendees can save up to $50 when they register on or before March 15. Registration includes a Welcome Reception on April 12, presentations, handouts, and select refreshments and meals.
The Funeral Service Foundation will award up to 10 Professional Women’s Conference scholarships that will cover registration and event fees, two nights of accommodations at Hotel Annapolis, and up to $500 in travel reimbursement. The Professional Women’s Conference scholarships are part of the Foundation ‘45 Awards, which are designed to transform the careers of funeral service professionals through scholarships, awards, resources and mission-focused outreach. Funeral professionals can visit the Funeral Service Foundation website, www.funeralservicefoundation.org, for more information about the Professional Women’s Conference Scholarships and to apply. Applications are due February 17. Located in the heart of Annapolis, within minutes of the Chesapeake Bay, the Hotel Annapolis offers convenient access to many of the capitol’s attractions. Whether attendees want to sip a latte while browsing the waterfront boutiques, explore historic sites on a guided tour or visit the U.S. Naval Academy, they’re sure to keep busy during their downtime. NFDA has secured a limited number of rooms at the Hotel Annapolis for the discounted rate of $190 plus tax per night. Visit the NFDA website, www.nfda.org/pwc, for information about how to book a room; conference attendees must secure their rooms by March 15 to receive the special NFDA rates. Complete details about the NFDA Professional Women’s Conference, including registration and hotel information, can be found on the NFDA website, www.nfda.org/pwc. About NFDA – www.nfda.org NFDA is the world’s leading and largest funeral service association, serving more than 20,000 individual members who represent nearly 11,000 funeral homes in the United States and 49 countries around the world. NFDA is the trusted leader, beacon for ethics and the strongest advocate for the profession. NFDA is the association of choice because it offers funeral professionals comprehensive educational resources, tools to manage successful businesses, guidance to become pillars in their communities and the expertise to foster future generations of funeral professionals. NFDA is headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., and has an office in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.nfda.org. About the Funeral Service Foundation – www.FuneralServiceFoundation.org Since 1945, the Funeral Service Foundation has served as the profession’s philanthropic voice. As the charitable arm of the National Funeral Directors Association since 1997, the Foundation receives operational support from NFDA and donors across the profession to help advance its mission to support funeral service in building meaningful relationships with the families and the communities it serves. The post Learn, Connect, Grow: 2019 NFDA Professional Women’s Conference appeared first on Connecting Directors. Learn, Connect, Grow: 2019 NFDA Professional Women’s Conference published first on YouTube via Tumblr Learn, Connect, Grow: 2019 NFDA Professional Women’s Conference West Des Moines, Iowa — Homesteaders Life Company’s VP-Field Sales, Dan Lodermeier, is pleased to announce that Dana Parmenter has joined Homesteaders’ industry-leading team of account executives. Parmenter has more than 14 years of experience in insurance and has been a valued member of Homesteaders’ customer service team for the past four years. “Dana is a great addition to our team of Home Office account executives,” said Lodermeier. “She’s incredibly knowledgeable about our products, has a great attitude, works hard and is able to build relationships with our customers. I have no doubt she’ll be an asset to funeral homes in her territory.” Parmenter echoed his thoughts. “I am looking forward to leveraging my upbeat attitude and my experience as a customer service representative to help funeral home customers achieve success,” she affirmed. “I know my strength as an empathetic listener will help me work alongside funeral professionals to develop strategies to grow their businesses.” Parmenter will serve funeral professionals in Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and North Carolina. Homesteaders Life Company, a mutual company owned by its policy holders, is a national leader providing products and services to promote and support the funding of advance funeral planning and end-of-life expenses. The post Dana Parmenter Named New Homesteaders Account Executive appeared first on Connecting Directors. Dana Parmenter Named New Homesteaders Account Executive published first on YouTube via Tumblr Dana Parmenter Named New Homesteaders Account Executive It was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California, and the world’s costliest natural disaster of 2018. The Camp Fire, as it was called (after the name of the road on which it originated), started on the morning of November 8. By the time it was 100 percent contained 17 days later, it had claimed the lives of at least 86 people–with three persons still missing. As evacuation orders were lifted in mid-December, Lynne Engelbert and her dog Piper were among the very few non-residents allowed within the neighborhoods where more than 10,000 homes and businesses were completely destroyed. Clad in hazmat suits and protective gear, Engelbert and her team of handlers from the non-profit Institute for Canine Forensics (ICF), along with a team of archaeologists, were there with their specially-trained dogs to help displaced families pick through what was left of their homes and locate some of their most treasured possessions–the cremated remains of loved ones.
