WWMT.com, the Telegraph and the Daily Star report that funeral directors are telling people not to take selfies at funerals. The most famous abuse of this practice was when Prime Minister Cameron, Barack Obama and Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidts took a selfie at Nelson Mandala’s memorial service. NPR reports that funeral prices aren’t transparent despite the…
Here are the guidelines of the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) to voluntarily foster professional standards of care. ICCFA Cremation Guidelines Statement of Purpose The following Cremation Guidelines have been published by the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association to voluntarily foster professional standards of care and consideration by our members. Definitions Authorizing agent(s):…
The FTC Funeral Rule went into effect April 30, 1934. The rule was revised in early 1994. Who must comply with the rule? All “funeral providers” must comply with the Rule. You are a funeral provider if you sell or offer to sell both funeral goods and funeral services to the public. Funeral goods are…
REVOSE, Pa., Feb. 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — StoneMor Partners L.P. (NYSE:STON) (“StoneMor” or the “Partnership”) today provided additional data on the ongoing restructuring of its sales force. Total salespeople within the salesforce at January 31, 2017 numbered 766, which was 81 more than the prior year comparable period. The salesperson count at January 31,…
Hillenbrand announced earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2017 (three months ended December 31, 2017). The company’s Batesville casket business had a 2% decline in revenue and a 3% decline in EBIDTA (earnings before interest depreciation and amortization). You can download the earnings slides here. You can read the Seeking Alpha earnings call…
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
SCI’s 1Q24 results point out some Death Care headwinds
Service Corporation International (SCI) reported their 1st Quarter 2024 financial results last week. North America’s largest death care provider did show an increase in revenue of 1.6% to about $1.045 billion for the…
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…
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…
