March 2017

Page B15

MARCH 2017

FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS

S ec t i on B

New Faces join Messenger Sales Team

Keisha Addison

Chuck Lemmons

Thomas Gutzmer

Women in the Funeral Industry: One

Challenge Stands in Their Way

Katie Hill

CEDAR RAPIDS,IA—

glance inside the classrooms

at any mortuary school con-

firms an industry trend:

women are outnumbering

men in choosing a career in

funeral service. Yet in the job

search that follows, women

candidates are not always on

an equal playing field with

the men. Prospective em-

ployers appreciate a woman’s

empathy and attention to

details, admire her impres-

sive credentials and respect

her educational accomplish-

ments. But a question of-

ten lingers in an employer’s

mind: Can she lift?

In 2010, women com-

prised 57 percent of the

mortuary student popula-

tion, an increase of more

than 60 percent since 1995,

according to

NFDA.

Not

content to be in the front

office only, these women

want an active role in all as-

pects of funeral service, in-

cluding the prep room.

Ka-

tie Hill,

a third-generation

licensed funeral director,

understands firsthand the

physical demands of the job.

So her company,

Mortuary

Lift,

manufacturers of the

Ultimate 1000 Lift™, made

it possible for employers to

get beyond their concern of

whether or not a female can-

didate can lift.

“Women are often drawn

to the funeral industry be-

cause of their empathy,”

of a hoist for funeral homes

and mortuaries. Unfamiliar

with the death-care indus-

try, the manufacturer was

struggling to market and

sell it. So Hill’s father rec-

ognized the opportunity,

bought the company and

its inventory and made his

own lift. His daughter, Ka-

tie, managed this new ven-

ture and now owns and op-

erates it.

Hill’s business has experi-

enced annual double-digit

growth, in part a reflection

of women choosing funer-

al service as a career. “I am

seeing an increase in calls

from funeral home owners

who say they are impressed

with a woman they have in-

terviewed and think they

should have a lift to accom-

modate her,” says Hill. But,

she points out, that a lift

brings efficiency to funer-

al homes and mausoleums,

whether or not women are

employed there.

“Being able to do all el-

ements of the job is very

liberating for women and

allows them to compete

shoulder-to-shoulder with

men in the job market,” says

Hill. “And a lift gives a posi-

tive answer to the question

‘Can she lift?’”

To see a demonstration of

the Ultimate 1000 Lift ™ and

to hear what funeral home

owners say about the lift, vis-

www.mortuarylift.com.

states Hill. “However, once

in the profession they realize

it’s not just about meeting

with and supporting fami-

lies. It’s all the additional re-

sponsibilities such as dress-

ing bodies, lifting them onto

prep tables, lifting caskets in

and out of shipping trays

and onto casket biers.” The

Ultimate 1000 Lift ™ en-

ables a woman to carry out a

full range of responsibilities

singlehandedly. Not only

does it broaden her capa-

bilities, but it eliminates the

need for several people to be

involved in the processes.

Hill spent 10 years as a li-

censed funeral director at

her family’s funeral home.

Early on, her father realized

the benefits a lift would of-

fer, not just to his daugh-

ter but to the entire staff.

His search brought him to

a boat hoist manufacturer

who had designed a version

Tribute Companies add Attoe

and Clark to Sales Team

Maggie Attoe

Eric Clark

HARTLAND,WI—

The

Tribute Companies

re-

cently added

Maggie Attoe

and

Eric Clark

to their sales

team. Attoe is the new re-

gional sales manager for the

Western Region which in-

cludes Wisconsin, Minneso-

ta, Illinois, and Iowa while

Clark serves the Eastern Re-

gion which includes Michi-

gan, Indiana, and Ohio.

Attoe graduated from

UW Oshkosh with a de-

gree in Environmental Studies and Geolo-

gy. Prior to Tribute she worked in sales for

over 9 years. Maggie also has an extensive

background in large account management,

brand management, sales, customer rela-

tions, service, and company development.

She enjoys the outdoors through cycling,

hiking, paddle boarding and is a naturalist.

Maggie also lived in the Daxing district of

Beijing, China.

Clark graduated from Purdue University

with a degree in Organizational Leadership

and Supervision. He has a minor in Com-

munications. Prior to working for Tribute,

he worked at the Tradesman Companies.

In his spare time he coaches middle school

football, travels and likes to scuba dive.

“We are thrilled to have Maggie and Eric

representing our company in our expand-

ing markets. They will do an exceptional

job taking care of our current clients and

building our business in these markets,” said

Christine Toson Hentges,

president of The

Tribute Companies.

The Tribute Companies is made of up

several specialized areas within the cem-

etery profession;

Tribute Cemetery Sys-

tems, Tribute Precast Systems

and

Trib-

ute Design Systems.

Through the cemetery

division, the company owns four promi-

nent cemeteries throughout Wisconsin:

Pinelawn Memorial Park

in Milwaukee;

Restlawn Memorial Park

in Wausau;

Fort

Howard Memorial Park

in Green Bay; and

The Gardens of StoneBank

in Hartland.

Tribute Precast Systems is a leading pro-

vider of precast concrete products to cem-

eteries throughout the United States and

Canada with production facilities in Ashley,

IN and Freeport, IL.

Tribute Design Systems focuses on master

and site planning, chapel and administrative

facility design and mausoleum and colum-

barium design and development for cemeter-

ies, churches and funeral homes. The Tribute

Companies is located at 352 Cottonwood

Avenue, Hartland, WI 53029. Further infor-

mation can be found at

www.tributeinc.com

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AUBURN,IN—

Mes-

senger,

the leading

funeral

stationery

supplier in North

America, has appoint-

ed three new sales

consultants.

Keisha Addison

will be serving

in Northern Georgia,

Chuck Lemmons

Arkansas and

Thomas Gutzmer

in Virginia.

Addison has over fifteen years of account

management experience, most recently rep-

resenting

Matthews-Aurora Funeral So-

lutions.

She was raised in a family owned

business and is driven by relationships and

helping people achieve success. Lemmons

comes to Messenger with over twenty years

of sales and account management experi-

ence and the past few years has served as

a funeral director and pre-need consultant.

No stranger to working in a small business

and wearing multiple hats, he is excited to

share his experience using Messenger solu-

tions when he was a funeral director and

the times savings it afforded him. Gutzmer

comes to Messenger with extensive expe-

rience in teaching and customer relations.

He loves meeting new people and helping

bring out the best in every situation.

All three recently completed comprehensive

training at Messenger and have since begun

serving clients in their respective area. “As we

continue to grow, we are committed to ensur-

ing that our front line team members are the

best in class and can help funeral professionals

take advantage of all that we have to offer. The

energy and professionalism these three bring

to the table is second to none and we look for-

ward to the positive difference they are going

to make,” stated

Bob Hoaglund,

vice presi-

dent of sales and marketing at Messenger.

Messenger, headquartered in Auburn, IN,

has been in business since 1913 and has trans-

formed funeral registries and stationery. Now,

Messenger leads with the best digital registry

on the market and the most extensive line of

funeral stationery available. Messenger invests

in consumer research each year and is dedi-

cated to helping funeral professionals stay rel-

evant in an ever-changing marketplace. Their

ultimate goal has been and always will be, to

make a difference to grieving families through

the products and services we provide. For

more information, call 800-827-5151 or visit