Yesterday, Sunday, November 11, 2018 marked the 100th anniversary of the Armistice among nations to end the First World War. . .which was supposed to be the war to end all wars.  Today, on a Monday, we in the USA will celebrate the day as a Holiday.  Just to remind you. . . the end of WWI came on the 11th hour of the 11th day, of the 11th month. . . hence, it is celebrated among those nations who took part at 11 am on November 11 each year.

So, we in the funeral business are intertwined with veterans and their organizations in many ways.  Certainly we serve deceased veterans and help their families through the choices they need to make in the memorialization process.  But we also work with veterans in arranging interment services in national cemeteries.  We work with veterans and their organizations such as Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the American Legion locally as these local units honor their deceased comrades with rifle squads and color guards.

These groups are generally all volunteer except some of the active military who now help in presenting the colors and the flag to the family in some areas.  These volunteers provide a tremendous service. . .  does your firm routinely just accept their actions or do you do more to make them feel very well accepted and honored?

I’m a big believer in the value of public relations over time.  I always tried to do something nice for the veterans when I could simply because of what they did for our country — they all put their lives on the line.  However, you cannot underestimate when you do something nice for a group of people — whether it is veterans, a pastors’ group, or a hospice group — that you are building goodwill for your firm which can lead to market share growth.

We saw a couple of articles last week about what some firms are doing for veterans as Veteran’s Day approaches.  It may be too late for this year but think about doing something for next year and get it on the calendar.  It could be something as simple as paying for all Veteran’s coffee at a local Starbucks for that day or it could be more elaborate like a Veteran’s Day dinner and program in your community.  Either way, you will feel good about what you are doing and my guess is that those Veteran organizations will have a better feel for who you are and are grateful for your honoring of their service.

Hindman Funeral Home has a unique service for Veterans that you can read about here.

Here’s a story on what the Cremation Society of Illinois does to honor the veterans in their community

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