A new and very special skillAs volunteers for the Bay Area-based ICF, which was founded in 1998 by emergency responder Adela Morris, Engelbert, her border collie Piper, and other members of the team are usually called upon to identify the final resting places of long-dead historic and prehistoric human remains. Working on behalf of federal agencies, Native American tribes, and historic preservation groups, the canines of ICF are rigorously trained and semi-annually recertified to detect the very weak scent of remains that have been buried up to 10 feet deep for hundreds or even thousands of years. The group was even invited by National Geographic to investigate a specific spot on a remote Pacific island where missing aviator Amelia Earhart is suspected to have perished more than 80 years ago. It was only in 2017 that ICF recognized the need for a noninvasive method for detecting cremains amid the ashes of burned homes. An archaeologist reached out to the team after learning that a man who had lost his home in the October 2017 Santa Rosa wildfire, was desperately looking for someone to help him identify the cremains of his parents within the rubble. “He told us that he hadn’t yet done what he was supposed to do with the cremains,” Engelbert says, explaining that many clients share similar reasons for wanting to recover their loved ones’ ashes. Whether they promised the deceased that the ashes would be commingled with those of a spouse, spread in a special location, or even shot out of a cannon (a true story, says Engelbert), the person entrusted with the cremains cannot rest until they are located.
Getting the word outBecause many prehistoric cultures practiced cremation instead of inhumation, ICF routinely trains on donated human cremains in addition to the human bones and teeth used for historic human remains detection. In an actual cremains recovery project, metal crematory identification discs or tags amid the ashes provide additional verification that the dogs have indeed alerted upon the appropriate target. Engelbert vividly remembers that first search for cremains at the Santa Rosa home. “Piper alerted on the cremains within two minutes,” she recalls. With no trowel handy with which to scoop up the cremains (the family’s garden tools were somewhere within the eight inches of ash that had once been their shed), the client fished an empty tuna can out of a partially-melted garbage can to transfer the ashes into plastic zipper bags that Engelbert provided. Aided by word of mouth and newspaper coverage of Piper’s unique ability, the ICF team has since voluntarily located cremains for other families affected by the Tubbs wildfire in Santa Rosa as well as the Woolsey wildfire in Malibu in addition to the recent Camp Fire location. Out of these first recoveries was born the collaborative “Cremains Recovery Team” of specially-trained ICF canines and handlers, Alta Archaeological Consulting, and Environments Science Associates. During the first visit to the Camp Fire site, the Cremains Recovery Team worked with 24 families to recover cremains left behind as residents frantically fled the encroaching flames. An even larger volunteer team of canines, handlers, and archaeologists joined in the search in late December and mid-January. At least one more search rotation is planned for late January.
For Engelbert, each recovery is an act of love and compassion that’s very personal to her. “We get the name of the deceased before we start the search, and we call them by that name,” she shares. “Instead of looking for ‘the cremains’ we’re looking for Mary or Grandpa Joe.” After reading about the first family’s experience in her local newspaper, Lenore Hansen, a resident of Santa Rosa, contacted Engelbert to request Piper’s services. Hansen wanted to locate the cremains of her daughter Erin, who had died from cancer ten years earlier at the age of 32. With dogs Piper and Annie in tow, Engelbert and a fellow ICF volunteer met Hansen at the site of her ruined home. Within minutes of searching, Piper and Annie lay down amid the ash at the former location of Hansen’s closet, where Erin’s cremains had been kept. “We found Erin,” Engelbert said to Lenore Hansen, whose tears were a mixture of joy and fresh grief. Engelbert would like to have more stories like this to share, and along with other ICF members she is doing everything possible to bring their services to the attention of federal agencies like FEMA who respond to wildfires and other disasters. Ideally, cremains recovery would be incorporated into the already existing disaster recovery process. The line item “Did you have human cremains in your home?” would be added to the standard questionnaire that families complete for such agencies after a disaster. If the answer is “yes,” the services offered by ICF and the Cremains Recovery Team would be incorporated into the clean-up process.
Article by Connecting Directors contributor Patricia Hartley The post These Cremains-sniffing Dogs Help Desperate Forest Fire Victims Reunite with Lost Ashes appeared first on Connecting Directors. These Cremains-sniffing Dogs Help Desperate Forest Fire Victims Reunite with Lost Ashes published first on YouTube via Tumblr These Cremains-sniffing Dogs Help Desperate Forest Fire Victims Reunite with Lost Ashes Next Tuesday, January 29, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. is New Mexico End of Life Options Lobby Day. You can go to the Roundhouse in Santa Fe, participate in a news conference, visit your legislators in person, and let your views be known. via Tumblr Jan. 29: End of Life Options Act Lobby Day in Santa Fe What’s a great funeral service without music that celebrates the life of a loved one perfectly? We asked funeral directors across the country what their favorite funeral songs are, and the votes are in. Say goodbye to the typical bag pipes you’d hear at a funeral, because these top 25 funeral songs to play at […] The post 25 Of The Most Amazing Funeral Songs Of All Time To Add To Your Playlist appeared first on funeralOne Blog. 25 Of The Most Amazing Funeral Songs Of All Time To Add To Your Playlist published first on YouTube via Tumblr 25 Of The Most Amazing Funeral Songs Of All Time To Add To Your Playlist “Leave me Alurn® travel urns for women: kills small talk DEAD.” via Tumblr SNL: Avoid Unwanted Conversations with an Urn |
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