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JANUARY 2013
FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS
S ec t i on A
Wallace Funeral Homes purchase new
Federal Coach
With certifications as a Laughter Leader, Funeral Celebrant, Grief
Services Provider and Grief Management Specialist, Nancy Weil is
uniquely qualified to bring new perspectives and new ways to help
clients heal from the pain of grief as well as reduce stress for profes-
sionals in the industry.
As director of aftercare at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Buffalo,
NY, Nancy has developed one of the most comprehensive aftercare
programs of any cemetery in the country in order to support fami-
lies following the death of a loved one. A professional public speak-
er, Nancy is available to speak to your staff, association or confer-
ence, bringing her passionate interest in the healing qualities and
therapeutic benefits of laughter across the country. Her new book,
If Stress Doesn’t Kill You, Your Family Might, filled with tools that
work to reduce stress, can be found through her website, www.The-
LaughAcademy.com. You can contact Nancy at nancyw@mountcal-
varycemetery.com or visit
By Nancy Weil
Happy New Year! You’re
Perfect….Now Change
2012 has at last come to an end. For many it has been a
bumpy year as we address the growing trend towards cre-
mation and lowered revenue. What was once unthinkable
is now considered normal (or at least being done). Who
in this industry would have ever imagined a time when a
loved one was divided into plastic baggies and distributed
at the service as “party favors” to be scattered wherever the
attendee thinks appropriate? Did you ever consider hav-
ing to deal with delays of services that stretch into decades
after the death? No one would have built into their busi-
ness plan the need for funeral celebrants as more and more
people move away from regular attendance at their local
parish. It is now 2013 and as a professor of mine once
said, “The future is now.” The time has come to adjust and
change our businesses to adapt to new social mores.
Having attended a museum exhibit on Pompeii and see-
ing decorative cremation urns from 79 AD, I can state that
cremation is nothing new and is not going away. We can
bemoan the increasing percentage of our business that is
servicing the cremation clients. We can debate if it is due
to the mobility of society, the financial crisis or the shift in
religious rules. None of this intellectual chatter matters, we
must look at what can be changed in our business plans now
so that we end 2013 financially healthier than we began.
Here are three things to consider adding to your business
plans:
1. Funeral Celebrant
Offering personalized services is not only popular with fam-
ilies, it is fast becoming a necessity. There are several reasons
that a family may not use traditional clergy for their service:
a. They are not members of a church
b. There has been a period of time since the “traditional”
service and the interment
c. They live out of town and have no clergy in the area
where the burial will take place
d. They want a service that is personalized
By providing a celebrant option, you will be able to meet
the family’s needs, create a small source of revenue and make
the service one that others who attend will remember….and
talk about.
You may be considering hiring an outside officiant to use
when needed, but by having a trained and certified celebrant
on staff, you will have good communication between the of-
fice, celebrant, other staff and the family, which will insure
that the service runs smoothly.
2. Cremation Coordinator
This is a new position that we added to our staff and I know
that some funeral homes have a dedicated staffer to handle
the needs of their cremation families. From setting the date
to making sure the certificate of cremation is brought to the
cemetery, there are many details to organize. Authorizations,
clergy or celebrants, military honors arranged and more –
making sure none of these details are forgotten requires that
one person is in charge of these services.
No one wants a family to be disappointed with their final
farewell to a loved one. By having a cremation coordinator on
your staff, you will avoid confusion, missed opportunities or
a service gone out of control.
Changing
Lives
Through
Laughter
3. Aftercare Program
Grief is only beginning at the time a loved one dies. By
offering an aftercare program, you can continue your ac-
cess to the family, provide much needed support and create
new opportunities to gain positive press exposure. In the
five years we have kept statistics on our aftercare, we have
reached over 15,000 people in our area. That is 15,000
people who have had a personal interaction with our staff
and have the contact information of our cemetery.
Beyond that, the people who attend our programs be-
come our biggest advocates. They tell their family and
friends about the support we provide and are never going
to go elsewhere for their future needs. Aftercare makes
good sense: for the families we serve and for the busi-
nesses we run. It is truly a win/win for all involved.
By adding these three key positions to your current staff
(or one person who serves in all three areas), you will
continue to build a business that addresses the chang-
ing needs of cremation families. Perhaps you have oth-
er ideas you are considering to take your business to the
next level this year. By planning now, you will be sure
that by December 31, 2013 your company will be posi-
tioned to adapt to the new reality of death care.
alkalis, is gently circulated until the cycle is
complete. The bone ash remains are similar
to flame cremation and are returned to the
family to bury, scatter or keep in an urn.
“When a loved one dies, it is a very dif-
ficult time for the family. We want to in-
form the funeral homes in advance about
this new environmentally friendly alterna-
tive to flame cremation so they can discuss it
with their families and possibly consider an
option that does not leave behind a carbon
footprint. In general, I believe when given
the choice, people choose what’s better for
the environment. However, final disposi-
tion is a personal matter and decision, and
AquaGreen Dispositions wants to answer
any questions the funeral home or consumer
may have about flameless cremation so they
can make an informed decision.”
AquaGreen offers this new innovative
method of disposition to funeral estab-
lishments, giving them an additional op-
portunity to increase revenue by offering
this new eco-friendly method of disposi-
tion to their families. For more informa-
tion about flameless cremation, visit www.
r contact
Ryan at (708) 606-0211.
AquaGreen Dispositions Eco-Friendly
Flameless Cremation now
available in Illinois
BARBOURSVILLE,WV—
Randy Garner
(left) of
Federal Coach
is pic-
tured with
Allen Smith
and his father,
Boogie
Smith
, along with em-
ployee
Don Welch.
Al-
len owns and operates the
Wallace Funeral Homes
with locations in Bar-
boursville and Milton,
WV. They took deliv-
ery of their new Cadillac
Coach at the Federal fac-
tory in Amelia, OH. This
new unit was sold by
John Muster
of
Muster
Coaches,
Calhoun, KY.
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FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY
NEWS