One of the most exciting initiatives since I have been involved in the funeral business has been brewing and is about to be presented to the industry through the philanthropy of the Funeral Service Foundation and the ICCFA Educational Foundation.  These two organizations have collaborated to bring us the “Journey to Serve” initiative which is aimed at recruiting United States military veterans for employment throughout the death care profession.

You can register for the launch event of this initiative that takes place via a virtual kick-off on April 22 here.  At that time you can hear Lisa Rosser, CEO and Founder of The Value of a Veteran, as she introduces the profession to the initiative.  Other speakers such as Bob Arrington of Arrington Funeral Directors and a past president of NFDA and Jay Dodds of Park Lawn Corporation will also take part.

Funeral Director Daily take:  We think that this is a great idea.  So many in our profession come into the profession as a second career when something in their life turns them towards the positive aspects of helping others. . . . .and the death care profession certainly does that.  Couple that with the fact that so many go into the military searching for positive aspects of full-time future careers and you will see how that combination sets the stage for developing really good people for our profession.

I’m certain that the combination of military background and the search for meaningful careers will lead to success for this program going forward.

Eagle’s Wings Air celebrates 13th birthday while helping funeral homes through the pandemic.  

We recently learned that Eagle’s Wings Air (EWA) celebrated its 13th anniversary this year and in doing so continued to help funeral homes with their human remains transportation services.  The company noted in a press release that while they suffered an initial decline in business volume in the initial COVID-19 March thru May period of 2020, their business rebounded to grow at an annual rate of 22%.

Here’s what EWA CEO Dave McComb stated in the press release, “While our nation is making progress against the pandemic, challenges certainly remain within the airline industry.  Carriers have slimmed operations, parked hundreds of jetliners, and eliminated or furloughed thousands of jobs. Capacity on international flights continues to be very limited, and domestic networks are operating 55 percent below pre-COVID levels. Finding flights and managing the logistics associated with shipping human remains will continue to be a challenge for funeral service across the country. I’m very proud to be associated with EWA and happy that our company is positioned so well to serve my industry colleagues during these challenging times.”

You can learn more about Eagle’s Wings Air and how they may help your funeral home here.

Interesting articles for weekend reading from our friends at Clifton Larson Allen.

• The American Rescue Plan broadens the Employee Retention Credit.
• The Missing piece in estate plans.
• A post-merger integration plan is critical to due diligent processes

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