Members: Post your comment Click here write and send
Credibility, all posts on this subject are from registered members
FUNERAL SERVICE PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION does not share membership info with anyone, no one will be given your information with out your permission or a court order.
JOIN Funeral Service Professional Association
In a message dated 8/29/04 6:50:39 PM, Paul in Pannsylvania writes:
MEMO TO: State Executives
FROM: John W. Eirkson, Executive Director
DATE: 8/24/04
RE: Celestial Burial Case, Inc. and Celestial Life
We have had a number of complaints in the past several months regarding the above companies. They sell third party caskets, vaults, urns and cremations and have had affiliations with the Veterans, American Legion and Fraternal Order of Police.
Recently, the Attorney General of Pennsylvania has filed a preliminary injunction action against the companies and their principal to shut them down due to non delivery, improper trusting and misrepresentation (delivery of inferior merchandise versus what was purchased).
Currently, the AG's action includes consumers from ten states. You should notify your members of this situation and have them contact the Attorney General's Office, 6 th Floor, Manor complex, 564 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 or Attorney Amy Schulman at 412) 565-5134 so anyone negatively affected can be included in their suit. If any of you have questions, please do not hesitate to call
In a message dated 8/27/04 6:24:48 AM, Jill in California sends us:
John I saw this on the intenet, a good? holiday present?
Atari, Inc. announced Aug. 24 that Test Drive: Eve of Destruction has shipped to retailers throughout North America and is available for the Xbox video game system from Microsoft and PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system.
Test Drive: Eve of Destruction is the first Test Drive game to feature: vehicle damage, dirt tracks, crazy events and unorthodox vehicles like school buses, ambulances and hearses.
In a message dated 8/26/04 9:11:33 AM, Mike Flynn in Boston Massachusetts sends us:
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, 78; wrote 'On Death and Dying'
By Ananda Shorey, Associated Press | August 26, 2004
PHOENIX -- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, a psychiatrist who revolutionized the way the world looks at terminally ill patients with her book "On Death and Dying" and later as a pioneer for hospice care, died Tuesday of natural causes at her Scottsdale home. She was 78.
Published in 1969, "On Death and Dying" focused on the needs of the dying and offered her theory that they go through five stages of grief -- denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
"Those who learned to know death, rather than to fear and fight it, become our teachers about life," she once wrote.
In another passage, she wrote: "Dying is nothing to fear. It can be the most wonderful experience of your life. It all depends on how you have lived."
Dr. Kubler-Ross moved to Arizona nine years ago after a series of strokes left her partially paralyzed. In a 2002 interview with The Arizona Republic, Dr. Kubler-Ross said she was ready to die.
"I told God last night he's a damned procrastinator," she said.
Dr. Kubler-Ross wrote 12 books after "On Death and Dying," including how to deal with the death of a child and an early study on the AIDS epidemic.
"She brought the taboo notion of death and dying into the public consciousness," said Stephen Connor, vice president of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
In 1979, she received the Ladies' Home Journal Woman of the Decade Award. In 1999, Time magazine named Dr. Kubler-Ross as one of the "100 Most Important Thinkers" of the past century.
Born in Zurich, Switzerland, Dr. Kubler-Ross graduated from medical school at the University of Zurich in 1957. She came to New York the following year and was appalled by hospital treatment of dying patients.
"Whoever has seen the horrifying appearance of the postwar European concentration camps would be similarly preoccupied," she said.
She began her work with the terminally ill at the University of Colorado Medical Center in Denver and was a clinical professor of behavioral medicine and psychiatry at the University of Virginia.
Dr. Kubler-Ross began giving lectures featuring terminally ill patients, who talked about what they were going through. That led to her 1969 book.
"Dying becomes lonely and impersonal because the patient is often taken out of his familiar environment and rushed to an emergency room," she wrote.
"He may cry for rest, peace and dignity, but he will get infusions, transfusions, a heart machine, or tracheostomy. . . . He will get a dozen people around the clock, all busily preoccupied with his heart rate, pulse, electrocardiogram or pulmonary functions, his secretions or excretions -- but not with him as a human being."
The most important thing Dr. Kubler-Ross did was bring death out of the dark for the medical community, said Carol Baldwin, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Arizona who worked as a nurse in one of the nation's first hospices in 1979.
"She really set the standards for how to communicate with the dying and their loved ones," Baldwin said recently. "Families learned that it's not a scary thing to watch someone die."
