FrontRunner Professional today announced details for the annual Caribbean Workshop Cruise for funeral professionals including dates, workshop topics and cruise rates. The workshop cruise brings funeral professionals from across the United States and Canada together for a week of fun, and learning. This year’s 8-day, 7 Night Eastern Caribbean cruise will take place on Royal Caribbean’s newest and largest ship; Symphony of the Seas, setting sail from Miami, FL on February 16, 2019, and visiting the islands of St. Thomas, St. Maarten and The Bahamas. “This years itinerary is designed to give funeral professionals the break they need and the education they are looking for” says Ashley Montroy, CMO of FrontRunner Professional. “We attend a lot of conventions and the biggest thing we hear from funeral directors is that they don’t learn enough about technology or marketing in order to actually grow their business and better serve families. So, for this years workshops we’ll be teaching attendees the successful blueprints that we use to grow our client’s businesses, some experiencing growth of 300%-700%” concludes Montroy. “It’s going to be a big year for the workshop cruise. We’ve planned a great lineup of speakers, which we will announce in the coming weeks, and a special event just for the group” adds Montroy. “With the FrontRunner team there, ready to help take their business to the next level, and the opportunity to talk with and learn from funeral professionals across North America, it will be a working vacation they will never forget.” concludes Montroy. For more information on this year’s workshop cruise or to put a deposit on your cabin, visit www.FrontRunner360.com/cruise. All deposits made by August 1, 2018 will automatically enter to win a VIP cruise experience including luxury limousine transportation. FrontRunner is the leading full service technology and marketing company offering the only truly integrated solution on the market. To learn more about what FrontRunner can do for your firm visit them online at www.FrontRunner360.com, or contact them at 1-866-748-3625. The post FrontRunner Announces 2019 Caribbean Workshop Cruise for Funeral Professionals appeared first on Connecting Directors. FrontRunner Announces 2019 Caribbean Workshop Cruise for Funeral Professionals published first on YouTube via Tumblr FrontRunner Announces 2019 Caribbean Workshop Cruise for Funeral Professionals
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Richmond, IN – One Source Prime is pleased to announce the addition of another quality supplier to their innovative bulk purchasing program. VerPlank Enterprises, with their production facility in Iron City, TN, manufactures high-quality 16 and 18 gauge carbon steel caskets as well as stainless steel, copper and bronze models. For the One Source Prime program, VerPlank will make available several of their high-end 18 gauge steel round end caskets as well as their unique square corner Sportsman casket featuring a camouflage interior licensed from Realtree®. Additional VerPlank casket models are under consideration to be added to the One Source Prime program in the coming months. “We are excited by the opportunity to reach a much broader market with our specialty caskets,” commented VerPlank Enterprises President Elizabeth (Betsy) V. Kerl VerPlank. “One Source Prime is a truly innovative way to offer our popular products beyond our current distribution footprint.” “We are thrilled to add VerPlank Enterprises’ premium caskets to our growing list of casket suppliers that manufacture here in the US,” added Gerald H. Davis, President of One Source Prime. “We look forward to adding more, high-quality products from other independent, domestic suppliers to the One Source Prime catalog over the next few months. Participation in the One Source Prime program is easy; customers simply place their orders with a One Source Prime product specialist at 833-871-4677. The product specialist will then work with the funeral professional to help mix and match products that meet their needs at the lowest possible price. The team is experienced at taking full advantage of the floor and cube space within a trailer to achieve maximum savings while helping ensure products arrive safely and damage free. For more information, contact a One Source Prime customer service specialist at 833-871-4677 or visit www.onesourceprime.us. About One Source Prime: One Source Prime provides casket distributors, funeral homes, vault companies and even crematories a conduit to purchase ½ and full semi-load quantities of caskets from Astral, C J Boots, Southern Craft, VerPlank and Vision Casket combined with Starmark Cremation Product that are delivered to one location. There is no other one stop competitive source for such a wide variety of products. Funeral professionals looking for the ultimate savings on caskets and cremation products only need to call one number to order at the lowest possible factory direct prices. About VerPlank Enterprises: VerPlank Enterprises Inc. manufactures high quality 18 gauge and 16 gauge carbon steel, stainless steel, copper