What does the funeral home of the future look like? There are so many schools of thought – some people think funeral homes will be incredibly technologically advanced in the future, while others think funeral homes will go off-grid, or even disappear all together. Whatever your vision is for the funeral home of the future, […] The post What the Funeral Home of the Future Looks Like appeared first on funeralOne Blog. What the Funeral Home of the Future Looks Like published first on YouTube via Tumblr What the Funeral Home of the Future Looks Like
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Nobody wants to get old and apparently, a lot of people have FOGO- the fear of getting older. According to Pfizer Inc, a Harris Poll survey found that 87% of Americans have a fear of getting older. This fear tends to amplify when people reach milestone birthdays, like their 30th, 40th and 50th. At the midpoint of their life, people begin to come to terms with the reality that they won’t live forever. People are turning to humor to deal with the irreversible fact of old age. Instead of fearing the inevitable, over-the-hill inductees are embracing their age through a new trend: holding funerals for their youth. In March, Mila Blatova from Nizhny Novgorod, Russia turned 30. Rather than throwing a birthday bash, she dressed in all black to mourn the end of her youth. “My idea came from not wanting to leave my 20s and acknowledge that I’m now ‘old.’ It was meant to be a funny way of accepting a new chapter in my life,” Blatova told Unilad. Some people were upset with Blatova’s take on her 30th birthday, claiming that she was insensitive to those that don’t get to reach the age of 30. A few older individuals showed frustration in regards to Blatova believing her youth ended at 30. Regardless, Blatova’s twist on her birthday went viral, and others have shared their funeral-inspired birthday parties. People have taken these youth funerals in stride and are going further than just dressing in all black. Funeral birthday cakes have become the focal point of these parties. Cemetery and casket cakes are now apart of the mourning process of your passed adolescence. Acknowledging your old age, and nearing death, by indulging in cakes and cookies seems a little deranged, but everyone copes in their own way. Do you see the humor in the funeral-inspired birthday parties or do you think they are in poor taste? Let us know in the comments below. The post #FOGO – Fear Of Getting Older, Funeral Inspired Birthdays appeared first on Connecting Directors. #FOGO – Fear Of Getting Older, Funeral Inspired Birthdays published first on YouTube via Tumblr #FOGO – Fear Of Getting Older, Funeral Inspired Birthdays Orlando, FL – Foundation Partners Group, a leading provider of innovative funeral and cemetery experiences and products, has announced that it has acquired Legacy Funeral & Cremation Care in San Diego, CA. With the acquisition of the firm, the Foundation Partners’ network in California has expanded to seven locations. “We are delighted to have Legacy join the Foundation Partners family,” stated Bob Bukala, President and CEO of Foundation Partners Group. “Legacy aligns with our vision to expand our network of cremation focused brands in key markets like California. Since they opened less than ten years ago, Vic and Nadine Savino have developed a very strong relationship with their local community that is evidenced by mutual respect and admiration. The community’s appreciation for the high quality service they deliver is reflected by the many years of consistent double digit growth that the firm has realized. ” Legacy opened its doors in April 2009 when Vic and Nadine leveraged their life savings to start the business. Since that time, their commitment to superior service and affordability has enabled them to grow alongside the community. “When Vic and I opened Legacy, it was started as a spiritual ministry that served as a resource for anyone with questions about funerals, burials, and cremations,” commented Nadine Savino. “Together with our staff, we have built a standard of service and excellence that is second to none in the greater San Diego area.” Eventually, Vic and Nadine grew the business to a point where they felt they needed the right partner with the knowledge and experience to continue to grow their business. It was important to them that whoever they partnered with would be capable of handling the future growth and maintaining the level of service their community had come to expect. “As we explored a sale, Nadine and I wanted to make sure Legacy was in good hands; hands that would nurture and grow the business,” added Vic Savino. “In our search, we determined that Foundation Partners was our best option. A key guiding principle of Foundation Partners is that the staff is just as important to the continued growth as any other part of the business. Knowing that they were going to come in and work with our team instead of making wholesale changes gave us confidence that we made the right choice.” “Foundation Partners Group’s strategy is to seek out the very best independent operators in the funeral profession,” stated Jason Widing, Vice President of Business Development at Foundation Partners. “Legacy has built a successful operation with dignity and compassionate care and we look forward to working together to continue to serve families in the San Diego