Dr. Kubler-Ross leaves a son, Kenneth Ross of Scottsdale; a daughter, Barbara Rothweiler of Wausau, Wis.; a sister, Eva Bacher of Basel, Switzerland; and two grandchildren.
"We get letters and e-mails from around the world," said Kenneth Ross in 2003. "There's people who say, 'I was going to kill myself' because they've lost children or their husband or wife, and they read her book and it gave them a sense that they should go on."
In a message dated 8/25/04 5:30:26 PM, Mike Flynn sends us:
Funeral director suspended for 5 years
Boston.com / Business / Funeral director suspended for 5 years
Unprofessional, deceptive practices cited by regulators
A state regulatory board yesterday handed a five-year suspension to a Lawrence funeral director accused of unprofessional conduct and deceptive practices, including one case where he refused to complete funeral arrangements for a client because she had purchased a lower-priced casket elsewhere.Derek By Bruce Mohl, Globe Staff | August 25, 2004 Bruce Mohl can be reached at mohl@globe.com
In a message dated 9/3/04 9:23:25 PM, Mflynn6705 writes:
Undertakers: funeral survey on pub beer mats
PUB-GOERS dying for a pint are being asked to think about their funeral arrangements while they sup. Drinkers at The Pond House pub in Oxford Road are using beer mats provided by Co-operative Funeralcare in Southampton Street. The mats emblazoned with the words "Last Orders?" aim to get punters talking openly about how they would like to be remembered. The funeral directors had the beer mats printed up after a survey showed 50 per cent of mourners felt most ceremonies failed to reflect an individual's life. But according to landlord Dave Rowlands his regulars were more interested in discussing whether death is the type of thing they want to be reminded of when they go for a drink. "We have had lots of comments about them," he said. "Some think they're funny but others don't like the idea, they say it's not the right thing to have in a pub &endash; but I think it's funny to be honest." "It's not like we've had morbid conversations here, most of them have been quite jovial, about whether people would rather be buried or cremated, but it doesn't bother me.
"You could bury me in the car park for all I care." The heavenly blue coloured mats ask drinkers to fill in their "Last Orders?" and on the back read: "It's your funeral &endash; help others by talking about it." The cards go on to tell drinkers that the company is carrying out a survey into funeral wishes and gives ideas on how they can be made more individual &endash; mourners not wearing black or wearing football colours, using a motorcycle hearse, or with a brass band playing. The information gathered from the beer mat survey will go into a booklet called Real Funerals which will be on display at Funeralcare's offices for mourners to flick through and get ideas. Regional manager John Woodford said: "Over the years, as a nation, we have become so much more open and willing to express ourselves. "However there is one subject that's still very much avoided and that's death.
"Our campaign aims to shed light on the choices that are available when arranging a funeral and emphasises the care and support our staff provide." Anyone wishing to take part in the survey can log on to the website www.funeralcare.co-op.co.uk or call 0800 083 6302
Funeral Directors party animals, if you saw a recent episode of NBC Television's "Las Vegas" portraying us as a we really know how to let our hair down and party animal people, should you have a copy of the episode called HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE RAIN http://www.nbc.com/Las_Vegas/episode_guide/24.html
Sam (Vanessa Marcil) and Delinda (Molly Sims) are at odds when Sam demands that Mystique be rented out for a Funeral Home Directors party, much to Sam's demise. Marsha Thomason also stars.
**************************************************************
ICFA WIRELESS September 14, 2004 Edition Vol. 5 No. 23
**************************************************************
INDUSTRY NEWS
Court Orders Religious Cemetery to Pay $850,000 in 'Slip and Fall' Case
FTC Consumer Fraud Survey: Older Is Wiser
ICFA NEWS
Betting on Success: ICFA Announces 2005 Convention Program
ICFA Web Site Exceeds 100,000 Page Views in August
ICFA Fall Conference Room Block Nearly Sold Out
Wide World of Sales Early, Early Registration Deadline Nears
Call for Applications: ICFA Board of Directors Nominees
-------------------------
-------------------------
COURT ORDERS RELIGIOUS CEMETERY TO PAY $850,000 IN 'SLIP AND FALL' CASE
In an unpublished opinion, the Superior Court of Connecticut affirmed a jury
award of $850,000 to an elderly woman who fell in a religious cemetery while
attending a friend's funeral. The decision in Datelle v. Catholic Cemeteries
found that the cemetery's employees left a warped board in the vicinity of
the grave site "in such manner so as to cause a dangerous and defective
condition." The board had been placed to protect the ground from heavy
equipment used to dig graves. The plaintiff's doctor stated that she suffered
a 25 percent permanent partial impairment as a direct result of the slip and
fall and was no longer able to live alone.
