January 2012
1 post
Are Funeral Directors “Wired” To Lose In the “New... →
Guess article by: Alan Creedy DeathCare has been losing ground relative to consumers for almost 30 years. Now comes research that may explain why and what to do about it.
To many…
December 2011
8 posts
2012 Funeral Industry Predictions →
With 2011 almost in the bag we want to thank all of our 15,000 readers for supporting our daily funeral industry publication. At the beginning of 2011 we had 8,500 readers, and we almost…
A Franchise Breathes Life Into the Casket... →
When Nathan Smith was in high school and college in the mid-1980s, he volunteered at a summer camp for children with muscular dystrophy. It was gratifying work, and the Wichita, Kansas, native…
[eHow] How to Start a Funeral Home →
Starting a funeral home sounds like a piece of cake after reading this article from eHow.com. In just 7 simple steps you can be up and running. May be eHow.com should have talked with…
Amazon.com Starts Selling "Christmas Cremations",... →
Last Friday Redmond-based Smart Cremation (the same company that, last February, was offering “green benefits such as carbon offsets and enhanced emissions controls” with its cremation…
Top 5 Regrets By Those Dying →
Guest article by Andrew Rinehart from AndrewRinehart.us I’ve recently become fascinated with a question, “What has been your biggest regret in life”? I find myself asking this question to…
Wanna Get Buried in Space? The State of Virginia... →
Virginia would help pay for it under proposed legislation that aims to boost the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. The bill, which the General Assembly will debate next year, would provide a…
Sign Of The Times: Capsule Urn, The iPod Of... →
Designing objets d’art to commemorate the loss of a loved one is a tricky business. Go too fancy, and it looks like you’re trying to turn your dead relative into a pretentious sculpture or…
We’ve Never Regretted a Private Burial →
Editors Note: This article was forwarded to us by a ConnectingDirectors.com reader. It is an article written by a family member who was part of a private burial for his father-in-law. As our…
November 2011
16 posts
Wow! Check Out This Funeral Home →
Death is not a happy subject, so most of us would undoubtedly prefer not to think about funeral homes. But sooner or later, we’re likely to end up in one, if only to attend someone else’s…
Response by Alan Creedy to Funeral Home Spoofs MAC... →
Tuesday we posted an article titled “Funeral Home Spoofs MAC vs PC Ad For New Commercial”. We posted it because we thought it was a very creative approach to marketing for a funeral home…
Exclusive: Genesis Casket Company Explains... →
Genesis Casket Company is alive and moving full speed ahead. After an enormous “buzz” creating NFDA convention the company is press forward with their strategic growth plan. We had an opportunity…
Funeral Home Spoofs MAC vs PC Ad for New... →
There’s nothing funny about funerals. But that doesn’t mean that TV commercials about arranging them can’t have some levity. A new 30-second spot for Basic Funerals and Cremation Choices, a…
FuneralHomes.com Gets Hammered By Lawyer; Calls... →
(Written By Attorney: Brett Emison) This afternoon, I received perhaps the most disgusting solicitation I’ve come across. It was from FuneralHomes.com (coded NoFollow). Here’s what I received:
Funeral Source One (FS1) has Year End Tax Time... →
Sevierville, TN — Funeral Source One (FS1) is one of the fastest growing funeral supply and equipment companies in North America, continues to grow. Funeral Source One was founded in 2009…
Generational Differences And Their Implications... →
Tim O’Brien, author of the popular continuing education course “Grief Management: The Role of the Funeral Practitioner” and presenter at both the NFDA and Florida FDA conventions, shares…
Dealing With Death; Storefront Funeral Homes, A... →
Clarksville - If you’ve lost a loved one, you certainly know the financial toll it can take it can take on top of the emotional pain. Most funerals begin around $6,000; some are far more…
We are Interviewing Genesis Casket Company, What... →
As most of you know from previous articles, Genesis Casket Company was the talk of the 2011 NFDA convention. There was a lot of buzz about the company before the show and that has only…
Life Before Death; Have you Seen This Website? →
I was emailed a link the this website a few days ago and wanted to get feed back from others in the profession. If you haven’t heard about “Life Before Death” it is self described as; a…
Cremation By The Numbers, CANA Projections Are In →
Chicago – As the number of cremations per year in the United States rapidly closes in on the one million mark, another significant benchmark figure is expected to be topped – the 40 percent…
10 Inspiring, Confusing, and Humorous Eulogies of... →
From Marilyn Monroe to Princess Diana to Steve Jobs, a look at how celebrities were remembered at their funerals Steve Jobs’ sister Mona Simpson delivered her brother’s eulogy during the…
Funeral Professionals Are Changing the World ...... →
The title of this video may shock you, but it is true. Funeral professionals are changing the world. I just returned from the 2011 NFDA convention in Chicago and my eyes were opened…
Randall L. Earl Installed as President of the... →
Brookfield, Wis. — Randall “Randy” L. Earl, CFSP, of Brintlinger and Earl Funeral Homes of Decatur, Ill., was installed as president of the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA)…
New York Times Releases Steve Job's Eulogy Given... →
I grew up as an only child, with a single mother. Because we were poor and because I knew my father had emigrated from Syria, I imagined he looked like Omar Sharif. I hoped he would be rich…
SLCC Mortuary Science Program First of Its Kind in... →
SOUTH JORDAN — Aspiring funeral directors will no longer have to move out of state to get an education once Salt Lake Community College’s new mortuary science program gets under way next…
October 2011
