January 2018

Page B7 JANUARY 2018 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on B DESIGN PRODUCTS VENTILATION SPECIALIZING IN 720.583.1886 Visit our idea gallery | duncanstuarttodd.com Meta Live Edge Sycamore Pair Cremation Keepsake Urn Memento Memorials Launches Meta Cremation Urn Platform The Meta Cremation Urn Platform Chris Harvan, owner of Memento Memorials, is shown standing in his booth during the NFDA Convention in Boston CLEVELAND,OH— Memento Memorials started out as a boutique-sized cremation urn design and fabrication company. Bespoke and very small production runs led to quotes like this: “…I was looking at the most beautiful piece of work I had ever seen. His work is absolutely amazing and I could feel and see the love that went into making my daughter’s final resting place. I knew in my heart this was what I had been waiting for…as I carefully cradled her tiny bag of ash- es in my hand, I kissed her one last time and put her in her new home. As a mother, my heart was finally at peace…” Accolades like these, and further market research led them to the realization that there are currently at least 120 million opportunities to bring this kind of healing to people every year. Reaching those in need resulted in switching to a busi- ness to business model and their newest platform of urns, The Meta Cremation Urn Platform, was revealed at the 2017 NFDA Expo in Boston. Memento’s sales team was pleased to hear words like “brilliant” and “genius” from visitors. The Meta Cremation Urn Platform combines wood and metal in a way that achieves a contemporary style while maintaining a connection to the organic. Standard mod- els are kept in stock in Poplar and Maple but very special one-of-a-kind versions are offered in other domestic woods as material becomes available. Live-edged, book-matched pairs and groups are one such unique offering. These are usually sold before they ever hit the website by means of a funeral industry private mailing list. Full size and keep- sake sizes are available and a mid-size version is being con- sidered for future production. For more information, visit https://mementomemorials.com/meta-cremation-urn. FrontRunner Lite WebSystem Unveiled at NFDA Convention Passare ® Releases Advanced Preneed Integration with Funeral Directors Life ABILENE,TX— Passare, Inc recently released an ad- vanced integration with Fu- neral Directors Life Insur- ance Company, offering the funeral industry’s only inte- gration between a preneed company and an at-need fu- neral administration system. “This integration with Fu- neral Directors Life is one way we are helping our cli- ents connect, communicate, and collaborate more effec- tively with families,” said Jay Thomas, CEO of Pas- sare, Inc. “Phase two of our integration eliminates the need to go outside of Passare to check preneed case infor- mation including contract amount, payment informa- tion, death benefit amount, and much, much more. Be- ing able to access all this in- formation from one con- venient platform helps our clients save time and labor. It also helps funeral profes- sionals quickly and easily reference a preneed case for a family, all from one conve- nient platform at any time, from any internet-connect- ed device. This is a big step forward for Passare and for the industry as a whole.” As new preneed policies are issued, clients of Funer- al Directors Life and Pas- sare will automatically have preneed cases added to their Passare collaboration and case management platform. Previously, preneed case data including vital statis- tics such as name, gender, date of birth, family and friends, and contact infor- mation was included in the integration. With the re- cent new release, each pre- need case added to Passare’s system will also contain specifics for the preneed contract such as payment information and estimated death benefit. In addition, Funeral Directors Life’s cli- ent funeral homes who are Passare subscribers can also request an import of all his- torical active preneed fu- neral cases into Passare. “We are continuing to en- hance our integration with Passare, essentially the only integration of its kind be- tween a preneed insurance company and an at-need administration system,” said Funeral Directors Life presi- dent and CEO Kris Seale. “Our goal is to continue to help funeral professionals connect and communicate better and more effectively with the families they serve through improved technol- ogy services and innovation. Ultimately, our mutual cli- ents at Passare and Funer- al Directors Life are ben- efitting from being on the cutting edge of technology solutions in the funeral pro- fession.” Passare, Inc., is a privately held Software as a Service (SaaS) company offering the only cloud-based col- laboration platform with integrated case manage- ment in the funeral pro- fession. Passare’s online system is helping funer- al directors re-imagine the funeral experience for the families they serve. With Passare, funeral directors can connect and commu- nicate with families any- time, anywhere, from any Internet-connected device. To learn more about Pas- sare and to hear more from our nationwide network of funeral providers, visit www.passare.com . Funeral Directors Life is the only full-service pre- need insurance company that helps funeral directors grow their businesses and improve profitability in a rapidly changing market- place. Their mission is “to be known as the best, most- respected provider of service to the funeral industry.” As a company, they are com- mitted to serving their cli- ents and policyholders as the leading provider of service to the funeral profession. For more information, vis- it www.funeraldirectorslife . com. KINGSTON,ON— FrontRunner Professional partnered with Pierce Chemical at the 2017 NFDA Con- vention to unveil the FrontRunner Lite WebSystem , a powerful web- site solution designed to help funeral homes avoid the pitfalls often associated with free websites. The FrontRunner Lite WebSystem is a completely in- tegrated solution that allows firms to have a modern and easy-to-use website, combined with the ability to leverage the powerful MemorialFX tribute video and stationery personalization engine for the new Pierce line of statio- nery. Customers of FrontRunner Lite will be able to scale up as their needs grow, including access to integrated fu- neral management software and other premium services and features offered by FrontRunner. A growing number of funeral homes are becoming aware that their “free website” is not so free after all. The free website concept was developed in conjunction with florists, due to their desire for higher margins and the im- pact of distributor commissions, resulting in significantly higher flower prices for consumers on these sites com- pared to what they can purchase flowers for on other rep- utable online sites. The model is simple once consumers understand that nothing is free. “With today’s internet savvy consumer, significant price increases on flowers are leaving a black eye on the funeral home, causing many families and consumers to see the funeral home as untrustworthy and being guilty of price gouging. Unfortunately, it is not only the funeral home’s reputation that is damaged; it hurts everyone in funeral service. The damage, in some cases, may be irreparable. We set out to create a system for Pierce customers, that offer the latest and greatest in website and print technolo- gy, while avoiding the downfalls of other no-cost website models,” cites FrontRunner president Jason Truesdell. The new FrontRunner Lite WebSystem provides fu- neral professionals a better way forward. It will be dis- tributed exclusively through, and subsidized by, Pierce Chemicals to ensure that Pierce clients have access to the best technology available at no cost, while provid- ing “Integrity Floral Pricing” to protect the reputation of their funeral home. “When you get two companies who understand their industry working together to not only solve current problems but prepare their customers for the future as well, the result is something special. We are excited about the partnership with FrontRunner, what it is go- ing to do for funeral homes and subsequently for the families they serve. The industry is changing and we are excited to take our stationery lines and what we offer our customers, to a whole new level,” says Lance Ray, COO/executive vice president of Pierce Chemical. FrontRunner is the leader in innovative technology and marketing solutions designed to help funeral profe ssionals run their business more efficiently and excel in their local markets. Pierce Chemical is part of the Wilbert family of companies and is one of the largest providers of funeral home products in North America, including embalming fluids, funeral stationery, urns, prep room supplies, and equipment. To learn more about the partnership with Pierce or the FrontRunner Lite WebSystem, contact FrontRunner by phone at 1-866-748-3625, online at www.1frontrunner. com/pierce , or speak with a Pierce representative.