On today’s episode, we interview the Executive Director of the Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice. The spotlight is in O.H.I.O, and the WTF is a balancing act! Title sponsor: http://www.cjf.com/ Sponsors: MERRY CHRISTMAS AND CFSP DESIGNATION | FUNERAL nation 098 published first on YouTube via Tumblr MERRY CHRISTMAS AND CFSP DESIGNATION | FUNERAL nation 098
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On this Christmas Eve here in New Mexico, families are lining the sidewalks in their neighborhoods with luminarias, simple paper bags with sand in the bottom and one votive candle. It’s a beautiful Christmas tradition, designed to direct the Christ child to the family’s home. You may enjoy this Mortality Minute video I did about […] via Tumblr Celebrating Christmas with Luminaria and End-of-Life Discussions Funerals are becoming “Celebrations of Life.” What does that look like? You’d be amazed what can be created within 24 hours to personalize memorial services and put some “fun” in funerals. At the 2017 National Funeral Directors Association convention and expo, Life Celebration, Inc., “Creating color and light in times of darkness,” set up a […] via Tumblr How to Personalize a Life Celebration On this Christmas Eve here in New Mexico, families are lining the sidewalks in their neighborhoods with luminarias, simple paper bags with sand in the bottom and one votive candle. It’s a beautiful Christmas tradition, designed to direct the Christ child to the family’s home. You may enjoy this Mortality Minute video I did about […] via Tumblr Celebrating Christmas with Luminaria and End-of-Life Discussions Hat’s off to Ann Lee, I say. She’s the courageous CEO of St Margaret’s Hospice, Taunton who has launched a joined-up funeral service with the twin goals of caring for her patients in death and earning some much-needed money to pay for the care her hospice extends to the living. What’s not to like? A hospice is uniquely positioned to create great funerals at a time when too many mainstream funeral providers are offering a product which, in the eyes of consumers, costs too much and offers poor value. Yes there are some lovely undertakers out there doing their best for their clients. But they’re not putting in the thinking, most of them. They’re not creating funeral experiences that meet the needs of modern mourners. Hospices can be the changemakers we need to break this dismal cycle. Because only they can close the care gap. The seamless service they talk about makes instant emotional sense, doesn’t it? And they’ve got the two things they need to do it. First: hospice values. Second: hospice ways of working. A hospice workforce is a mix of highly-skilled professionals and highly-motivated volunteers. And it’s exactly this mix of people that will make hospice funerals beacons of best practice and low prices. The blueprint is already out there — has been for some time, now. Communityfunerals.org.uk is a how-to guide to setting up a “funeral service which, in a spirit of common purpose, deploys volunteers and professionals as its members see fit in support of three objectives: commercial, social and environmental.” The concept is the product of a partnership between the Good Funeral Guide and the Plunkett Foundation, the people behind community shops and pubs. It has attracted lots of interest but no-one has yet had what it takes to see it through. Now I sense its time has come. Here are some excerpts from the communityfunerals manifesto: A community funeral service (CFS) reclaims the care of the dead and the support of the bereaved from the for-profit sector, but in doing so it does not take inspiration from the past. A CFS is a progressive agent of social change in response to, in particular, the growing challenges posed by longevity, the changing needs of the bereaved and evolving trends in the expression of grief and the commemoration of the dead. The community funerals movement does not denigrate the values and skills of the best funeral directors. On the contrary, it seeks to accommodate them. A CFS promotes healthy, robust and informed attitudes to mortality by responding to the ‘death of one of us’ as ‘something that touches all of us’. In doing so it rejects as emotionally unhealthy the outsourcing of the care of the dead and the arrangement of their funerals to specialist undertakers. A CFS asserts the normality of death and assumes ‘a neighbourly duty of care for our own’. A CFS does not treat the death of someone as a standalone event. A CFS works collaboratively with those who care for the elderly and the dying, and with those who support the bereaved. A CFS acknowledges that its fitness to deliver its social and environmental objectives derives from its ability to deliver economic benefits to it members. Unless it can provide a service offering better value for money than the for-profit sector it has no business in the marketplace. And this is what the CFS manifesto has to say about how a CFS is staffed: At the heart of the philosophy of a CFS is the belief that the bereaved would rather deal with ‘one of us’ than ‘one of them’ – that death is better handled by ordinary altruistic members of a community than by those whose exclusive professional competence is the care of the dead and the service of the bereaved. For this reason, a CFS is staffed as far as possible by people for whom the work is part-time, just as it was for the laying-out woman and midwife