and bronze caskets. They offer a ready-to-ship line of caskets, in addition to their line of custom-built caskets. They also can design caskets to fulfill a customer’s specifications. In addition, they offer custom colors and specialty units, such as the elliptic, priest, and oval glass. The post VerPlank Enterprises Joins One Source Prime Program appeared first on Connecting Directors. VerPlank Enterprises Joins One Source Prime Program published first on YouTube via Tumblr VerPlank Enterprises Joins One Source Prime Program FrontRunner Professional today announced details for the annual Caribbean Workshop Cruise for funeral professionals including dates, workshop topics and cruise rates. The workshop cruise brings funeral professionals from across the United States and Canada together for a week of fun, and learning. This year’s 8-day, 7 Night Eastern Caribbean cruise will take place on Royal Caribbean’s newest and largest ship; Symphony of the Seas, setting sail from Miami, FL on February 16, 2019, and visiting the islands of St. Thomas, St. Maarten and The Bahamas. “This years itinerary is designed to give funeral professionals the break they need and the education they are looking for” says Ashley Montroy, CMO of FrontRunner Professional. “We attend a lot of conventions and the biggest thing we hear from funeral directors is that they don’t learn enough about technology or marketing in order to actually grow their business and better serve families. So, for this years workshops we’ll be teaching attendees the successful blueprints that we use to grow our client’s businesses, some experiencing growth of 300%-700%” concludes Montroy. “It’s going to be a big year for the workshop cruise. We’ve planned a great lineup of speakers, which we will announce in the coming weeks, and a special event just for the group” adds Montroy. “With the FrontRunner team there, ready to help take their business to the next level, and the opportunity to talk with and learn from funeral professionals across North America, it will be a working vacation they will never forget.” concludes Montroy. For more information on this year’s workshop cruise or to put a deposit on your cabin, visit www.FrontRunner360.com/cruise. All deposits made by August 1, 2018 will automatically enter to win a VIP cruise experience including luxury limousine transportation. FrontRunner is the leading full service technology and marketing company offering the only truly integrated solution on the market. To learn more about what FrontRunner can do for your firm visit them online at www.FrontRunner360.com, or contact them at 1-866-748-3625. The post FrontRunner Announces 2019 Caribbean Workshop Cruise for Funeral Professionals appeared first on Connecting Directors. FrontRunner Announces 2019 Caribbean Workshop Cruise for Funeral Professionals published first on YouTube via Tumblr FrontRunner Announces 2019 Caribbean Workshop Cruise for Funeral Professionals Richmond, IN – One Source Prime is pleased to announce the addition of another quality supplier to their innovative bulk purchasing program. VerPlank Enterprises, with their production facility in Iron City, TN, manufactures high-quality 16 and 18 gauge carbon steel caskets as well as stainless steel, copper and bronze models. For the One Source Prime program, VerPlank will make available several of their high-end 18 gauge steel round end caskets as well as their unique square corner Sportsman casket featuring a camouflage interior licensed from Realtree®. Additional VerPlank casket models are under consideration to be added to the One Source Prime program in the coming months. “We are excited by the opportunity to reach a much broader market with our specialty caskets,” commented VerPlank Enterprises President Elizabeth (Betsy) V. Kerl VerPlank. “One Source Prime is a truly innovative way to offer our popular products beyond our current distribution footprint.” “We are thrilled to add VerPlank Enterprises’ premium caskets to our growing list of casket suppliers that manufacture here in the US,” added Gerald H. Davis, President of One Source Prime. “We look forward to adding more, high-quality products from other independent, domestic suppliers to the One Source Prime catalog over the next few months. Participation in the One Source Prime program is easy; customers simply place their orders with a One Source Prime product specialist at 833-871-4677. The product specialist will then work with the funeral professional to help mix and match products that meet their needs at the lowest possible price. The team is experienced at taking full advantage of the floor and cube space within a trailer to achieve maximum savings while helping ensure products arrive safely and damage free. For more information, contact a One Source Prime customer service specialist at 833-871-4677 or visit www.onesourceprime.us. About One Source Prime: One Source Prime provides casket distributors, funeral homes, vault companies and even crematories a conduit to purchase ½ and full semi-load quantities of caskets from Astral, C J Boots, Southern Craft, VerPlank and Vision Casket