area.” About Foundation Partners Group: Foundation Partners Group (FPG) is a leading provider of innovative funeral and cemetery experiences and products. As one of the largest privately-owned funeral and cemetery operators, FPG owns and operates funeral homes, cremation centers and cemeteries in 17 states, and is actively seeking to expand its locations throughout the U.S. With headquarters in Orlando, Florida, FPG is committed to revolutionizing the funeral profession through their innovative ShareLife® customer experience-centered approach and harnessing the power of relationship and partnership. For more information, visit the Foundation Partners Group website at www.foundationpartners.com. The post Foundation Partners Group Adds Legacy Funeral & Cremation Care appeared first on Connecting Directors. Foundation Partners Group Adds Legacy Funeral & Cremation Care published first on YouTube via Tumblr Foundation Partners Group Adds Legacy Funeral & Cremation Care Funeral marketing is a topic many people avoid, because it takes time that perhaps you don’t have. Fortunately, though, marketing your funeral home is becoming easier and easier as more channels are being created for us to stay connected. These days, it doesn’t have to cost tens of thousands of dollars to advertise yourself via […] The post 20 Funeral Marketing Ideas to Try Today appeared first on funeralOne Blog. 20 Funeral Marketing Ideas to Try Today published first on YouTube via Tumblr 20 Funeral Marketing Ideas to Try Today Ready to Embalm Laws are Costing Your Families a Staggering Amount. See Where Your State Stands9/18/2018 This article distills an immense amount of research compiled by David E. Harrington and Jaret Treber in their jaw-dropping essay for the Wake Forest Journal of Law & Policy called Numbers Matter: Estimating the Cost of State Funeral Regulations. We highly recommend you download the full essay for a detailed understanding of the research. The death care space is known for its protectionist legislation designed to discourage change, keep out competition, and to maintain the public perception of tight funeral rituals to encourage continued profits and high margins. Protectionist legislation isn’t uncommon and is sometimes rolled out legitimately to protect from foreign competitors or to decrease imports. Sometimes, though, this legislation is the result of big business lobbying and can hurt consumers while protecting industries. As the cultural preferences surrounding death rapidly change, the outdated laws are becoming increasingly obvious. For example, 4 states prohibit funeral homes from serving food and beverages (New Jersey can only serve water and peppermints…), 3 states prohibit cemeteries from selling headstones and funeral merchandise, in 5 states it is exclusively funeral directors who are permitted to sell caskets, and 12 states have “anti-combo laws” prohibiting funeral homes from operating within cemeteries. Finally, among the easiest outdated death care laws to identify are referred to as “Ready to Embalm” laws.
18 states have a requirement for all funeral establishments to have an embalming room including branch locations. This is a wildly outdated law that has been difficult to overturn in courts despite clear evidence that the extra expenses of having and furnishing an embalming room is hurting some funeral home operations and is unnecessarily costing the consumer money. David E. Harrington and Jaret Treber use an eye-opening example to explain that there are two main reasons the laws have become useless:
Calculating the Cost of “Ready to Embalm Laws”In order to provide compelling evidence to help overturn the outdated “Ready to Embalm Laws,” David E. Harrington and Jaret Treber have attempted to calculate what they are costing customers nationally, by state/region, and individually. Their research can also be used as a starting point for reporters interested in calculating the costs around their specific communities and comparing them to other regions or national averages. The calculations are based on two main cost factors: unused embalming facilities and unused embalming education. In the case of a funeral director who was required to learn to embalm but never uses those skills in her professional career, the funeral home is compelled to incur the cost of obtaining the useless skills and pass it onto customers. 24 states require funeral directors to be embalmers. Additionally, funeral homes with unused embalming rooms would also be compelled to incur the cost of a fully-equipt but unused prep room and pass it onto customers. 32 states have laws that could create an unused-embalming-room scenario. These combined laws make up the Numbers Matter data.
What are the Results?Individual CustomersTable 1 (below) compares the average cost of direct cremations and traditional funerals in states who currently have “Ready to Embalm Laws” versus those who don’t. You can see below that in “Ready to Embalm Law” states, direct cremation prices are $363 higher and traditional funeral prices are $489 higher. This is about a 20% increase in the cost of direct cremations and 8% increase in traditional funerals. State and NationalTable 3a below shows the annual cost of “Ready to Embalm Laws” state-by-state. The costs vary pretty drastically, but the shocking number is the total… “Ready to Embalm laws” cost U.S. consumers nearly $1 Billion dollars annually.
