Funeral Director Daily

Know your responsibilities with live streaming

By Funeral Director Daily / September 17, 2020 /

Every once in a while I read an article and I think to myself, “Wow, that should never have happened”.  However, if I’m honest with myself, I can see how that did happen and usually think about what my mom used to say, “If not for the grace of God, there go I”, because it…

Afternoon Edition: Counties feeling the pressure to help with cremation costs

By Funeral Director Daily / September 16, 2020 /

Today’s Afternoon Edition will bring you some stories of American counties that are grappling with how to pay for increased requests for financial assistance for families that indicate that they need help in paying minimum cremation costs.  We have one story from WFTS in Tampa Bay, Florida, that is very typical in telling that requests…

How’s your public relations

By Funeral Director Daily / September 16, 2020 /

Positive public relations can do more good for a business than any amount of advertising money spent.  Public relations looks at the “good” in us to do things, not for the profitability aspect, but for the goodness to the community.  That’s not to say that “goodness for the community” does not help in reaching those…

Afternoon Edition: Black smoke upsets crematory neighbors

By Funeral Director Daily / September 15, 2020 /

Today we bring you several news reports, articles, and video pertaining to a crematory in New York state that last week had black smoke billowing from its cremation stack.  The funeral home, and its crematory, are located in Tonawanda, New York, and according to some of the articles, this is not the first time that…

Ritual vs. Memorialization. . . . do we need both?

By Funeral Director Daily / September 15, 2020 /

Deaths will always be with us.  However, the way we ritualize death and provide permanent memorialization for our loved ones seems to be ever evolving.  I believe that permanent memorialization has been under attack for a long time and faces long-term decline, but I also believe that ritual, and the way it evolves, may bring…

Afternoon Edition: NFDA 9/11 Podcast, . . Park Lawn appoints CFO, . . . India’s 15 year old “King” of cremation

By Funeral Director Daily / September 14, 2020 /

In our first Afternoon Edition following the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 Attack on America we bring you the latest podcast from the National Funeral Director’s Association, which features an interview with funeral director Dominic Carella.  According to NFDA, Carella was the first funeral director called on 9/11, 2001, and he and his team provided…

Celebrity funerals . . . and funeral celebrities

By Funeral Director Daily / September 14, 2020 /

There were a couple of items in the news recently that brought about this headline.  The first was the death and funeral services for young actor Chadwick Boseman and the second item that I caught was the notice that CBS is developing a one-hour drama series that will be called “Closure”. “Closure” is loosely based…

Axar Capital pulls back bid to take StoneMor Inc. private

By Funeral Director Daily / September 11, 2020 /

In this public relations release from Globe Newswire you can read that Axar Capital Management has withdrawn its proposal to acquire all of the outstanding shares of StoneMor Inc. and take the company private. In the press release, StoneMor made this announcement by Stephen J. Negrotti, Chair of a special committee to evaluate the Axar…

Back in the saddle again

By Funeral Director Daily / September 11, 2020 /

Today I am going to take one day and depart from my usual news and commentary on the death care profession to tell a little about my position on the Board of Regents at the University of Minnesota – the 12 person public board that governs the University.  I do so because as you read…

Afternoon Edition: “Get to Know Them” — Jay Dodds

By Funeral Director Daily / September 10, 2020 /

Today we start a new feature with Funeral Director Daily that we plan to showcase every Thursday afternoon.  This is our “Get to Know Them” feature. Doing this daily edition of death care related topics for Funeral Director Daily has shown to me the unique, but yet diverse occupations and individuals involved in bringing the…