October 2021

Page A28 OCTOBER 2021 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Se c t i on A 1-888-792-9315 • mymortuarycooler.com NASHVILLE, TN BOOTH #545 Inside pocket for used gloves or personal items Inside pocket for used gloves or personal items Reversible design and two-way zippers means NO “right way / wrong way” to place pouch on cot! Pillow sleeve Pillow sleeve or plastics, sheet storage The Most User-Friendly First Call Pouch Ever! 1-800-645-8966 www.kanga-woo.com Designed by a Funeral Director to Make Every Removal Easier MUSIC CITY 2021 NFDA Convent ion Preview Pursuit of Excellence Awards BROOKFIELD,WI— The Na- tional Funeral Directors Associa- tion (NFDA) is pleased to announce that 539 funeral home locations have earned a 2021 Pursuit of Excellence Award. This award is presented by NFDA annually to firms that have demonstrated a commitment to rais- ing the bar on funeral service excel- lence by adhering to strict ethical and professional standards and providing outstanding service to families and communities. “As the pandemic continues to im- pact our country, funeral homes are finding extraordinary ways to meet the moment and provide meaningful sup- port to grieving families and commu- nities,” said NFDA Director of Public Relations Jessica Koth , who manages the Pursuit of Excellence Award pro- gram. “The Pursuit of Excellence Task Force was very impressed with this year’s entries and commends all of our honorees for their hard work and dedi- cation during these challenging times.” To earn a NFDA Pursuit of Excel- lence Award, a funeral home must demonstrate proficiency in key areas of funeral service, including compli- ance with state and federal regula- tions; staff participation in ongoing education and professional develop- ment; offering outstanding programs and resources to bereaved families; maintaining an active level of involve- ment in the community; active par- ticipation in and service to the funeral service profession; and promoting fu- neral home services through a variety of marketing, advertising and public relations programs. Participants are also required to adhere to a Pledge of Ethical Practices. Information about the NFDA Pur- suit of Excellence program can be found by visiting www.nfda.org/ pursuitofexcellence. Registration and application materials for 2022 will be available in late-October 2021. NFDA is the world’s leading and largest funeral service association, serving more than 20,000 individual members who represent nearly 11,000 funeral homes in the United States and 49 countries around the world. NFDA is the trusted leader, beacon for eth- ics and the strongest advocate for the profession. NFDA is the association of choice because it offers funeral pro- fessionals comprehensive educational resources, tools to manage successful businesses, guidance to become pil- lars in their communities and the ex- pertise to foster future generations of funeral professionals. NFDA is head- quartered in Brookfield, and has an of- fice in Washington, DC. For more in- formation, visit www.nfda.org. al service excellence, NFDA established the Richard Myers Pinnacle Award. The Richard Myers Pinnacle Award is conferred at the discretion of the Pursuit of Excellence Committee and only when it encounters a remarkable example of ex- cellence in the profession. The award is named in honor of the founder of the Pur- suit of Excellence Award NFDA Past Pres- ident Richard Myers of Utah. Victory Over Death was written to help both new and experienced ministers and lay church leaders, covers the grief re- sponse; how to work with families and funeral directors during the funeral plan- ning process; leading meaningful funeral and committal services; and more. Bob Arrington , owner of Arrington Fu- neral Directors, Rev. Ron Hale , the fu- neral home’s head of ministry and church outreach, and Joseph Lane , a licensed fu- • Lakeside Memorial Funeral Home, Inc., Hamburg, NY, and Company • Reeves and Baskerville Funeral Homes, Coal City, IL, and Company • Señoriales Corporacion de Servicio, Gua- temala City, Guatemala, and Company • St. Peter Chapels, Quezon City, Philip- pines, and Company • Thomas McAfee Funeral Home - Down- town, Greenville, SC, and Company NFDA Hall of Excellence Inductees NFDA-member funeral homes are in- ducted into the Hall of Excellence upon receiving their tenth Pursuit of Excellence Award. In recognition of their consistent display of professional and ethical excel- lence, nine funeral homes have been in- ducted into the NFDA Hall of Excellence in 2021: • Arrington Funeral Directors, Jackson, TN • Brunswick Memorial Home, East Brunswick, NJ • Funeraria San Vicente S.A., Medellin, Antioquia, Colombia • Karrer-Simpson Funeral Home, Port Huron, MI, and Company • Lakeside Memorial Funeral Home, Inc., Hamburg, NY, and Company • Lord & Stephens Funeral Home, Ath- ens, GA, and Company • Radney Funeral Home, Alexander City, AL, and Company • St. Peter Chapels, Quezon City, Philip- pines, and Company • Wieting Family Funeral Home, Chil- ton, WI Several funeral homes have achieved milestones in their participation in the Pursuit of Excellence Award program in 2021. NFDA salutes the following funer- al homes for their ongoing commitment to excellence: 15th Pursuit of Excellence Award • Olson Funeral Home & Cremation Ser- vice, Sheboygan, WI • Reeves & Baskerville Funeral Home, Coal City, IL, and Company 20th Pursuit of Excellence Award • Baird Funeral Home, Troy, OH • Duksa Family Funeral Homes, Newing- ton, CT, and Company • Pixley Funeral Home, Rochester, MI, and Company 25th Pursuit of Excellence Award • Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes, Lansing, MI, and Company • Patrick T. Lanigan Funeral Home & Crematory Inc., East Pittsburgh, PA, and Company Funeral Homes Recognized for Excellence in Service to Families and Communities Richard Myers Pinnacle Award NFDA is pleased to confer the Richard Myers Pinnacle Award on Arrington Fu- neral Directors in Jackson, TN, for pub- lishing the book, Victory Over Death: Fu- neral Messages of Hope and Healing , a tool to help ministers better serve members of their congregation who are grieving the death of a loved one. Arrington Funeral Directors is only the second funeral home to be honored since the Richard Myers Pinnacle Award was established in 2018. As part of the entry process, all program participants are required to submit an essay describing the development and execution of a program or service that had a positive impact on those served. To recognize fu- neral homes that develop an extraordinary program or service, as described in their es- say, that far surpasses the definition of funer- neral director with the firm, contributed chapters to Victory Over Death . Arrington also invited number of local and national- ly known ministers to contribute chapters, including the late Dr. Adrian Rogers of Bel- levue Baptist Church inMemphis, TN; Dr. Logan Hampton , president of Lane College in Jackson, TN; Dr. Jerry Drace , pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in Friendship, TN; and Dr. Ronnie Floyd , president and CEO of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention. Arrington Funeral Directors has distrib- uted Victory Over Death at no cost of min- isters in the communities it serves; the book is also being sold on Amazon. Best of the Best Award Recipients All Pursuit of Excellence applicants sub- mitted an essay describing the develop- ment and execution of a program or service that had a positive impact on the families they serve or their community, qualifying them for the Best of the Best Award, which recognizes the most novel and innovative programs and services in the profession. Essays were judged on the uniqueness of the idea on a national and internation- al level, quality of implementation, ben- efit to those served, benefit to the funer- al home and how easily the idea could be replicated or modified by another fu- neral home. After a thorough review, the Pursuit of Excellence Task Force selected three funeral homes to receive the Best of the Best Award: • Brunswick Memorial Home, East Brunswick, NJ • Funeraria San Vicente S.A., Medellin, Antioquia, Colombia • Mililani Memorial Park & Mortuary, Waipahu, HI, and Company As they reviewed the essays to select the Best of the Best honorees, the Pursuit of Excellence Task Force noted a number of programs and services that were very well-executed and yielded positive results for the community served by the funer- al home. The Task Force recognized these funeral homes with a Certificate of Hon- orable Mention: • Anderson Funeral Home and Cremato- ry, Alexandria MN, and Company • Arlington Memorial Chapels, Inc., Quezon City, Manila, Philippines • A Sacred Choice, Houston, TX • Capillas Señoriales Casa de Homenajes, Merida, Yucatán, Mexico, and Company • Feeney Funeral Home, Ridgewood, NJ • Gardinier Funeral Home, Inc., Frank- lin, PA • Jennings-Calvey Funeral and Cremation Services, Inc., Clarks Summit, PA, and Company FULL LIST OF AWARD RECIPIENTS BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE or visit www.nfda.org