combined with Starmark Cremation Product that are delivered to one location. There is no other one stop competitive source for such a wide variety of products. Funeral professionals looking for the ultimate savings on caskets and cremation products only need to call one number to order at the lowest possible factory direct prices. About VerPlank Enterprises: VerPlank Enterprises Inc. manufactures high quality 18 gauge and 16 gauge carbon steel, stainless steel, copper and bronze caskets. They offer a ready-to-ship line of caskets, in addition to their line of custom-built caskets. They also can design caskets to fulfill a customer’s specifications. In addition, they offer custom colors and specialty units, such as the elliptic, priest, and oval glass. The post VerPlank Enterprises Joins One Source Prime Program appeared first on Connecting Directors. VerPlank Enterprises Joins One Source Prime Program published first on YouTube via Tumblr VerPlank Enterprises Joins One Source Prime Program It was recently announced that Iowa might join Minnesota and Ohio to become the third U.S. state to require a bachelor’s degree in mortuary science in order to gain a funeral director/embalmer license. This would be the first change to the Iowa funeral director license requirements in 60 years and it is being met with strong opinions for and against the proposed changes. Currently to obtain a combined funeral director/embalmer license in Iowa (and in most states) you are required to have the equivalent of an associate’s degree, the completion of an accredited mortuary science program, and passage of examinations. While the Iowa Funeral Directors Association wants to increase the qualifications to require a bachelor’s degree in order to obtain a license, many in the younger generation of directors see this change as adding more barriers to an industry already struggling to meet staffing demand. IFDA legislative council Michael Triplett explained his stance for the new education requirements to the the Des Moines Register:
Triplett implies that a student cannot be taught about “deal[ing] with fentanyl, ebola, AIDS” within the existing education requirements. In the funeral space, it would be unacceptable for a topic so crucial as body-conditions not to be covered before the license is issued. If Triplett is correct and the industry is indeed experiencing problems with “family dynamics and cultural experiences in Iowa [that] have changed radically…[since] 1955” than the education curriculum needs to change, not the level of education obtained. Triplett explains his second point saying:
Vicki Lensing of co-owner of Lensing Funeral Home shares a similar opinion saying:
The troubling lining of Triplett’s and Lensing’s arguments is that it assumes that intelligent college educated adults cannot make rational decisions about their own future. Triplett wants to “reward” students with a bachelor degree for their work by requiring them spend more money and an additional year of studying. Currently, if an individual studying mortuary science wants to spend an extra 30 credit hours obtaining a bachelor degree – they can. Further, Lensing’s motherly concern for mortuary science students neglects to acknowledge that someone unsatisfied with their career choice in any field has the ability to return to school later to obtain a required or satisfactory degree. Finally, we need to look at the practical attainability of a mortuary science bachelor’s degree in the state of Iowa. Currently, there is only one school offering a bachelor’s degree in mortuary science – Upper Iowa University on their Fayette campus. Here, you can get the degree in 3 years and complete the necessary schooling with a total estimated cost of around $86,550. If the education requirements do not change and students do not need a bachelor’s degree in mortuary science to get their funeral director/embalmer license, than one could attend Des Moines Area Community College’s nationally accredited program and complete the necessary schooling with a total estimated cost of around $20,000. Not only is it rare to find a mortuary science bachelor’s degree program in Iowa, its incredibly costly, especially for a job that will pay an entry-position salary of around $30,000 24-year-old Lance Angstman, a funeral director at Mitchell Family Funeral Home in Marshalltown, told the Des Moines Register:
Richard Slade, owner of Slade-O’Donnell Funeral Home for nearly four decades, said:
