Over the weekend I read a couple of articles on different subjects that brought me to the question, “Can a funeral/memorial celebrant on staff increase revenues?” You might be wondering how I got to that question or even why I might ask it. Let me explain. I first came across an article on church attendance…
Last week Houston based funeral home conglomerate Service Corporation International (SCI) added two new members to its board of directors. A press release from SCI that you can read here announces the appointments of Jakki L. Haussler and Sara Martinez Tucker as the new members. According to the release, SCI CEO Tom Ryan stated that…
According to this article from the Black Hills Pioneer, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced last week that President Trump had signed the bill to expand the Black Hills National Cemetery. The cemetery, located on the western edge of South Dakota, would be expanded from 105 acres to over 300 acres. South Dakota…
My alarm goes off not with a buzz but with a local radio station coming on. Yesterday (June 5) I awoke to the news that it was the 50th anniversary of former Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination. It brought back memories to me of a 10-year old kid on the motorhome trip of a lifetime…
Carriage Services, a publicly owned death care provider that according to its web-site owns and operates 178 funeral homes in 29 states and 32 cemeteries in 11 states, announced last week that they have closed a Senior Notes Offering and entered into a new Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility. You can read the company’s…
BUSINESS
A transition in leadership at Foundation Partners Group
We learned late last week that CEO Kent Robertson was leaving cremation centered acquisition group and operating company Foundation Partners Group and also learned that the interim management of the Orlando, Florida, based…
Technology will be/is here for your funeral home
A pager that allowed me out of the funeral home. . . .telephone transfers that allowed death calls to be “transfered” to one’s home phones. That’s about the extent of technology when I…
Batesville named one of America’s “Most Trustworthy” companies
A recent press release from Batesville give us information that the company has been named to “Newsweek’s list of Most Trustworthy Companies in America for 2024.” According to the press release “Batesville achieved…
FINANCE
A transition in leadership at Foundation Partners Group
We learned late last week that CEO Kent Robertson was leaving cremation centered acquisition group and operating company Foundation Partners Group and also learned that the interim management of the Orlando, Florida, based…
Eirene receives $4 million in seed funding, expands into the United States
It was announced in this recent Pulse 2.0 article that Canada’s online-operated cremation provider Eirene has recently received over $4 million in seed funding led by Relay Ventures with participation from at least two…
C&J Financial expands in Insurance Assignment funding
It was announced in this press release from last week that C&J Financial would be expanding by “becom(ing) the exclusive insurance assignments partner for Tribute Technology, taking over operations previously managed by the Tribute…
REGULATIONS
Federal Trade Commission bans “Non-Compete” agreements
“This rule affects every segment of the American economy and in a simple 3-2 vote destroys billions of dollars in value that employers have spent in compensation for a covenant not to compete”. …
Dignity, care, and respect. . . bringing the fallen home
On Saturday night I was at a movie, came home and turned the television on to catch the news and learned of the missile bombardment of Israel that Iran took responsibility for. Now,…
Might the Baltimore Bridge collapse cause a “funeral tax” in Maryland?
A week ago today I woke up to the news of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore Harbor. It wasn’t so long ago that I was in Baltimore…
CEMETERY
County governments seem to have lots of problems, are human remains another one?
Funeral Director Daily recently learned through this article from Public Media for Central Pennyslvania that Centre County will be building a 160-unit columbarium in Zion, Pennsylvania, to house urns that have went…
America’s military cemeteries face financial backlog for upkeep and improvements
Kansas United States Senator Jerry Moran recently testified at a United States Senate Veterans Affairs Committee meeting that “When mourning a death the last thing a grieving family needs is some bureaucratic hurdle…
Looking outside the grave for cemetery revenue
Back almost three years ago in July 2021, Funeral Director Daily brought you this story of how a renewable energy company, Verogy, had put a 7,000 panel solar energy farm inside a…
CREMATION
Because that’s where the money will be. . . .
Again today I’m building off some of the impressions that my friend, Rolf Gutknecht of LA Ads – A Marketing Agency had during his time at the recent ICCFA Convention in Tampa. As…
Eirene receives $4 million in seed funding, expands into the United States
It was announced in this recent Pulse 2.0 article that Canada’s online-operated cremation provider Eirene has recently received over $4 million in seed funding led by Relay Ventures with participation from at least two…
County governments seem to have lots of problems, are human remains another one?
Funeral Director Daily recently learned through this article from Public Media for Central Pennyslvania that Centre County will be building a 160-unit columbarium in Zion, Pennsylvania, to house urns that have went…
PRENEED
Take Ring Ring Marketing for a Test Drive
When it comes to technology I am a confessed “Novice”. And personally, with Social Media I am pretty quiet too. . . . or maybe my life is dull enough that none of…
Cash is King. . . .make sure that you turn your services into cash
Last week Funeral Director Daily published this article titled “Know your customer — How’s their credit”. That article delved into the American consumer credit profiles and why, before extending credit, you needed to…
Know your customer — How’s their credit?
The American economy keeps spending, yet we hear that families are getting squeezed by the combination of high prices and high interest rates. We also hear that high interest rates don’t seem to…
PRODUCTS
Technology will be/is here for your funeral home
A pager that allowed me out of the funeral home. . . .telephone transfers that allowed death calls to be “transfered” to one’s home phones. That’s about the extent of technology when I…
Because that’s where the money will be. . . .
Again today I’m building off some of the impressions that my friend, Rolf Gutknecht of LA Ads – A Marketing Agency had during his time at the recent ICCFA Convention in Tampa. As…
Batesville named one of America’s “Most Trustworthy” companies
A recent press release from Batesville give us information that the company has been named to “Newsweek’s list of Most Trustworthy Companies in America for 2024.” According to the press release “Batesville achieved…