Download the full essay Numbers Matter: Estimating the Cost of State Funeral Regulations published in the Wake Forest Journal of Law & Policy below. The post “Ready to Embalm Laws” are Costing Your Families a Staggering Amount. See Where Your State Stands… appeared first on Connecting Directors. “Ready to Embalm Laws” are Costing Your Families a Staggering Amount. See Where Your State Stands… published first on YouTube via Tumblr “Ready to Embalm Laws” are Costing Your Families a Staggering Amount. See Where Your State Stands… We live in a world that revolves around a little box – the smartphone. It’s changed everything – literally, every single part of our lives have been altered by this device. It has radically disrupted the way we communicate, shop and engage with brands. Do you really think that your funeral business is exempt from these changes? Wrong!! You’re as vulnerable as any other business. If you’re not appearing on the screen of the little box, then you will absolutely be irrelevant. About Ryan Thogmartin: Ryan Thogmartin is a death care entrepreneur and the CEO of DISRUPT Media and creator of ConnectingDirectors.com. | Follower of Christ | Husband | Father | Entrepreneur | Host of #DISRUPTu! and #FUNERALnationtv | About DISRUPT Media: Most deathcare 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. Learn more about DISRUPT Media: http://www.disruptmedia.co The post This Little Box Changed Everything | DISRUPT60 011 appeared first on Connecting Directors. This Little Box Changed Everything | DISRUPT60 011 published first on YouTube via Tumblr This Little Box Changed Everything | DISRUPT60 011 WETHERSFIELD, CONN. — Marking the 10-year anniversary of a landmark partnership, the Connecticut Funeral Directors Association (CFDA) and the Connecticut State Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) hosted a public military funeral ceremony for four U.S. World War II veterans’ unclaimed cremated remains. In 2008, Connecticut became the first state in the nation to establish new protocols to identify unclaimed cremated remains of honorably-discharged U.S. veterans in its funeral homes with the goals of providing them the dignity of a burial with full military honors. This August funeral ceremony was the fifth such ceremony since 2009 that was hosted by the DVA in coordination with the CFDA. On a very hot day last month, the Connecticut State Police escorted a procession from the DVA’s Rocky Hill Campus to the State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown 10 miles away, with the Connecticut Patriot Guard Riders providing a motorcycle honor guard for CFDA hearses carrying the cremains of four veterans:
Speakers included U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman, CFDA President Edward J. Sheehy, Jr., and Commissioner Thomas J. Saadi of the Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs. The military ceremony was supported by the CT National Guard, SUBASE New London, Marine Corps League and directors of funeral homes from across Connecticut. The ceremony included full military honors including the posthumous presentation of Connecticut Wartime Service Medals. The 129-year-old Connecticut Funeral Directors Association (CFDA) is comprised of funeral directors at more than 220 funeral homes. Based in Wethersfield, Conn., the professional organization is committed to the promotion and advocacy of high ethical standards in funeral service. This includes the development and presentation of ongoing professional training opportunities for practitioners and educational programs for association members and the public. For more information about the Connecticut Funeral Directors Association, call 860-721-0234 or800-919-2332, or visit www.ctfda.org or Connecticut Funeral Directors Association on Facebook. Pictured (Left to Right):
The post Tenth Anniversary of the Nation’s First Protocol appeared first on Connecting Directors. Tenth Anniversary of the Nation’s First Protocol published first on YouTube via Tumblr Tenth Anniversary of the Nation’s First Protocol PartingPro recently sat down with Connecting Directors managing editor Justin Crowe to talk about his views on the current state of the funeral industry and his vision of the 2 specific types of funeral homes that will be successful over the next 25 years.
