Your Clifton Park & Halfmoon has done a nice feature about Kathleen Lowes Sanvidge, the owner of Townley and Wheeler funeral home in Ballston Lake, New York. Sandvidge has been certified as a Women Business Enterprise in New York. Her firm is the only certified women-owned funeral home in New York State. Funeral Director’s take: Interesting…
We noticed a number of items in the litigation section of the Service Corporation International 2016 Annual Report. Our purpose in listing the claims is not to point fingers. SCI has had several of the claims dismissed and we are in no position to evaluate the validity of the claims. We’ve decided to…
Ever wonder what the future of the small-town 30 call firm is. When I started in the funeral business in 1980 in a regional center type of community – 30,000 population – we served an area about 15 miles around us. Outside of that 15 mile radius there were several small communities that each had…
The Huffington Post has an outstanding post by funeral director Shannon Burberry titled “What Working With Death Can Teach You About Living.” Burberry is a Funeral Home Manager at Arbor Memorial in Ontario, Canada. Simple lessons but true: Our goodbyes are just as important as hellos. One size doesn’t fit all. Technology connects the disconnected.…
After operating the Brenneman Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Liberal, Kansas, for 17 years, Rick and Mellissa Brenneman sold the business to employee Mike Hornung and his wife Kelly effective January 31. Mike, who formerly worked with the Archdiocese of Denver Mortuary, graduated from Arapahoe Community College Mortuary Arts program and has worked at…
BUSINESS
Titan Casket continues “edgy” journey to find their audience
On Wednesday of this week arguably the most innovative and edgy marketing tool was turned loose on the funeral buying public when Direct-to-Consumer casket company Titan Casket unveiled their new relationship with Elan…
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”. …
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…
FINANCE
Starmark acquires AMA Containers
It was announced earlier this week that Starmark, a leading manufacturer of innovative funeral products, has acquired AMA Containers. AMA was originally founded in 1991 as Airline Mortuary Associates. Starmark, according to the press…
Seeking Alpha has a recent opinion on Carriage Services
Every once in a while the writers at Seeking Alpha put out an article on one of the Death Care Index stocks — Carriage Services, Service Corporation International, Park Lawn Corporation, Security National…
Security National Financial CEO on their Memorial Segment: “Growth. . .is our goal”
It took awhile, but Security National Financial Corporation (SNFC) finally got around to posting the results of the company’s 2023 year just last week. And, there is no doubt that SNFC’s Memorial Segment was…
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
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…
Well intentioned rules and regulations need to be thought through, clarified
Well-intentioned rules and regulations are put into place by organizations. Sometimes, however, like America has found out with the disastrous “de-fund the police” movement, the results are not what the organizers intended them…
Permanent Memorialization: How long is “Permanent”?
How long is “Permanent”? That is a question that has never been answered, but in many cases you will find out that “permanent” is not really “permanent”. There is an interesting…
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
Titan Casket continues “edgy” journey to find their audience
On Wednesday of this week arguably the most innovative and edgy marketing tool was turned loose on the funeral buying public when Direct-to-Consumer casket company Titan Casket unveiled their new relationship with Elan…
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…
Starmark acquires AMA Containers
It was announced earlier this week that Starmark, a leading manufacturer of innovative funeral products, has acquired AMA Containers. AMA was originally founded in 1991 as Airline Mortuary Associates. Starmark, according to the press…