in times gone by. There you have the gist of it. There’s much, much more on the communityfunerals website. Shining ideals and copperbottomed practicality. Here’s an aside: when did you last see anyone with physical or learning difficulties working in funeral service? If you don’t mind, I want to speak direct to Ann now. Ann, you’re clearly something of a newbie to the cut-throat world of commerce. Along with others, I think you could have taken better advice. Ours for preference. I don’t fall in with those angry folk who write Mr Hodgson off as a ‘bottle-blond muppet’ or a ‘poundshop Svengali’. But I do think his business plan lacks intelligence. No one ever made money by dishing up the same old same old. A community funeral service, on the other hand, is tailor made for you. So think again. Remember: i) hospice values, ii) pro-am workforce. A hospice funeral service will never make St Margaret’s a fortune but it’ll make people think well of your work and that will loosen the purse strings of your many supporters. Feed the love and you will reap a rich harvest. If I’ve failed to persuade you and you insist on sticking exclusively to ‘income diversification’ as an end in itself, then your best bet is to open a string of kebab shops. More profitable. You’re welcome. HOSPICE FUNERALS CAN BE THE BEST, NO QUESTION published first on YouTube via Tumblr HOSPICE FUNERALS CAN BE THE BEST, NO QUESTION Sich Casket has announced the winner of their monthly “Year of the Funeral Director” casket giveaway for November. The winner, Larry Gould, is co-owner of Whitaker Funeral Home in Metter, CA. Mr. Gould will receive the Sich Montclair Oak casket, featuring solid oak, with a satin pecan finish and almond velvet interior. He will take delivery from Scott Jones of Service Casket Company, the Sich Casket distributor in Columbus, GA. Mr. Gould, who began in funeral service in 1996, has been co-owner of Whitaker Funeral Home, along with his wife Brenda, since purchasing the property from his father-in-law in 2001. “I don’t remember even entering the contest,” Mr. Gould commented, “but I was tickled pink on hearing that I won the casket. I never win anything!” Until now, Whitaker Funeral Home had never purchased or sold an import casket. But Mr. Gould said that this product offers some prestige to his current offerings. Mr. Gould is the eighth person to win a Sich casket as part of the monthly giveaway. Other winners include , Jack (Bill) White Jr. of Brooks & White Funeral Home in Roxboro, NC; Daryl R. Berry of Lyon-DeWitt-Berry Funeral Home in Campbellsville, Kentucky; Todd Schrag of Roper and Sons Funeral Home in Lincoln, Nebraska; Todd Howell of Woodfin Funeral Chapels in Murfreesboro and Smyrna, Tennessee; Howie VanRensselaer of VanRensselaer & Son Funeral Home in Randolph, NY; Brent Shehorn of Lake Shore Funeral Home in Waco, Texas and Frank Nosek of Kuratko-Nosek Funeral Home The next Sich casket giveaway drawing will be held at the end of December. To learn more about the monthly drawing and to enter, visit Sich.com or www.RethinkYourCaskets.com/YearFD. Participants need only enter one time to be registered for all the drawings throughout the balance of the year. About Sich Caskets Sich Casket Company is a pioneer of the Chinese casket industry. In just ten years the company has grown from a small family-run furniture factory to a significant international manufacturer of wood and metal caskets and a leading Chinese supplier of caskets in North America. Founded by company president Sirius Chan, Sich sources its materials globally to provide the finest quality and best value at every price point. With more than 250 models and styles of solid hardwood, wood veneer and metal caskets, Sich caskets are sold through a distributor network serving funeral homes throughout the United States and Canada. Their website is www.SichCasket.com. Funeral Director/Owner Larry Gould Wins November Sich Casket Giveaway published first on YouTube via Tumblr Funeral Director/Owner Larry Gould Wins November Sich Casket Giveaway Houston – Service Corporation International, North America’s largest provider of funeral and cemetery services, and its brand, Dignity Memorial®, are pleased to announce their tenth year as a major sponsor of the Donate Life float that will appear in the 129th Rose Parade® on Jan. 1, 2018 in Pasadena, Ca. For the past 10 years, SCI has participated in Donate Life’s annual tribute to organ, eye and tissue donors, and has helped many client families honor their loved ones with a portrait featured on the Donate Life float. Underscoring the importance of organ donation, these portraits, called “floragraphs,” are made of flowers, seeds, beans and other natural materials. Living donors and recipients also bring the float to life by riding or walking beside it during the Rose Parade. “The Donate Life Rose Parade float helps raise awareness of the important cause of organ donation and helps our client families celebrate the lives of their loved ones while healing during a time of loss,” said Phil Jacobs, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at SCI. “We are passionate about the cause and for the past 10 years it’s been our honor to support Donate Life’s mission of increasing the number of organ donors around the country to help save lives.” In preparation for the Rose Parade, Dignity Memorial locations across the country hosted floragraph finishing events in the weeks leading up to the parade.
