March 2018

Page A8 MARCH 2018 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A 864-509-9199 $995 By Kristan Dean Let’s Chat In 2000 Kristan Dean began working with her family to bring Merry Christmas From Heaven ® to all who need the gifts’ mes- sage of Comfort, Love, and Faith. Today she is the Vice President of Marketing and one of the primary members of her family’s Bereavement Ministry.   Thanks, in great part, to the thousands of funeral directors and retailers nationwide who make Merry Christmas From Heaven ® a part of their communities, countless numbers of families reach out to their family every year. Their bereavement ministry helps families realize that those in Heaven live forever in our hearts. Their love is with us always.    Prior to Mooney TunCo, Inc. Kristan worked with companies nation- wide helping them build revenues by creating greater sales opportuni- ties through the use of sales intelligence and marketing alignment. www.nomispublications.com Funeral Home & Cemetery News Contributors share insights and exchange ideas. B logs Imagine yourself stepping out to observe people… no interaction, no joining in, just watching them. Can you imagine it? Where are you? Are you at work, out in your community, or someplace else? What do you see? How do people interact when they do not realize that you are watching them? Do they acknowledge one an- other? The ones that don’t…what are they doing? Do they look approachable or does their body language say leave me alone? What else do you observe? Now imagine watching people in a place where al- most no one knows each other and they know that they may never run into one another again. What do you see? Is there a difference between what you expect to see when people might know one another and when they do not? What do your thoughts tell you about how you view our humanity? Let’s go beyond our imaginations. From where I sit, finding ways to observe the people we know and in our communities seems easy. Can you think of a place we can go to catch a glimpse of how people interact when they do not know each other, may never run into one another again, and will not realize that we are trying to watch what they do? How does the airport sound? What do you expect to observe at the airport? At first I had no idea what to expect…then I realized it might just be a great place to see people engaging in acts of kindness. Is that odd? I hear you. That isn’t my first thought either. Kindness and the airport, how do these things go together? My first thought is that I need to write this column and writing about what I see at the airport seems like a good place to start. I figure the writing part will be easy. The hard part will be observ- ing people without interacting with them. Why is this hard? Well, while others choose to step back and ob- serve people I almost always look for ways to engage with them so that I may hear their thoughts, ask them questions, and learn. So I ask myself, what do I think I will see at the air- port? My mind is blank. Then remember all the times that people have gone out of their way to help me make a flight, find a gate, figure out where luggage is, and the list goes on from there. That’s when I realize observing people at the airport just might be the perfect place to continue this column’s series on kindness. How many acts of kindness do you think I will I see at the airport? First stop, the ticket counter in Boston. What do you think I see? Do you imagine people in line? Are they patient or in a rush? Are they excited about where they are going or wishing they didn’t have to leave home? Who is being kind? Thanks for imagining with me and exploring what you think will happen. Please meet me here next month to learn what really happens on my trip as we continue to explore kindness and humanity in this column. Un- til then I look forward to your thoughts. Please email me at Kristan@mooneytunco.com or give me a ring at 781-331-5308. director, the late David Gary, in 2007. Lori also gained experience working at several local firms before opening Affinity Memorial Chapel. She is a proud owner whose zest for the industry is evident in everything she does. Affinity Memorial Chapel actively and strategically engag- es in outreach, going beyond the funeral. Affinity Memorial Chapel’s staff hosted its first community fundraiser for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Central Ohio one week after its open house. This was just the beginning in a series of com- munity engagement initiatives. For further information, vis- it www.affinitymemorialchapel.com, call 614-427-1234 or connect with them on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Carriage Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend Affinity Memorial Chapel hosts Ribbon Cutting and Dedication Ceremony Lori Diaz and her daughters, Mikayla and Kyah Affinity Memorial Chapel Staff Members City Council Members COLUMBUS,OH— Affinity Memorial Chapel hosted its ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony open house on Sunday, February 4, 2018 with over 150 guests. Affin- ity’s owner, Lori Diaz, is a first generation funeral direc- tor who is passionate about funeral service. The president of Columbus City Council, Shannon G. Hardin, gave re- marks and city council member, Jaiza Page, presented Af- finity Memorial Chapel with an honored resolution from the city of Columbus. Several local pastors were also on hand to speak words of encouragement to the staff. Affinity Memorial Chapel operates out of an already es- tablished funeral home, Edwards Funeral Service. Al- though two separate business structures, the two owners and their staff have a great working relationship as col- leagues. The model is one to emulate as it reduces overhead while allowing Affinity the ability to gain momentum. Lori began her journey in funeral service as an appren- tice at Gary Memorial Chapel under a master funeral HOUSTON,TX— Carriage Services, Inc . (NYSE: CSV) announced that its Board of Directors de- clared the quarterly div- idend of 7.5¢ per share payable on March 1, 2018 to the holders of its com- mon stock of record as of February 12, 2018. Carriage Services is a leading provider of fu- neral and cemetery ser- vices and merchandise in the United States. Car- riage operates 178 funeral homes in 29 states and 32 cemeteries in 11 states. www.nomispublications.com News Funeral Home & Cemetery online