The cemetery defendant appealed the jury verdict, stating that the jury
instructions should have required a finding that the cemetery personnel had
notice of the warped condition of the board in order to be found liable. The
Superior Court found the argument "unpersuasive," stating that "...plaintiff
does not have to prove that a defendant had actual or constructive notice of
a dangerous condition when the plaintiff claims that the defendant's
employees created the condition.... Whether the board was warped prior to its
placement on the ground or whether it became warped as a result of the
defendant's employees driving heavy equipment over it, the defendant created
the condition."
The court also found that the amount of the jury award was not excessive and
that "the verdict falls within the necessarily uncertain limits of just
damages."
---------------------------------------------------
FTC CONSUMER FRAUD SURVEY: OLDER IS WISER
Last month the Federal Trade Commission published the results of its survey
on consumer fraud, finding that 25 million adults, or 11.2 percent of the
adult population, were victims of fraud during 2003. The FTC selected a
random sample of 2,500 people who were asked about their experiences last
year. The survey specifically targeted 10 types of fraud and two additional
situations where fraud may have occurred. Among the top 10 frauds listed in
the report are advance-fee loan scams, buyers clubs, credit card insurance,
credit repair and prize promotions. No funeral-related transactions were
identified in the report as being fraudulent in nature.
The survey results contained two interesting findings: Older consumers were
the least likely to be defrauded: 6.1 percent of consumers between ages 55 to
64, and only 4.7 percent of consumers 65 years and older. By contrast,
consumers between the ages of 25 and 44 were the most likely victims of fraud
(11 percent). Also, women were more likely to complain (74.5 percent) than
men (65 percent). Overall, 29 percent of fraud victims did not complain; 53.7
percent complained to the seller or manufacturer; and 8.4 percent complained
to an official source such as the Better Business Bureau or a government
agency. The complete report can be viewed on the FTC Web page at
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/08/fraudsurvey.htm.
-------------------
ICFA NEWS
-------------------
BETTING ON SUCCESS: ICFA ANNOUNCES 2005 CONVENTION PROGRAM
The ICFA Annual Convention Planning Committee, led by Program Chairman Paul
Elvig, has announced its educational lineup for the 2005 ICFA Convention &
Exposition, March 30 - April 2 at the Las Vegas Hilton, Las Vegas, Nevada.
"Betting on Success: It's More Than Luck" will focus on future trends and
innovations needed for successful cemetery and funeral service operations.
Among the highlights:
* Keynote Address: Looking to the Future, Tyler Cassity, Hollywood Forever,
Los Angeles, California.
* Keynote Address: 25 FAQs About Death Care Marketing, Glenn Gould, MKJ
Marketing.
* Keynote Address: Continuing Care Programs, Todd Van Beck.
* Keynote Address: The Futility of Fighting Evolution, Doug Gober, The York
Group.
* Women's Forum Issues Panel: Kelly Dwyer, Michigan Memorial Park, Flat Rock,
Michigan; Nancy Faaberg Hansen, Evergreen-Washelli Memorial Park & Funeral
Home, Seattle Washington; Nancy Lohman, Daytona Memorial Park & Ormond
Funeral Home, Daytona, Florida; and Gwen Mooney, Jon Deitloff Funeral Centre,
Cincinnati, Ohio.
*"Success Forum" Breakout Sessions: Numerous topics including media
relations, preneed sales, cemetery maintenance, effective management,
financial concerns and more.
* Legal and legislative updates.
* 200+ supplier booths.
* Numerous networking receptions.
* "First Timers" welcome event.
* Closing Dinner Dance: "Hanging with the Rat Pack."
* Tour of Palm Mortuaries, Cemeteries & Crematories.
* Second annual State Association Roundtable networking opportunity.
* And more!
Session times and descriptions will be available on the ICFA Web site in the
coming weeks.
---------------------------------------------------
ICFA WEB SITE EXCEEDS 100,000 PAGE VIEWS IN AUGUST
The ICFA Web site at www.icfa.org in August reached a milestone, as 27,091
unique visitors to the site called up a total of 103,115 pages during the
31-day period. Those figures established new records for the site and
represent a traffic increase of about 35 percent since the beginning of 2004.
