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JANUARY 2015
FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS
S ec t i on B
an Army hall. Covington began like most companies,
manufacturing cloth-covered woods. Caskets were then
packed in wooden boxes and shipped throughout the
southeastern United States by rail. In 1959, Covington
began manufacturing metal caskets.
The late
Johnny Williamson
began working at Coving-
ton in 1971 as a sales representative, and he later acquired
50 percent of the company in 1977. Current president
Ed-
die Williamson
began working with his father in 1978.
Eddie’s brother,
Alan,
joined the company in 1987, and
later that same year Johnny acquired the balance of the
stock and became sole owner of Covington Casket. During
the years under Johnny’s direction, Eddie and Alan both
worked in the plant, drove delivery trucks, and learned the
operations of day-to-day business.
In December of 1993, Johnny lost his battle with cancer and
the brothers took over as owners of the business. Eddie takes
care of production and day-to-day operations of the company,
while Alan runs the casket design and sales side of the busi-
ness. Alan admits that working so closely with his brother for
the last 21 years makes for some interesting days at work, but
wouldn’t have it any other way. “All in all, we’re on the same
page, and that’s to take care of the customer,” Alan said.
When asked about his company’s secret to longevity, Alan
was glad to share what he thought contributed to the com-
pany’s success. “First of all, we give all the glory to God. We
know where our blessings come from. If it were not for the
good Lord, we wouldn’t be here.” Second, would have to be
their committed and quality-driven employees. Third, would
be customer relations. “Eddie and I take about 50 percent of
the calls that come in. It makes for a hectic day, but in this
day of emails and Internet sales, you can’t beat that type of
personal service,” Alan said. “The big boys can’t offer that.
That’s what keeps them coming back.”
Covington currently serves about 250 funeral homes from
its corporate headquarters in Andalusia, and has two ware-
Covington Casket
Company Celebrates 90
Years in Business
FDLIC Names Kevin
Peragine Director of
Sales Development
Liz Carter Named
Homesteaders Account
Executive
Elizabeth “Liz” Carter
DES MOINES,IA—
Home-
steaders’
vice president of
field sales
Dan Lodermeier
announced that
Elizabeth
“Liz” Carter
has joined
Homesteaders as an account
executive. Carter, a long-
time sales professional with
a proven track record of suc-
cess, will serve funeral home
customers in the southeast
region of the country.
“Homesteaders’ account ex-
ecutives are dedicated to help-
ing funeral home customers
find new opportunities while
maintaining the high level of
service their client families de-
serve,” Lodermeier says. “Liz
is a forward-thinking sales
professional with an impres-
sive range of sales andmarket-
ing expertise that will be tre-
mendously beneficial to the
firms she serves.”
Prior to joining Home-
steaders, Carter held sales
positions at industry-lead-
ing companies such as Fuji
Photo Film USA, Inc. In ad-
dition to her demonstrated
skills in sales and marketing,
she has also earned numerous
awards throughout her career,
including “Sales Manager of
the Year,” “National Account
Manager of the Year” and
“Sales Person of the Year.”
“I recognized Homestead-
ers as a leader in pre-need in-
surance funding, and enjoy
applying my relationship-
building expertise to funeral
service,” Carter said. “I look
forward to working along-
side funeral professionals ev-
ery day to help them provide
pre-need services families re-
ally want and need.”
Carter’s expertise and expe-
rience also includes orches-
trating promotional events
and strategic planning activi-
ties. She earned a Bachelor of
Science degree from North
Carolina State University.
Since 1906, Homestead-
ers Life Company has been
providing products and ser-
vices to promote and sup-
port the funding of advance
funeral planning and end-of-
life expenses. Homesteaders
is consistently recognized for
its financial strength by A.M.
Kevin Peragine
ABILENE,TX—
Funeral Directors Life Insurance Com-
pany
(FDLIC) is proud to announce the addition of
Kevin
Peragine
as director of sales development for Pennsylvania.
“We are very pleased to have Kevin join our team,” said
Kris
Seale,
FDLIC president and CEO. “Our team in Pennsylva-
nia continues to grow in order to meet the needs of our cli-
ents, and Kevin’s experience as a funeral director and preneed
sales manager will be invaluable to our clients as they seek op-
portunities for growth and development.”
“Kevin brings a wealth of
experience to our FDLIC
management team,” said
Shaun Gaffney,
FDLIC re-
gional vice president. “He has
over 20 years of experience
with funeral directing, funer-
al home operations, and pre-
need sales management. Kev-
in is well-suited to help clients
find the best solutions for a
changing marketplace and
looks forward to continuing
to build on relationships he’s
formed over the years. Kevin
will be able to use his experience to lead sales teams and bring
innovative solutions to the table for his clients.”
“I look forward to applying my 20 plus years of funeral in-
dustry experience to help my clients serve their families bet-
ter. This business is built on personal relationships, trust,
compassion and knowledge. These pillars have provided me
with a strong foundation for success. I believe that moving to
FDLIC will give me an exciting path for applying my expe-
rience and helping funeral home clients better serve the next
generation of funeral planners,” says Peragine.
Kevin completed his Bachelor’s degree from West Chester
University, Pennsylvania, and went on to receive his Certificate
of Mortuary Science from
Mercer County Community College.
Kevin has a wonderful daughter, Kathryn, and girlfriend, Jen-
nifer and is an avid photographer, runner, cyclist, and skier.
FDLIC, rated A- (Excellent) by A.M. Best Company, is a
legal reserve life insurance company which specializes in the
sale of insurance-funded preneed funerals.