Page A2 December 2022 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Se c t i on A Published Monthly by: Nomis Publications, Inc. PO Box 5159, Youngstown, OH 44514 1-800-321-7479 FAX 1-800-321-9040 www.nomispublications.com info@nomispublications.com Subscription: United States $30.00 - Canada/Mexico $60.00 Circulation 21,000 per issue. Overseas rates available. Deadline for Press Releases: 5th of the Previous month. Advertising: Display Ad rates sent upon request. Classified and Shipping Directory rates published in each issue. All advertising must be received by the 5th of the previous month. Due to the vast amount of sources, the publisher is not responsible for the content of any news articles or advertisements. Nor is the publisher responsible for any loss of revenue by failure to insert an advertisement. The contents of any advertisement submitted for publication are only the publisher’s responsibility if the error is made by the publisher’s typesetting department, and then only to the extent of the typesetting charges. Advertisers are responsible for adhering to individual state regulations regarding advertising. The contents of any news article submitted for publication is subject to editing and is published at the sole discretion of the publisher. The publisher reserves the right to refuse any news article or advertisement. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced, in whole or part, without the exclusive consent of Nomis Publications, Inc. Editor: Margaret (Peggy) Rouzzo © 2022 by Nomis Publications, Inc. ISSN 1944-1126 Funeral Home & Cemetery News Online at www.nomispublications.com Online Directories US & International Funeral Homes • Supply Companies Cemeteries • Pet Memorialization Companies Trade Associations • Plus Much More... www.nomispublications.com Like @Nomis.Publications FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS NOTICE The FUNERAL HOME AND CEMETERY NEWS is now sent in two parts. Section A, which includes pages A1-A44 and Section B, which contains the Classified Advertising and consists of pages B1-B24. If you do not receive both sections please call 1-800-321-7479 or email info@nomispublications.com. 800 - 321 - 7479 ~ www. Nom i sPu b l i c at i on s. com S E N D U S Y O U R N E W S W e w e l c o m e n e w s o f t h e i n d u s t r y Send us information on your firm today! FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Need Help Putting Your Press Release Together? Call Peggy at 800-321-7479 ext. 220 email Peggy@Nomi sPubl i cat i ons.com fax 1-800-321-9040 mail PO Box 5159, Youngstown, OH 44514 Send us any press release related to your firm which would be of interest to your fellow industry professionals. All press releases are published free of charge and at the discretion of the publisher. Be sure to include any photographs. Staff additions. . . Staff promotions. . . Anniversaries. . . Apprenticeships. . . Remodel ing. . . Moving. . . New Ideas. . . Community Service Projects. . . Graduates. . . Obituaries. . . etc. Federal Trade Commission Seeks to Improve the American Public’s Access to Funeral Service Prices Online The FTC meeting allowed members of the public two minutes to weigh in before making their decision. Pictured representing CANA membership is Executive Director, Barbara Kemmis. NFDA, ICCFA, and Selected Independent Funeral Homes also had representatives speak. cial rights to grieving families seeking out burial and cremation services,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We look forward to hearing from the public about how we can modernize the rule to better protect consumers in today’s market.” The Funeral Rule requires funeral providers to furnish consumers who visit funeral homes in-person with itemized price information. But, because the rule was first issued in the 1980s, it does not require them to provide price information online and via other electronic means like email or text messages. The agency’s review of funeral providers’ websites – which took place during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when many people could not or did not feel comfortable visiting a funeral home in person to make arrangements for their loved ones – found that more than 60 percent of the websites reviewed provided little to no information about their prices. On February 14, 2020, the Commission initiated a routine review of the rule, which received 785 comments. Several commenters stated that many funeral providers do not provide price information online and asked the Commission to require that funeral providers make price information available on their websites and via other electronic means. After carefully reviewing all the comments received, the staff report, and the FTC’s enforcement and outreach efforts in the area, the Commission has decided to retain the Funeral Rule and issue an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concerning potential amendments to the rule, including whether and how funeral providers should be required to display or distribute their price information online and through electronic means. Information about how to submit comments on the FTC’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is included in the Federal Register notice. The deadline for submitting comments will be 60 days after the notice is published in the Federal Register in the coming days. Submitted comments will be posted to Regulations.gov. In a press release issued by the Cremation Association of North America they are calling for funeral industry professionals to act quickly to make sure their voices are heard. Additional information about revisions to the Funeral Rule will be published in the Federal Register opening up a comment period. CANA will alert their members of the opportunity to share comments with the FTC at that time. The event was recorded, and the webcast and related comments are available on the FTC website https://www.ftc.gov/ news-events/events/2022/10/open-commission-meeting-october-20-2022. WASHINGTON,DC— The Federal Trade Commission is exploring possible steps to strengthen and modernize the Funeral Rule, which requires funeral providers to give in-person visitors price information to make informed decisions. The FTC also released a staff report that found that fewer than 40 percent of the funeral provider websites the agency reviewed provide any prices online. “For decades, the Funeral Rule has provided cruPetal It Forward Spreads Instant Gratitude Nationwide ALEXANDRIA,VA— The Society of American Florists’ eighth annual Petal It Forward flower giveaway on Oct. 19 involved 579 participating businesses. Flower shops, wholesalers, growers, suppliers and other industry groups handed out bouquets in communities across 49 states and Washington DC as well as Canada, India and Colombia. The event sought to capture the powerful message of paying it forward and how flowers help reduce stress and evoke positive emotions. The concept is simple: participating businesses gift two bouquets to individuals throughout their communities, one to keep and one to pass along to someone else. Spearheaded by SAF, the campaign is also a useful marketing tool. Some used the event to entice people into flower shops, and others partnered with influential community members including first responders, local businesses and teachers. Others aimed to get flowers to those who otherwise couldn’t afford them or brighten the day of hospital patients. The campaign also had support from those in industry who don’t have retail storefronts. Farms, wholesalers and suppliers all sought to contribute to the effort. “Petal it Forward allows our industry to show people in real tangible ways the effects of giving and receiving flowers,” says Scott Isensee, general manager at Frank Adams. “For me, when I see a person receive one of these bouquets, break into tears and say, ‘You have no idea how much this means to me!’, that’s impactful. That person will likely include flowers and the benefit they bring in their life from now on, and in turn, may show others that joy by giving flowers or ‘petaling’ it forward!” The Society of American Florists is the association that connects and cultivates a thriving floral community through training, education, marketing resources and advocacy. Their vision: The power of flowers in every life. For more information, visit www.safnow.org. Columns Aftercare by Linda Findlay. .............................................................................. A8 Appropriate to Greatness by Alice Adams and Jim Kurtz............................. A36 Bright Ideas for Funeral Directors by Mark Bowser...................................... A18 Embalming 101 by Wally Hooker.................................................................... A16 HearseHub by Mike Jamar................................................................................ B6 Memoires des choix des Jacque by Kate Frediani-Gorman.......................... A34 Not Just A Widow by Patty Desiderio............................................................. A20 Observations by Steven Palmer..................................................................... A12 Powerhouse Marketing With Welton by Welton Hong..................................... A6 Random Musings by Nancy Weil...................................................................... A4 Rest In Peace Mr President by Todd Van Beck.............................................. A24 Monthly Features Classified Ads. ................................................................................................ B17 Shipping Directory.......................................................................................... B14 Calendar of Events............................................................................................B2 Association News. .......................................................................................... A36 Educational News. .......................................................................................... A41 Death Notices.................................................................................................. A42 Suppliers News. ................................................................................................B1
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