The most visited pages on the site include:
the ICFA Store at http://www.icfa.org/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?,
the Classified Page at http://www.icfa.org/employment.htm,
the Provider Directory at http://www.icfa.org/directory.htm, and
the ICFA News Page at http://www.icfa.org/newspage.htm.
---------------------------------------------------
ICFA FALL CONFERENCE ROOM BLOCK NEARLY SOLD OUT
With registrations outpacing recent years by more than double, the ICFA room
block is nearing a sell out for the Fall Management Conference, November
10-13, 2004, at the Wild Horse Pass Resort, Spa & Casino in Phoenix, Arizona.
Two months before the conference, the ICFA has already received 72 attendee
registrations and 41 spouse/guest registrations.
The Fall Management Conference is the premier networking and educational
event for cemetery and funeral service CEOs. Co-Chairs Gary Brown, CCE, CCCE,
executive director at Catholic Cemeteries of Phoenix, and David Brownworth,
vice president of DNAtoday in West Des Moines, Iowa, have developed a program
offering executive training by a Six Sigma expert, a media relations
specialist, a "sales call reluctance" consultant, several industry suppliers
and the top executives at SCI, Stewart and Carriage.
In addition to the educational sessions, the conference offers four
networking receptions and the annual Fall Management Golf Tournament, as well
as a "Dream Homes Tour" for spouses and guests.
The Wild Horse Pass Resort, Spa & Casino is a new, highly rated property
owned by the Gila Indian River Community and managed by Starwood. The
resort's extensive list of amenities includes a 1,000-acre equestrian center
with riding lessons and trail rides, two tennis courts, riverside jogging and
hiking trails, boat rides to the golf courses and casino, award-winning
dining, and a riverside pool with cascading waterfalls and bridges leading to
an adult pool, a sport pool and a children's pool with waterslide. The
property's Aji Spa includes a fitness center and motion room, steam, sauna,
whirlpools, swimming pool, salon and 17 treatment rooms and relaxation
centers.
The special ICFA room rate is just $195 per night for a traditional room and
$215 for a deluxe room. Suite range from $450 to $800. For additional
information on the Wild Horse Pass, visit http://www.wildhorsepass.com/ or
http://arizona.twoguyswhogolf.com/resorts/wildhorsepass.html. To make a
reservation, call 1-888-625-5144 and identify yourself as an ICFA attendee.
For a complete description of the ICFA Fall Management Conference program and
to register, visit http://www.icfa.org/fall04.htm or call 1-800-645-7700.
---------------------------------------------------
WIDE WORLD OF SALES EARLY, EARLY REGISTRATION DEADLINE NEARS
The Wide World of Sales, the ICFA's Sales Management and Marketing
Conference, January 13-14 at the Hilton New Orleans, Riverside, will offer 17
sessions and more than 20 expert presenters with practical, "how to"
solutions to today's most pressing preneed sales, marketing and management
challenges.
Attendees who register by September 30 will pay just $360 for this
idea-packed event. Companies that send two or more staff can save even more.
Registration includes 10+ hours of educational programming, a Wednesday
evening Pre-Game Welcome Reception with open bar, a Thursday afternoon
"Tailgate Party" Luncheon, an ICFA Playbook filled with handouts from each of
the speakers and an optional Saturday morning tour of Lake Lawn Metairie
Cemeteries & Funeral Home.
For more information and to register, visit http://www.icfa.org/sales05.htm
or call 1-800-645-7700.
---------------------------------------------------
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: ICFA BOARD OF DIRECTORS NOMINEES
Service on the ICFA Board of Directors offers members a chance to learn about
and participate in the leadership of the association, and is a meaningful way
to give back to the organization and to the cemetery and funeral service
profession as a whole.
The ICFA's Nominating and Elections Committee is currently inviting members
to apply to run for the ICFA Board of Directors.
The committee will narrow all applications received to 12 nominees, to be
reviewed and approved by the board at the ICFA Fall Management Conference in
Phoenix, Arizona, on November 10. Information on the 12 candidates will then
be distributed to the membership, which will vote during the ICFA Annual
Convention & Exposition in Las Vegas on March 31. The top eight vote
recipients will serve three-year terms.
To apply, you must be a designated representative of a Regular (Cemetery,
Funeral Home or Allied) Member in good standing or you must be an Individual
Member in good standing. The deadline to apply is October 15, 2004.