At the events, family and friends paid tribute to their loved ones, who had made organ, eye and tissue donations, by putting the finishing touches on their floragraph portraits. Additionally, as a part of Donate Life’s celebration of its 15th annual Rose Parade float, Dignity Memorial is sponsoring the new “Making a Difference Rose Dedication Program,” which presents honorary silk roses to recognize and give thanks to organ procurement organizations, transplant centers, eye banks and tissue banks across the United States who share the mission of saving and healing lives through organ, tissue and cornea donations. These Honorary Making a Difference roses will be placed on the Donate Life float before the Rose Parade on Dec. 29, 2017 by Dignity Memorial representatives, the CEO and president of the American Association of Tissue Banks, the CEO and president of the Eye Bank Association of America, the program manager of NATCO, The Organization for Transplant Professionals, the CEO and president of LifeShare Transplant Donor Services of Oklahoma, the past president of the Association for Multicultural Affairs in Transplantation, and the CEO of OneLegacy and chairman of the Donate Life Rose Parade Float. “We are excited to expand our sponsorship with Donate Life to recognize organ procurement organizations across the country making a difference in their communities,” said Jacobs. “The Rose Parade and the National Rose Dedication Program are ideal backdrops to share the message of hope made possible by organ donation among the transplant community, donors, recipients and families who have lost loved ones.” About Service Corporation International Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI), headquartered in Houston, Texas, is North America’s leading provider of death care products and services. At September 30, 2017, it owned and operated 1,509 funeral homes and 476 cemeteries (of which 287 are combination locations) in 45 states, eight Canadian provinces, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Through its businesses, SCI markets the Dignity Memorial® brand which offers assurance of quality, value, caring service and exceptional customer satisfaction. In January 2016, SCI was presented with the J.D. Power President’s Award in recognition of an ongoing dedication to service excellence including quality improvement, customer satisfaction and the development of enduring client relationships. For more information about Service Corporation International, please visit www.sci-corp.com. For more information about Dignity Memorial, please visit www.dignitymemorial.com. As used herein, “SCI” or the “Company” refers to Service Corporation International and all of its affiliated companies. Service Corporation International Sponsors Donate Life’s “The Gift of Time” Float at the 129th Rose Parade published first on YouTube via Tumblr Service Corporation International Sponsors Donate Life’s “The Gift of Time” Float at the 129th Rose Parade Originally Published on the funeralOne Blog This year at NFDA, we challenged everyone to be the change — starting with what THEY thought was their biggest challenge in funerals. Attendees were asked to drop their ball into the tube that represented their biggest challenge, and these were the results… Now that we’ve identified our biggest pain points, it’s time to stop talking about what the future of funerals could look like and start taking action. Here’s how you can tackle the funeral profession’s top 5 biggest challenges right now… 1. Educating FamiliesWhen families understand the value of a funeral service, they choose products and services beyond the basic package. The key is to bridge the gap between what you know and what they know. 2. MarketingSuccessful marketing is more than just creating a Facebook Business Page or buying a TV ad. It’s about connecting with families before they need your services. 3. Personalization71% of today’s families don’t want a traditional funeral, and with Baby Boomers, Gen Xers and Millennials entering the market, the craving for funeral personalization will only continue to grow. 4. CremationFuneral professionals are quick to write off cremation as the enemy of the funeral profession… but it doesn’t have to be. With a 65.5% cremation rate that’s still growing, it’s time that you embraced it. 5. Low-Cost ProvidersOnly 51.9% of families agree that funerals are an important tradition in life. If this trend remains, families will always go for the lowest cost… until funeral homes start proving their value. The Funeral Profession’s Top 5 Biggest Challenges published first on YouTube via Tumblr The Funeral Profession’s Top 5 Biggest Challenges On this episode we answer questions like: 1. Can television commercials work on FB? Hopefully, we answered some questions you may have had! Learn more about DISRUPT Media: http://www.disruptmedia.co 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 | Lover of Skittles Watch FUNERAL Hustle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtBTgAH5RQ4&list=PLkzmzds-VgOwaRYgMvLBNEisfxocwZjPj. 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. INTEGRATING TRADITIONAL ADVERTISING WITH SOCIAL MEDIA | DISRUPTu! 034 published first on YouTube via Tumblr INTEGRATING TRADITIONAL ADVERTISING WITH SOCIAL MEDIA | DISRUPTu! 034 Originally Published on the funeralOne Blog Christmas and remembrance go hand-in-hand. When we talk about the “true reason for the season,” many of these reasons are steeped in holiday remembrance: Family traditions that have carried over generation to generation, stories of holiday pastimes that are told around the fireplace, and even meals and movies shared that carry a special significance. So with so much remembrance surrounding this festive holiday, it’s no surprise that families want to make their loved ones a part of the celebration… especially if they may no longer be around to take part themselves. As funeral professionals, we are the go-to resource in town for all things memorials and remembrance. If you want to take that role one step further this holiday season, further connect with your community by helping them remember their loved ones this Christmas. Here are some of our favorite crafts and DIYs that your funeral home could host as holiday workshops this Christmas to help your families embrace the true reason for the season. 