17 posts
Atlas of a Funeral Director's Brain →
I found the following image on Facebook (courtesy of Funeral Diva: Lori Diaz - http://facebook.com/ms.funeraldirector) and it gave me a much needed laugh. I really think when we get in…
Online Funeral Publication Preparing For Big... →
Our profession is rapidly changing. Technology and more technologically advanced consumers are the driving force behind the changes. ConnectingDirectors.com has been the leading online…
Cherokee Child Caskets and ASD Offer New Discount... →
Griffin, GA - Cherokee Child Caskets is a leading provider of youth and child caskets. Founded in 1941, Cherokee Child Caskets provides handcrafted, high-quality caskets for infants,…
Improving The Funeral Industry With Technology →
The death care industry has seen radical changes in recent years as they like all businesses become more dependent on technology to run efficiently and competitively. Even if you are the…
Cemetery Opens First ever Golfers Only Section →
A funeral home in Bellevue, Wash., has come up with an unorthodox idea on how the loved ones of an avid golfer can properly honor a person close to them who has finished up the back nine of…
My Mushroom Burial Suit for a Greener, Cleaner... →
Here’s a powerful provocation from artist Jae Rhim Lee. Can we commit our bodies to a cleaner, greener Earth, even after death? Naturally — using a special burial suit seeded with…
The 10 Craziest Things You Can do With Your Ashes →
The only certain things in life are death and taxes, and since taxes will never be fun, you might as well try to make your death into something a little entertaining. While most people are…
Eternal Image Launches Complete Line of Major... →
“Our Major League Baseball(TM) cremation caskets provide customers with a complete package for their loved one’s cremation service when paired with our already popular Major League…
Eagle’s Wings Air Continues to Soar – FL State... →
For those of you who may have missed it, long time sponsor and CD supporter, Eagle’s Wings Air is having quite the year!
EWA Chairman Dave McComb (also co-owner of D.O. McComb & Sons in…
Bonz Barb Bq Sauce Released to Promote... →
Pinhook Foods LLC, named after a local cemetery, has released a premium “Barb” BQ Sauce to bring an awareness to consumers as a reminder that Life is precious and the time spent with family…
New Rules Approved for Illinois Cemetery Law →
CHICAGO— Illinois legislators have made a move crucial to implement the Cemetery Oversight Act. Members of the Illinois Legislature’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules voted Tuesday…
ASD Offers 'Smart Text' Feature for Web-Savvy... →
Media, PA-When funeral professionals leave the office, their job duties and customers follow them out to lunch, on the road and at home. ASD - Answering Service for Directors, realizes that…
Senior Citizens Accidentally Get "High" at... →
Three senior citizens had to be hospitalized Saturday after being served brownies they didn’t realized were laced with marijuana. The victims, who are all in their 70s and 80s, were…
Battling Burnout - How Funeral Directors Find... →
Funeral Director Thomas Gale counts ceiling tiles. Each one represents another moment in his life to remember not to take for granted. For nearly 20 years, Gale has been a funeral director…
Death Care Stocks, Do You Own Any? →
I do not currently own any death care stocks. Not for any specific reason, I just don’t own any. There are always articles online about SCI and Hillenbrand stocks, but we don’t often hear…
Directors' Choice Answering Service Saves a Life →
Funeral home answering service, Directors’ Choice, received an alarming call in the wee hours of the morning on September 14. The contact center answers telephone lines 24/7/365 for almost…
Could this Work? Funeral Home Uses Stage Hypnotist... →
Under her real name of Sue MacLean she has created a home from home environment at her new business to be called Ashby Funeral Care. She has personally designed the chapel of rest with a…
September 2011
1 post
Is Online Funeral Planning the Future of the... →
The funeral industry and profession is changing rapidly. More and more services are being offered online. During a conversation I had last week with a funeral professional the topic of…
August 2011
4 posts
Colorado Grave Digger Could Be Charged For Dancing... →
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — A Clifton, Colo., man has been fired from his job as a grave digger after he was filmed gyrating and playing a simulated guitar while standing on a burial vault. …
The "Funeral Platform of the Future" Could be... →
While browsing the internet last night I ran across the following post on a website where people can post idea they are looking for investors for. What are your thoughts? Combine…
Are States Funeral Home Regulations to Strict? →
A few weeks ago the state of Connecticut created quite an uprising when it announced that due to budget cut backs it was going to stop regulating funeral homes in the state. Less than a…
Save $100 on the Funeral Service Business Plan... →
Early-Bird Deadline Expires Aug. 30; Networking Opportunities Abound! ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. – The sixth annual Funeral Service Business Plan conference, held by Kates-Boylston…
May 2011
5 posts
Women in the Funeral Industry: One Challenge... →
A glance inside the classrooms at any mortuary school confirms an industry trend: women are outnumbering men in choosing a career in funeral service. Yet in the job search that follows,…
FFDA Reports Funeral Profits Rebound →
Springfield, Ill. — A year ago, Federated Funeral Directors of America (FFDA) reported that funeral homes typically experienced a 10 percent to 15 percent decrease in profitability during…
Price Shopper Awareness Week: May 23 - 27, 2011... →
Mike Kubasak and Robin Heppell are hosting a free, four-part series where they are going to share their expertise on the topic of winning funeral price shoppers. Two years ago, Kubasask…