Applications can be obtained by calling 1-800-645-7700 or by downloading the
file at http://www.icfa.org/pdf/BOD_application.pdf. (Please note, file takes
a few seconds to download.)
---------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------
AND MORE . . .
The Network, the ICFA's online e-mail listserv, allows members to pose
questions and discuss topics with colleagues from throughout the cemetery and
funeral service profession without having to leave their home or office.
Topics discussed to date have included vault selections, staff incentive
programs, marketing success stories, lot card archiving, backhoe purchases,
the Foley bill and more. To sign up, visit http://www.icfa.org/network
Need a labor relations and employment law attorney? Check out ICFA's benefit
program offering telephone legal consultations, paid for by the ICFA via an
exclusive retainer agreement, at http://www.icfa.org/pepperman.htm .
ICFA members now also have access to an attorney for tax-related questions
regarding trust earnings, care fund allocations, capital gains, investments
and more. The ICFA has retained Leslie Schneider, CPA, a tax attorney with
Ivins, Phillips & Barker in Washington, D.C., for telephone consultations for
up to 20 minutes with no obligation. To take advantage of this member
benefit, call Schneider at (202) 393-7600.
The ICFA and The Transaction Group of Chicago, Illinois, currently offer
members a credit card processing program with a special low discount rate of
just 1.69 percent. This new benefit makes it less expensive for cemeteries,
funeral homes, memorial designers and related businesses to accommodate
customers who wish to pay via credit card. For more information, visit
http://www.thetransactiongroup.com/partners/icfa/ or call The Transaction
Group at 1-800-622-7705.
The ICFA insurance program, administered by Driver Alliant, allows members to
purchase commercial property and casualty insurance -- including general
liability, commercial property, automobile liability and physical damage,
umbrella liability, professional liability, workers compensation, employee
benefits and more -- at rates they probably would not be able to afford on
their own. Information on applying for the program is available on the ICFA
Web site at http://www.icfainsurance.com/
The ICFA Store allows members to purchase the latest ICFA resources and
training products online. Among the products currently for sale are several
new DVDs: "Recruiting for Preneed Sales," "Lead Generation Innovations:
Volumes I and II," and "Family Service & Aftercare: Volume I." In addition,
the store offers two new preneed sales training CDs by Gary O'Sullivan, CCE,
and "Saying Goodbye Your Way: Planning or Buying a Funeral or Cremation for
You or Someone You Love," a new book by John Llewellyn, CCE. To check out
these items and more, visit http://www.icfa.org/Merchant2/merchant.mvc
The ICFA News Page at http://www.icfa.org/newspage.htm takes you to sources
throughout the world for industry news and updates. It brings you the most
comprehensive selection of funeral service and cemetery news available
anywhere, along with frequently updated general news items related to
national and world events. The News Page reports the news before anyone else
and is the second most visited page on the ICFA Web site. Stop in each day
and you'll see why.
The ICFA Internet Expo at http://www.icfa.org/expo/index.html is the largest
online exposition in the cemetery and funeral service industry. Cemetery and
funeral home owners and operators will find more than 300 providers in over
100 product and service categories at the Expo. Exhibit space is provided as
a free, exclusive benefit to all ICFA supplier and professional members.
Check it out today!
San Bernardino County Morgue Thrown on Defensive With Complaints
Two supervisors find a stench and stacks of bodies. A coroner calls it temporary and normal.
September 15, 2004
The San Bernardino County coroner's office was forced to defend itself Tuesday after two county supervisors made surprise visits to the morgue and said they found foul odors and more than a dozen bodies stacked on tables in a hallway.
The rest of the story http://ktla.trb.com/news/local/la-me-morgue15sep15,0,7129591.story?coll=ktla-newslocal-1
KINGSTON, Jamaica, Sept. 10 - Hurricane Ivan lashed Jamaica on Friday with powerful winds and driving rains, knocking down power lines and trees and ripping off tin roofs, as officials in Florida stepped up their efforts to evacuate the Florida Keys
Nearly every business was shuttered in Kingston. But the tiny, gritty L & K Restaurant & Bar on Half Way Tree Road was open and so was Taylor's Funeral Home on East Street.
Elvis Gayle, one of the undertakers at the funeral home, said he had come in to help Ken Anderson, the caretaker, take down a sign that the wind might have blown away. They were determined to maintain the funeral home policy of being available to bereaved families 24 hours a day, every day, clear skies or not.
"Probably nobody is going to come out during the hurricane," Mr. Anderson said. "But we're staying open just in case."