1. Memorial CandleCandles have a special place in memorialization. They help us feel as though we are actively honoring or celebrating someone, by lighting a candle in their memory. One way that you can help families feel this connection even further is by helping them create a personalized memorial candle with their loved one’s photo on it, or even one of their favorite quotes. 2. ‘Save A Seat’ SignHelp families feel as though their loved one is still very much a part of the Christmas festivities with a beautiful sign that calls on people to remember. This beautiful plaque reads: “Christmas in Heaven. What do they do? They come down to Earth to spend it with you. So save them a seat, just one empty chair. You may not see them, but they will always be there. 3. Wooden Photo OrnamentsDecorating the tree is one of the most important and memorable parts of the Christmas season. So why not help families make their loved ones a part of the decorating, even after they are gone. These simply to make photo ornaments are a beautiful addition to any Christmas tree, and help bring memorialization into the tree decorating process. 4. Christmas Memories WreathAnother great way to help families bring photos into their holiday decor is with a beautiful, one-of-a-kind photo wreath. This wreath could be made up solely of loved ones that families want to remember at Christmas time, or even of all of their favorite holiday photo moments – including photos with their loved ones around the Christmas tree or opening presents. 5. Remembrance StockingIt wouldn’t be Christmas morning without the opening of our Christmas stockings. Help families complete their family Christmas mantle display by creating a stocking that is truly representative of their loved one – because it is made with some of their favorite worn items! Encourage families to bring in their loved one’s favorite dress, jeans or even Christmas sweater, and help them make a personalized stocking that can hang on the fireplace for years to come. 6. Christmas Shirt Pillow CoverSpeaking of ways to repurpose a loved one’s favorite clothing items, another great DIY that families can incorporate into their holiday decor is a Christmas Shirt Pillow Cover. This is an especially great craft to do with Grandpa’s or Dad’s favorite flannel or button-up shirt. You could even stick holly or pine cones into the pocket square to really help bring the Christmas spirit inside. 7. Holiday Photo LuminariesBring light to the holidays ahead by helping families create beautiful picture frame luminaries, which work great as festive holiday decor or even as a personalized gift for others. Not only are these unique display pieces a wonderful way to brighten up the home around the holidays, but lighting these memorial luminaries would be a great activity for any family to add into into their Christmas Eve traditions. 8. “A Few of My Favorite Things” OrnamentWhile we love the idea of a DIY photo ornament, like we mentioned above, a photo is not the only way to remember someone around the holidays. You could also make a wonderful ornament memento with some of their favorite items or pieces of clothing. In this tutorial, the author uses fabric shears from her late father’s different shirts and combines them all into a clear glass ornament to hang on her Christmas tree – complete with a personal note from her dad that she will always cherish. 9. Night Before Christmas PillowFor many families, the sounds of Christmas are just as memorable and important as the sights and smells. Maybe it was a favorite Christmas story that you used to get read before bedtime, or a favorite holiday song that you would always listen to while baking cookies. No matter what words they may have been, help your families visualize them on a personalized pillow that they can lay their head on the night before Christmas. 10. Holiday Card BookOver our lifetime, many of us save up a nice collection of greeting cards, whether it’s for birthdays, holidays, weddings, you name it. But we never actually do anything with these cards, other than when we run across them while moving or cleaning out old boxes. With this DIY, help your families put sentimental holiday cards from their loved ones on display in a beautiful book that they will actually flip through and look at each holiday season. 11. Sweater LettersOne of our favorite ways to decorate for the holidays is to put some of our favorite festive sayings up around the house, like “Ho Ho Ho” or “Oh What Fun!” Help your families do the same – but with an extra special personalized touch, by adding some of their loved one’s favorite items onto the letters. This DIY is easy… simply grab something fabric that was special to a loved one (a blanket, a shirt, a stuffed animal, etc.) and cut out the shape of the letters you are creating. Next, just glue the fabric onto the letters. Voila! That’s it! 12. Year In Remembrance VideoLast but not least, help your whole community celebrate, honor and remember their loved ones at Christmas time by putting together a beautiful Year In Remembrance video, set to a cozy winter theme. With Life Tributes memorial video software, you can combine all of the photos of the loved one’s whose lives you celebrated in 2017 into one moving, emotional slideshow that you can play for families in a private service at your funeral home, or send them a copy to wish them a happy holidays and let them know you’re thinking of them. 12 Days of Easy DIYs That Help Families Remember At Christmas published first on YouTube via Tumblr 12 Days of Easy DIYs That Help Families Remember At Christmas |
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