Basic HTML Version
Page A20
NOVEMBER 2014
FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS
S ec t i on A
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.
From this perspective how can their criticism, no
matter how “constructive,” not make us cringe? All
we hear is that no matter what we do, how hard we
try, we are still falling short and they know we can
do more. Even if they tell us how their own inabil-
ities contribute to the problem and they use their
critique to ask for our help. We will still cringe if
our internal critic only lets us hear how we are let-
ting everyone down because of how unable we are.
No matter how much sugar someone adds to the
criticism they give us it is how we process it that de-
termines how much it will help us grow.
Even if criticism is given in the heat of frustra-
tion with loud and volatile words, there is still a
way to hear the message and not cringe. We can put
ourselves in their shoes and realize when someone
is so unhinged that we are only feeling a touch of
their hiccup. We can realize that we cannot imag-
ine the difficulties they are facing in their lives, go
beyond the emotional outburst, and ask ourselves:
how can we help? What can we do to help alleviate
their stress so that they can help us grow?
Three columns into my series on criticism, I real-
ize that the only way criticism can make us cringe
is if we decide to let it. Please don’t take this the
wrong way;
how
criticism is given is important too.
As Mary Poppins says, “A spoon full of sugar makes
the medicine go down.” We just need to remember
that the sugar isn’t what makes the medicine work,
it is what makes the medicine more palatable.
I think part of the reason we find criticism so
unpalatable is because of how difficult it is to
give mindful criticism. If you are asking yourself,
“Mindful criticism, what is that?” I think it is what
I have been exploring in the past two columns. So
far I have come to understand that mindful criti-
cism is when we look within ourselves to see what
is driving our need to judge someone else. In a nut-
shell: we open ourselves up to our own imperfec-
tions that contribute to the problem before we open
our mouths to tell someone else how they must
change, so that we may grow from the criticism we
give. While writing this column I have come to re-
alize that the same mindful principles apply to how
we receive criticism.
It doesn’t matter how constructive criticism is if
we are unable to let the message help us grow. Even
if someone tells us what we are doing right, how
they know we can do what they are asking, and how
much they value us…we can still hear this as: it is
all you, the problem and the solution are on your
shoulders. If we take their words at face value, even
if they say they are here to help, they are still saying:
“You are the one that is causing the problem and
you are the only one that needs fixing.”
Lockett-Williams Funeral
Home Takes Delivery of
New Coach
Hunsaker Partners LLC
Acquires Funeral Home/
Cemetery Combo and
Two Cemeteries in the
Atlanta Area
Christine Hunsaker
ATLANTA,GA—
Atlanta-based
Hunsaker Partners LLC
has reached an agreement to acquire a funeral home/cem-
etery combo and two cemeteries in the Atlanta area, in-
cluding
Southern Cremations and Funerals at Cheath-
am Hill
in Marietta, GA;
Holly Hill Memorial Park
in Fairburn, GA; and
Eastlawn Memorial Park
in Mc-
Donough, GA. Details of the purchase, which has re-
ceived approval from the Federal Trade Commission
(FTC), were undisclosed per FTC request.
Hunsaker Partners president and CEO,
Christine Hun-
saker
is an Atlanta resident and well respected figure in the
funeral and cremation industry and one of the nation’s lead-
ing cremationists. Hunsaker has more than 25 years of ex-
perience in the cremation, funeral, and cemetery business
and has been a corporate officer for two of the largest pub-
lically traded funeral companies in the United States. Hun-
saker is currently a member
of the
Cremation Association
of North America
(CANA);
International Cemetery and
Cremation Funeral Associa-
tion
(ICCFA); and the
Na-
tional Funeral Directors Asso-
ciation
(NFDA).
“We are excited about
the opportunity to add
each of these beautiful and
unique locations to Hun-
saker Partners LLC,” said
Hunsaker. Hunsaker em-
phasizes that all locations
will be locally owned and
operated and managed un-
der the Hunsaker Partners organization and are fully li-
censed and operational. “We plan to draw on our experi-
ence in the funeral, cremation and cemetery business to
help elevate the experience at each location,” added Hun-
saker. “We are extremely excited to announce the com-
pletion of our new funeral home in Marietta that offers
unmatched crematory operations on site, ensuring your
loved one never leaves our care. We also offer a one-of-a-
kind cremation garden with tranquil water features and a
peaceful setting to reflect a life well lived, unlike anything
offered in the Atlanta area. Together with the local staff of
each location, we plan to ensure that all elements of our
guests’ experience meet the very highest standards.”
Located on the beautiful historic grounds of Cheatham
Hill Memorial Park, the new funeral home, Southern Cre-
mations and Funerals at Cheatham Hill boasts one of the
most beautiful settings in North Georgia, complete with a
new outdoor mausoleum and historical chapel mausoleum.
Offering more than 300 years of combined experience in
the cremation, cemetery and funeral business, Cheatham
Hill provides a beautiful, historical setting to provide com-
fort and security as families celebrate the lives of loved ones.
This facility includes a newly renovated funeral home with
state-of-the-art preparation facilities and new world-class
crematory operations, family meeting rooms, hospitality
suite and quaint chapel. The facility offers a variety of ser-
vices ranging from traditional funeral services, an intimate
chapel, grave site services, and celebrations of life, as well as
cremation. The Cheatham location also includes the
Cas-
cadingWaters CremationGarden
boasting beautiful foun-
tains, a family committal shelter and over 4,000 cremation
memorial options. It is a one-of-a-kind tranquil cremation
setting and was built specifically for cremation families.
Holly Hill Memorial Park encompasses a striking setting,
complete with a mausoleum, lawn crypts and two pictur-
esque ponds. The park expands over 40 acres with 19 acres
of open space, featuring beautiful monuments and sculp-
tures. The dedicated staff brings more than 75 years of com-
bined professional experience, and has been serving the
community for the past 35 years.
Eastlawn Memorial Park includes a beautiful cemetery set-
ting, complete with a mausoleum and new cremation gar-
den. Originally opened in 1958, the property expands over
35 acres. The dedicated staff brings more than 75 years of
combined professional experience, and has been dedicated
to serving the community for the past 35 years. Just a few
years ago, Cascading Waters Cremation Garden was added
including a multi-tier water fountain and over 400 crema-
tion memorial options. The tranquil garden focuses on the
needs and desires of the cremation family.
Formed in 2014, Hunsaker Partners LLC has over 25 years
of experience in the funeral industry, and has extensive expe-
rience in acquiring and operating funeral homes and cem-
eteries. Vi
for additional information.
GULFPORT,MS—
Theodore Williams
of
Lockett-Wil-
liams Funeral Home,
Gulfport, MS standing beside his
new Dodge Mini Van/1st Call Coach which was recently
purchased from
Muster Coaches,
Calhoun, KY.