With the overwhelming evidence showing that tightening education requirements will lead to damaging Iowa’s funeral landscape, putting a financial strain on young men and women entering the field, and will ultimately cause a decrease in new students in an already understaffed space… then why is the IFDA pushing to do this? The answer could lay in the looming threat of widespread industry change due to innovative (and well funded) startups like Parting.com and Meet Grace. The more regulations the industry can put in place now, the safer they feel from outside change. Additionally, by making the education requirements stricter, one can make the funeral industry appear incomprehensibly complex and inaccessible, warding off potential disrupters. But there is a fine line to walk as we’ve watched 44% of the funeral homes in NYC close since 1991 (Crain’s NY) due to a variety of factors including staffing problems and unnecessary overhead due to over-regulation and fees. Des Moines Register reports that “Triplett and IFDA executive director Suzanne Gebel insisted that they’d receive agreement from one of the state universities governed by the Iowa Board of Regents to provide a public mortuary science [bachelor’s] program option before proceeding.” Ultimately, the effects of this requirement change in Iowa would be minor. The funeral industry is known for being short staffed and having staffing quality problems and those problems will continue and likely get worse if the the new regulations are passed. The reason this decision is important is because it signifies a direction for the funeral industry at-large. Will we continue on the regulated protectionist stance pursued over last century or will we deregulate and open up the industry to allow for more employment opportunities, more innovation, less fees for funeral homes (more retained revenue), and more choices for customers? Pat Leonard, who owns Leonard Funeral Home and Crematory in Dubuque, is secretary-treasurer of the IFDA and has served as a past president to the Des Moines Register:
Leonard’s cavalier statement asking people to “calm down,” might be realistic considering the size of Iowa in relationship to more influential states, but the hype isn’t about Iowa. This seemingly insignificant decision carries iconic implications for whats to come for the funeral industry at-large and it is being watched anxiously by industry leaders awaiting a glimpse into the future of death care regulation. To understand more about the history, current state, and future of funeral industry regulations in the United States we strongly encourage you to read the brilliant essay “Regulated to Death” by Tanya Marsh published by The Wake Forest Journal of Law & Policy. Click here to download it free.The post Iowa’s New Mortuary Education Proposal May Spark State-wide Staff Drought appeared first on Connecting Directors. Iowa’s New Mortuary Education Proposal May Spark State-wide Staff Drought published first on YouTube via Tumblr Iowa’s New Mortuary Education Proposal May Spark State-wide Staff Drought Each year, Inc. Magazine highlights 30 of the most impressive entrepreneurs under 30-years-old to inspire the business community. This year, Adelle Archer, founder of Eterneva was featured in the May edition of Inc. Magazine in an article that starts “Meet the 30 Most Inspiring Young Entrepreneurs of 2018…” – Archer was featured on the cover. The young entrepreneur co-founded Eterneva, an Austin-based memorial diamonds company, with Garrett Ozar in 2016 and it has since skyrocketed into the memorial diamond space competing with industry staples like LifeGem. In just the first year, Eterneva generated $280,000 in sales, and Archer projects $2 million in revenue for 2018. The post MEET ONE OF DEATHCARE’S MOST INSPIRING FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS | FUNERAL Nation 112 appeared first on Connecting Directors. MEET ONE OF DEATHCARE’S MOST INSPIRING FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS | FUNERAL Nation 112 published first on YouTube via Tumblr MEET ONE OF DEATHCARE’S MOST INSPIRING FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS | FUNERAL Nation 112 The next Albuquerque Death Cafe will take place on Sunday, June 24 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the Fifth Floor Lounge at Manzano del Sol Village, 5201 Roma NE, Albuquerque, NM. If you want to attend, let host Gail Rubin know by sending an email to Gail [at] AGoodGoodbye.com or join the Albuquerque Death […] via Tumblr June 24: Albuquerque Death Cafe Who doesn’t love a clown funeral? Remember the great Mary Tyler Moore Show episode, “Chuckles Bites the Dust”? Anchorman Ted Baxter wondered which of the attendees were Chuckles’ fellow clowns, because no one was in clown makeup at the funeral. This Bizarro Death Cartoon speaks to the dilemma of whether it’s appropriate to attend a clown […] via Tumblr Death Cartoon: Dressing Up for a Clown Funeral It’s amazing how much you can convey in a 30-second TV ad. FRENCH Funerals & Cremations just came out with two attention-getting commercials that convey the importance of pre-need funeral planning. This first one, “Coffee Can,” starts with a mother and daughter eating together at home. The mother says, “Why are we talking about this […] via Tumblr Videos: Great TV Ads for Funeral Preplanning The next Albuquerque Death Cafe will take place on Sunday, June 24 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the Fifth Floor Lounge at Manzano del Sol Village, 5201 Roma NE, Albuquerque, NM. If you want to attend, let host Gail Rubin know by sending an email to Gail [at] AGoodGoodbye.com or join the Albuquerque Death […] via Tumblr June 24: Albuquerque Death Cafe |
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