Crowe contends that this shift doesn’t mean the funeral industry will cease to exist and it doesn’t even mean that jobs will be lost. The death care space will, however, take on a new identity. Watch the interview to learn about Crowe’s vision of the 2 types of funeral homes that will thrive over the next 25 years.The post Justin Crowe Explains Why 30% of Funeral Homes Will Close Over the Next 3 Decades appeared first on Connecting Directors. Justin Crowe Explains Why 30% of Funeral Homes Will Close Over the Next 3 Decades published first on YouTube via Tumblr Justin Crowe Explains Why 30% of Funeral Homes Will Close Over the Next 3 Decades Ready to Embalm Laws are Costing Your Families a Staggering Amount. See Where Your State Stands9/16/2018 This article distills an immense amount of research compiled by David E. Harrington and Jaret Treber in their jaw-dropping essay for the Wake Forest Journal of Law & Policy called Numbers Matter: Estimating the Cost of State Funeral Regulations. We highly recommend you download the full essay for a detailed understanding of the research. The death care space is known for its protectionist legislation designed to discourage change, keep out competition, and to maintain the public perception of tight funeral rituals to encourage continued profits and high margins. Protectionist legislation isn’t uncommon and is sometimes rolled out legitimately to protect from foreign competitors or to decrease imports. Sometimes, though, this legislation is the result of big business lobbying and can hurt consumers while protecting industries. As the cultural preferences surrounding death rapidly change, the outdated laws are becoming increasingly obvious. For example, 4 states prohibit funeral homes from serving food and beverages (New Jersey can only serve water and peppermints…), 3 states prohibit cemeteries from selling headstones and funeral merchandise, in 5 states it is exclusively funeral directors who are permitted to sell caskets, and 12 states have “anti-combo laws” prohibiting funeral homes from operating within cemeteries. Finally, among the easiest outdated death care laws to identify are referred to as “Ready to Embalm” laws.
18 states have a requirement for all funeral establishments to have an embalming room including branch locations. This is a wildly outdated law that has been difficult to overturn in courts despite clear evidence that the extra expenses of having and furnishing an embalming room is hurting some funeral home operations and is unnecessarily costing the consumer money. David E. Harrington and Jaret Treber use an eye-opening example to explain that there are two main reasons the laws have become useless:
Calculating the Cost of “Ready to Embalm Laws”In order to provide compelling evidence to help overturn the outdated “Ready to Embalm Laws,” David E. Harrington and Jaret Treber have attempted to calculate what they are costing customers nationally, by state/region, and individually. Their research can also be used as a starting point for reporters interested in calculating the costs around their specific communities and comparing them to other regions or national averages. The calculations are based on two main cost factors: unused embalming facilities and unused embalming education. In the case of a funeral director who was required to learn to embalm but never uses those skills in her professional career, the funeral home is compelled to incur the cost of obtaining the useless skills and pass it onto customers. 24 states require funeral directors to be embalmers. Additionally, funeral homes with unused embalming rooms would also be compelled to incur the cost of a fully-equipt but unused prep room and pass it onto customers. 32 states have laws that could create an unused-embalming-room scenario. These combined laws make up the Numbers Matter data.
What are the Results?Individual CustomersTable 1 (below) compares the average cost of direct cremations and traditional funerals in states who currently have “Ready to Embalm Laws” versus those who don’t. You can see below that in “Ready to Embalm Law” states, direct cremation prices are $363 higher and traditional funeral prices are $489 higher. This is about a 20% increase in the cost of direct cremations and 8% increase in traditional funerals. State and NationalTable 3a below shows the annual cost of “Ready to Embalm Laws” state-by-state. The costs vary pretty drastically, but the shocking number is the total… “Ready to Embalm laws” cost U.S. consumers nearly $1 Billion dollars annually.
Download the full essay Numbers Matter: Estimating the Cost of State Funeral Regulations published in the Wake Forest Journal of Law & Policy below. The post “Ready to Embalm Laws” are Costing Your Families a Staggering Amount. See Where Your State Stands… appeared first on Connecting Directors. “Ready to Embalm Laws” are Costing Your Families a Staggering Amount. See Where Your State Stands… published first on YouTube via Tumblr “Ready to Embalm Laws” are Costing Your Families a Staggering Amount. See Where Your State Stands… To prepare for end-of-life issues, every adult in the English-speaking world needs to read and use the advice in Before I Go: The Essential Guide to Creating a Good End of Life Plan by Jane Duncan Rogers. It’s a practical, comprehensive, upbeat guide to just about everything that needs to be addressed before you die. Like […] via Tumblr Before I Go: The Essential Guide to Creating a Good End-of-Life Plan |
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