In a message dated 9/9/04 1:52:16 PM, AmSocEmbalmers writes:
There are new listings on the American Society of Embalmers website.
There is a membership application available to download. Membership received after September 1 will include the balance of this year and all of next year. The application fee and first years dues are $75.00 and $35.00 a year after that.
Melissa Johnson Williams, CFSP
Exeuctive Driector
Contact: Fred Frank
PO Box 3403
San Clemente, CA 92674
fred@comfortmusic.com
Phone 800-266-6876
www.comfortmusic.com
News Release = News Release = News Release
Growing Through Grief Program Now Even Easier
Subscribing firms now use Internet to order CDs for families
San Clemente, CA = Comfort Music, the funeral industry's leading provider of innovative musical concepts, has made it even easier for busy funeral directors to send gift copies of Growing Through Grief® CDs to bereaved survivors. The company launched its "Growing Through Grief® Subscription Program" at the 2003 NFDA convention in Las Vegas as a way to help firms extend a caring hand to grieving families by providing the bereaved with a copy of Comfort Music's highly-acclaimed "Growing Through Grief" CD.
Since its inception, Funeral Directors using the subscription service have ordered CDs for families by faxing a Gift Information Form to Comfort Music but now, subscribers can log into Comfort Music's Internet website to request copies of the CDs for surviving family members = or anyone else the Funeral Director chooses. In either case, Comfort Music sends a confirming email to the firm so Funeral Directors can know their families are being taken care of.
"From the start, our objective has been to provide an effective program that is very easy for Funeral Directors to use," says CM president Fred Frank.. Customers have asked for the ability to place orders on-line and this enhancement will save firms even more time, according to Frank.
"Growing Through Grief" has been widely used by church, hospice and grief support groups since 1999 and is gaining popularity among funeral industry professionals. The program is contained on a single CD (74-minutes in length) and is presented in two parts. The first segment features recorded conversations with real people (non-actors) who are in various stages of their "personal grief journey." Woven into the personal conversations are a series of helpful and encouraging thoughts = hosted by Fred Frank. The second half of the CD features specially selected musical numbers.
The programs are available in two versions: "Mending the Heartache with Faith" features encouragement from a Christian perspective, and "It Hurts to Say Goodbye" has the same helpful conversations without any religious reference. Funeral Directors are able to choose which version is sent to survivors. Each program is sent on CD, but recipients can request a cassette replacement.
The "Growing Through Grief Subscription Service" is available to any funeral service professional operating in the US and Canada. Subscribers do not need to be customers of Comfort Music's background music service to use the Growing Through Grief program.
Under the subscription program, firms register their name and mailing information with Comfort Music and are asked to choose a personalized message to be used on the condolence card sent with each CD. To schedule a mailing, firms complete a brief information form with the recipient's name, address and appropriate version (Christian or Secular). The form is sent (via Internet or fax) to Comfort Music and the gift package is mailed to the bereaved. Packages can be mailed to multiple recipients.
The cost of the program varies depending on quarterly volume, but single unit mailings are priced at $10.95 per recipient, plus postage and handling charges. High volume users earn quarterly discounts as high as 10%.
Funeral service professionals wanting to receive a sample mailing can contact Comfort Music at 1-800-266-6876.
#30#
For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Fay Spano and Katie Monfre
800-228-6332
NFDA Offers New Tools on Key Environmental Issues
New Resources Provide How-to's of Environmental Compliance
Brookfield, Wis. - With so many environmental regulations affecting funeral service today, a funeral director needs a reliable and easy to understand source of information on how to be a responsible environmental citizen. To help members sort through the complicated rules and regulations surrounding environmental issues in funeral service, the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) has expanded the professional resources available to its members and created an environmental best practices poster and six fact sheets covering key environmental topics. These new tools build on NFDA's scientific studies, "The Funeral Home Wastestream Audit Report" and "The Septic Study," which demonstrate that funeral home wastewater maybe be safely discharged to sewers and septic systems.
"NFDA's long-standing efforts to conduct original scientific research on environmental issues of significance to funeral service have provided a wealth of resources from which to draw," explained NFDA Chief Executive Officer, Christine Pepper. "This new poster and the six fact sheets condense years of comprehensive environmental studies and guidance into an easy to use and understandable format for our membership."
Best Practices Poster
NFDA's Best Environmental, Health and Safety Practices poster provides funeral homes with a guideline for meeting the highest standards. The laminated poster is ideal for hanging in a prep room as a reminder of the best environmental practices in funeral service.
