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Page A33 JUNE 2017 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A
NEWS Association CONTINUED
Arthur I. Erickson
Selected Independent Funeral Homes Announces
new Board Members
Jake Johnson
DEERFIELD,IL— Select-
ed Independent Funer-
al Homes announces the
appointment of two new
board members to lead
the world’s oldest asso-
ciation of independent-
ly-owned funeral homes.
Selected’s Board Member
Appointment Commit-
tee chose the new direc-
tors who, together with
the newly-elected offi-
cers, will be installed at
the 99th Annual Meeting,
September 10-13, 2017 at
the Radisson Blu Aqua in
Chicago, IL.
Arthur I. Erickson of
Beecher & Bennett Fu-
neral Service in Hamden,
CT will serve as the new
Group 1 representative.
Erickson is a third-gener-
ation funeral director li-
censed for 32 years and is
proud to have two sons li-
censed and working at his
firm, which has been a Se-
lected member since 1921.
Erickson attends annual
meetings, is a member of
the Selected Study Groups
Program and served on
Selected’s Preferred Part-
ner Selection Workgroup.
He has been president of
the Connecticut Funeral
Directors Association and
served on the NFDA Pol-
icy Board. Erickson is cur-
rently on the board of the
Evergreen Cemetery Asso-
ciation, is treasurer of the
Greater New Haven Funer-
al Directors Association and
is active in numerous other
professional and civic or-
ganizations.
“I appreciate the op-
portunity to serve as the
Group 1 representative
and look forward to work-
ing with members as well
as the Selected board and
staff,” said Erickson.
Jake Johnson of Menke
Funeral Home & Crema-
tion Center in Sun City,
AZ will serve as the new
Group 6 representative.
Menke Funeral Home has
been a Selected member
since 2008. Johnson de-
scribes Selected meetings
as “enlightening and op-
portunities for forward-
thinking discussions.”
Johnson, Menke Funer-
al Home owner and gen-
eral manager, has been
involved in all aspects of
funeral service includ-
ing management of large
cemetery grounds opera-
tions, technology, funer-
al arrangement/planning,
accounting, finance, loan
underwriting and more.
Johnson is also presi-
dent and CEO of John-
son Consulting Group
and FDMS Funeral Case
Software.
“It is an honor to be as-
sociated with such a fine
group of forward-think-
ing funeral operators,” said
Johnson. “I look forward
to contributing to the fur-
ther growth and enrich-
ment that the association
provides to its members,”
says Johnson.
The entire 2017 Board of
Directors includes Presi-
dent Neil O’Connor, La-
guna Hills, CA, Group 6;
Secretary/Treasurer Ann
Ciccarelli, Saugus, MA,
Group 1; President-Elect
Charles “Chip” Billow,
Akron, OH, Group 2;
Kim Farris-Luke, Abing-
don, VA, Group 3; Secre-
tary/Treasurer-Elect Lisa
Baue, St. Charles, MO,
Group 4; Joe Jackson
Jr, Laredo, TX, Group 5,
and Ex Officio Mark T.
Higgins, Durham, NC,
Group 3.
For more informa-
tion on Selected’s pro-
grams, becoming a
member of Selected Inde-
pendent Funeral Homes
or to locate a member, visit
or call 800-323-4219.