June 2019

Page A4 JUNE 2019 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A The Hallmark of Life & Death ww w.theb enev olenceurn.com $97 .95 plus tax 919-638-9177 Hal V. Miles, Sr. Inventor By Nancy Weil What’s in a Name? Everything if you have a funeral home or cemetery with a reputation to protect. Everything if you are a licensed funeral director. Everything if you work in funeral care. I am baffled about something. As part of my work with the Order of the Golden Rule I make price shopping calls both to our members and to their competitors. I cannot unhear some of the things I have had funeral directors and their staff tell me over the phone. I can- not understand some of the “job titles” they have refer- enced. I cannot understand how we are so reluctant to state who we are and what we do. It is true that the funeral industry is facing many chal- lenges right now, however having spoken with funeral homes across the country, perhaps we need to look at ourselves before we turn our attention to the outside dis- rupters. I have had calls answered, “funeral home” and even “hello.” Not the name of the funeral home, not the name of the person who answered the phone and, most often, not the role that person plays at the funeral home. Take a moment and listen to how your phone is answered. It did not matter whether I worked at a ceme- tery or a funeral home, we always answered with “Hello, (name of the company) This is Nancy. How can I help you?” Notice it was not a “good morning” or a “good af- ternoon” as for many people calling their day was any- Random Musings thing but good. No matter where the conversation went, we listened to the caller, we showed sincere interest and compassion and we gave them both information and as- surance that we were there to help. This may not sound difficult, but I have been amazed by the number of funeral homes we call that fail to accomplish these three things. Many times, the funeral director is not referred to by their title. They either answer with their name only or with a title such as “event planner” or “life story collec- tor” or some other fancy wording that may indeed be what they do, but it is not who they are. A funeral direc- tor, in most areas, is someone who has gone to mortuary school, passed a licensing exam and must take continuing education courses to keep their license current. It is a lot of work to become a funeral director. It is something to be proud of and the title matters to the families you serve. We are now seeing more low-cost cremation companies open in our market areas. I spoke to one who advertised that they were a “funeral home alternative” and shared on the phone that they were technically a transfer service. They only took care of direct cremations and were a viable option for those families who wanted this. Recently there were ar- ticles about some former Nike executives who are looking at opening direct cremation services where the family only uses their computers to make all of the arrangements and never meets face to face with a funeral director. If you don’t find this disturbing, then perhaps this is your business model. For everyone else, you should be alarmed that the consumer no longer sees you, the funeral director, as nec- essary to the final disposition of their loved one. They no longer see you, the cemetery staff, as required when their loved one dies. The question becomes “why?” Sadly part of the answer may be found in what I have heard (and can’t unhear) when I call funeral homes. Are we driving the consumer away by not showing our value, our educa- tion, our training and our worth? It is something to think about the next time you answer your phone. www.nomispublications.com Funeral Home & Cemetery News Contributors share insights and exchange ideas. B logs Serving as Member Resources Director at the International Or- der of the Golden Rule, Nancy Weil brings her years of experi- ence working in the funeral industry to funeral directors across the globe. Her professional experience includes serving as Director of Grief Support and Community Outreach at Veterans Funeral Care in Clearwater, FL and at eleven cemeteries in Western New York. Nancy travels throughout the country offering presentations on how to reduce stress, combat compassion fatigue and offer sup- port for those who are grieving through her company, The Laugh Academy. With certifications as a Grief Services Provider and Grief Man- agement Specialist, Funeral Celebrant, Soul Injury Ambassador and Laughter Leader, Nancy is uniquely qualified to bring new perspectives into how to best meet the needs of the families you serve. For more information on how Nancy can help you and your company grow, visit her website: www.TheLaughAcademy.com or e-mail Nancy@TheLaughAcademy.com. Learn why Funeral Homes and Families are calling it the most Meaning ful Keepsake Turning a cherished memory into a work of art. 1-801-368-6215 info@carvedinmemory.com www.carvedinmemory.com SCI announces First Quarter Financial Results, declares Quarterly Dividend Forest Lawn celebrates International Women’s Day (L to R) Itzel Barakat, Forest Lawn Senior Vice President– Marketing Rodolfo Saenz, Maya Chau, and Jayln Flowers. Forest Lawn Museum Director James Fishburne, makes opening remarks. Kunny, founder and director of Art Muse Los Angeles, and James Fishburne, PhD Forest Lawn Museum director, as well as musical performances by Organic String Quartet and tours of Forest Lawn Museum’s exhibitionWomen of Vision: National Geographic Photographers on Assignment, which is traveled and organized by the National Geographic Society. and special events set amidst picturesque properties and a world-renowned collection of art and architecture. The For- est Lawn Museum displays a permanent collection, as well as world-class rotating exhibits. The Museum is committed to enriching the community through the educational presenta- tion of artwork that focuses on history, culture and religion. GLENDALE,CA— Forest Lawn Museum honored Internation- al Women’s Day with a special event celebrating women on the evening of March 6, 2019. The pinnacle moment of the event was the presentation of three In- ternational Women’s Day schol- arships to further the careers of young women in the arts. Schol- arships were awarded to danc- er Jayln Flowers, photographer Itzel Barakat, and art historian Maya Chau. The event also in- cluded presentations by Clare Since its founding in 1906, Forest Lawn has committed itself to providing outstand- ing service and beautiful, sce- nic environments for family outings, remembering loved ones, and commemorating holidays. With six locations throughout Southern Cali- fornia, including the Coach- ella Valley, Covina Hills, Cy- press, Glendale, Hollywood Hills, and Long Beach, the memorial parks serve all faiths and cultures and offer a wide range of celebrations HOUSTON,TX— Service Corporation In- ternational (SCI) announced results for the first quarter of 2019. Diluted earnings per share were $0.43 in the first quarter of 2019 compared to $0.43 in the first quarter of 2018. Diluted earnings per share excluding special items were $0.47 for the first quarter of 2019 and 2018. Tom Ryan , the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented on the first quarter of 2019: “We are encouraged as we start off 2019 on par with prior year earn- ings per share results as we faced a challenging funeral profit comparison driven by a strong flu season in the prior year quarter. Increas- es in both our cemetery and funeral preneed sales programs, effective management of our fixed costs, and a lower tax rate helped to off- set the funeral revenue deficit. I want to thank our 24,000 associates for their hard work and dedication. Their continued commitment to delivering extraordinary service to client fami- lies is what sets us apart from others in the in- dustry. Our outlook is positive as we look for- ward to the remainder of 2019.” SCI also announced that its Board of Di- rectors has approved a quarterly cash divi- dend of eighteen cents per share of common stock. The quarterly cash dividend is payable on June 28, 2019 to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 14, 2019. Service Corporation International owned and operated 1,479 funeral service locations and 482 cemeteries (of which 287 are com- bination locations) in 44 states, eight Cana- dian provinces, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico as of March 31, 2019. For more information about Service Corpora- tion International, please visit our website at www.sci- corp.com . For more informa- tion about Dignity Memorial ® , please visit www.dignitymemorial.com. Send Us Your News! PO Box 5159, Youngstown, OH 44514 Fax 1-800-321-9040 Email info@nomispublications.com FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS We welcome news of the industry. Send us information on your firm today!