Dodge Chemical Company and Pierce Chemicals Royal Bond have already distributed this free poster to funeral homes across the country in a collaborative effort with NFDA. Both NFDA member and non-member funeral homes that have not received a poster can contact an NFDA Member Services Representative at 800-228-6332 to receive a free copy.
Fact Sheets Now Available
In addition to the poster, NFDA has created six fact sheets, each dealing with a separate environmental topic affecting funeral service. They are entitled:
· Who is Responsible for Environmental Regulation?
· Help with POTW Wastewater Discharge (Public Owned Treatment Works)
· Help with Septic System Wastewater Discharge
· What to Do When the Regulator Knocks
· A Funeral Director's Glossary of Basic Environmental Terms
· Resolving Environmental Issues in Buying and Selling a Funeral Home
All six fact sheets are available on NFDA's Website at http://www.nfda.org/page.php?ID=644.
In addition to the new materials available, Carol Green, NFDA's Environmental Specialty Counsel, will be presenting a workshop entitled "EPA/OSHA: Avoiding the pitfalls of Litigation," during the 2004 NFDA Convention & Expo. The workshop will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 19 from 11 a.m. - noon. Edward Ranier, Lord & Whip, NFDA's OSHA Counsel, also will be presenting at the workshop.
"It is NFDA's hope that by providing high caliber resources on these critical topics, funeral directors will be better informed on how to protect the environment and stay in compliance while providing caring and compassionate services to families in their community," continued Pepper.
NFDA is the leading funeral service association, serving more than 21,400 individual members who represent 12,486 funeral homes in the United States and other countries. From its headquarters in Brookfield, Wis., and its Advocacy Office in Washington, D.C., NFDA provides advocacy, education, information, products, programs and services to help members enhance the quality of service to families. For more information, visit www.nfda.org.
The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) boasts that they are the leading funeral service association, claiming they serve 21,400 individual members who may work in or own the 12,486 funeral homes in the United States and other countries. From their beautiful headquarters in Brookfield, Wisconsin, and their Advocacy Office in Washington, D.C., NFDA has taken advantage of their position, claiming they protect consumers and are a true advocate for funeral directors and embalmers. Truth be told, NFDA advocates, first, for their own survival and when they are forced to, the association exclusively works for the funeral home owners and not for the protection of consumers nor for the benefit of any employee, non-owner funeral director or embalmer. NFDA also hosts an annual convention where the number of exhibitors is close to the number of attendees.
The preceding paragraph is just the opinion of John McDonough, NFDA member, after studying the organization closely since 1993.
Truth or not, are your professional chemicals secured properly?
In a message dated 9/22/04 8:11:15 AM, Mike Flynn in Boston Massachusetts sends us:
DAVID STOAKES
14:00 - 21 September 2004
Police fear a new horror date rape drug has been used in Swansea for the first time. A woman may have been knocked out after smoking a cigarette which had been dipped in body embalming fluid.
She was left senseless before being brutally raped.
Detectives are now looking for two men in connection with the incident. One has a bizarre tattoo of pink lips on one of his hips. It is believed the second man may be from the Port Talbot area.
The 30-year-old woman reported her ordeal to police after waking up alone in a bedroom at a guest house on Oystermouth Road.
Extensive forensic tests have been carried out at the foreshore hotel room in the hope of scoring a hit on the DNA database.
The National Crime Faculty which pools expertise from all 43 forces in England and Wales has been consulted about what is known about the cigarettes which carry the slang name "fry" and which have only recently emerged as a date rape drug. They are either tobacco or marijuana cigarettes dipped in embalming fluid made up of a cocktail of solvents and formaldehyde methanol and ethyl alcohol.
Scientific experts say they are incredibly dangerous and can kill.
Acting Detective Inspector Huw Griffiths, of Swansea Central CID, said: "The woman was talking to two men in Baron's in College Street on Friday night.
"She was offered a cigarette and soon afterwards felt giddy and disorientated and decided to leave.
"She does not know if it was the cigarette or if something was put in her drink. But the cigarette possibility is something we are actively considering.
"When she went to go home, one of the men she had been talking to offered to take her home in a taxi. She woke up alone the next morning in one of the guest houses on Oystermouth Road.
"The woman is obviously distressed. We are appealing to anybody who knows anything about this to contact us immediately."
