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Page A17
JANUARY 2013
FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS
S ec t i on A
Martha McKneely Thompson and Brandon G. Thompson
American Funeral Director Announces
its “Funeral Director of the Year”
WALL,NJ—
American Fu-
neral Director
magazine re-
cently announced that
Mar-
tha McKneely Thompson
won its 2012 Funeral Direc-
tor of the Year award.
Thompson is a fourth-gen-
eration funeral director and
is one of the owners of
Bran-
don G. Thompson Funer-
al Homes
in Louisiana.
Thompson was the choice
for this year’s Funeral Direc-
tor of the Year award because
of her utmost dedication to
her family and profession,
her advanced involvement
within her community and
her desire to help as many
families as she can.
Thompson said it was a
shock to win, but she was
thrilled to be the holder of
such a prestigious honor. “My
staff was thrilled for me, too,”
she said. For Thompson, fu-
neral service is an important
way to cope with a death and
provide a meaningful way to
honor the deceased.
“When people have lost
someone, they’re often over-
whelmed and fatigued, and
I want to make things bet-
ter for them. I can’t take away
their pain, but I can ease their
anxiety, by taking care of the
details of the service, so they
can focus on saying goodbye
to their loved one,” Thomp-
son said. “Many people think
that funeral service is about
death, but it’s not – not for
me, anyway. It’s about life –
respecting life, honoring life
and celebrating life.”
Thompson was presented
with an awards plaque during
the Seventh Annual Funeral
Service Business Plan, held
November 8-9 in Charles-
ton, SC. “We are honored
to present Mrs. Thompson
with our Funeral Director of
the Year award,” said
Thom-
as A. Parmalee
, executive
director of
Kates-Boylston
Publications
. “Her dedica-
tion to her community, her
profession and her family
truly encompassed what be-
ing Funeral Director of the
Year is all about.”
Judging criteria for this
award included: number of
years in position; active in-
volvement in the commu-
nity; role model for funeral
service; approach to funer-
al service and working with
families; and business acu-
men in sales/marketing/cus-
tomer service.
In addition to Thompson
winning the 2012 Funeral
Director of the Year award,
American Funeral Director
announced four runners-up:
•
Rodney Wakeman
, vice
president and co-own-
er of
Wakeman Funeral
Home
in Saginaw, MI.
Wakeman, who was in-
troduced to funeral ser-
vice at an early age, has
made technology a huge
focus for himself and for
his funeral home.
•
SherryWilliams
, manag-
er and funeral director of
Calumet Park and Fu-
neral Chapel
in Merrill-
ville, IN. Williams, a first-generation funeral director, has
made her community a focus, organizing such events as
the Angel Tree Ceremony and a fall festival.
•
John “Jack” Martin
, president and owner of
Dusckas-
Martin Funeral Home
and Crematory
in Erie, PA. Al-
though Martin was a late funeral service bloomer and re-
ceived his mortuary school degree and license later in life,
Please mention
Funeral Home & Cemetery News
when contacting advertisers.
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