He said the man had an unusual pink lips tattoo on one of his hips. He had been showing it to people in the night club.
The man is described as white, in his 30s, has black curtain-style hair with a centre parting, is 5ft 9ins tall, and wore a black suit with white pinstripes. Police say that based on what he said in Baron's, he could be from the Ebbw Vale area. His friend was aged around 24, about 5ft 7ins tall, and has black, close-cropped hair. He wore black trousers and a blue top with black piping on the neck. He may live in Port Talbot.
Police say they want people who may have been in the club or who know anything about the incident to contact them.
A spokesman said: " We are looking at the DNA national database but would still appeal for people who might know something to come forward.''
Anybody with information is asked to contact Central CID on 01792 456999, or Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555111.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a message dated 9/4/04 7:33:36 PM, Mike Flynn in Boston Massachusetts writes:
County criticized for hauling corpse in pickup gets hearse
ERWIN, Tenn. The county criticized for hauling a decaying corpse in the back of a pickup truck has received a donated hearse.Last month the Carter County Rescue Squad refused to transport a body by ambulance. The man had been dead for four days when his body was found in a small mobile home.Ultimately, the Carter County coroner transported the corpse in his pickup truck. One official said the man was treated like a run-over dog, and the incident received national attention.After seeing news coverage of the incident, Unicoi County Special Deputy Benny Whitson made a much-needed donation of two hearses _ one to the Unicoi County Sheriff's Department and another to the Carter County Sheriff's Department.Carter County Sheriff John Henson said the donation solves the problem and will save Carter County taxpayers money.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a message dated 8/22/04 7:40:49 PM, anonymous writes:
Casket dispute yields fraud indictment
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Northeast/08/20/funeral.fraud.ap/index.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a message dated 8/22/04 7:40:49 PM, Mary in New Hampshire writes:
John, I know you are a cruise buff, check this out a Russian cruise only $20,000 for 13 days cruise to the north pole on a Soviet nuclear powered ice breaker
http://www.calflora.net/northpole/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a message dated 8/29/04 12:22:46 PM, Mike Flynn in Boston Massachusetts sends us:
New Hampshire = Hampton Union Local News: Funeral director loses license
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/hampton/08272004/news/34500.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a message dated 8/31/04 8:48:46 AM, Mike Flynn in Boston Massachusetts sends us
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040829/NEWS/408290385/0/FRONTPAGE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Got any Hot News for us. Issues that involve funeral service, in your community, it in, Everything you see here was send in by someone just like you. If there is a newspaper article in your area, send the link and we can all learn from it, even if it is your opinion we all learn from one another. Any HOT NEWS OR SCUTTLEBUTT WILL BE POSTED IN THE READER'S WRITE BACK SECTION.
Send your story or issue to FSPA just click here --->Lowellma@aol.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sorry, No posts in this issue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You are welcome, to write us with your comments, suggestions, complaints and especially stories about funeral service. Please remember only FSPA members will have information posted in the weekly update, it's easy click here ---> Mailto:Lowellma@aol.com Your participation is appreciated and essential.
You are welcome, to post your professional article here, you need to author your article and agree it will be posted with your full name. Please remember only FSPA members will have information posted in the weekly update, it's easy click here ---> Mailto:Lowellma@aol.com Your participation is appreciated and essential.
FUNERAL SERVICE PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION does not share membership info with anyone, no one will be given your information with out your permission or a court order.
To Join the Funeral Service Professional Association you must derive some of your income from the funeral industry, students and retirees from the funeral profession are welcome as well, please e-mail the following information.
If you skip answering one of the seven questions, you are wasting your time, the standards are the same for everyone, FSPA is open to everyone in funeral service, we are all equals here no exceptions, FSPA will not tell anyone who you are unless you request your identity be disclosed, FSPA is only open to any type of Funeral Service Professional, or Funeral Service Affiliate such as: Funeral Association employees, Mortuary School Students, Funeral Service product providers and Funeral Service Media.
Accountants will tell you FSPA is a write off ! Please check with your accountant. If s/he approves Go get yourself a nice laptop and possibly write off your hardware as well as AOL or other Internet service charge as an expense, the more your participate in FSPA the more proof you have.
If you have a suggested question this please just send it along, none of FSPA 's mail will be possible with out your sending information into us,
To make life easier on me
First and foremost, Send your info or story in to FSPA.
2nd Please put on the top line your name and location, like "John from Massachusetts writes :"
3rd please address the subject line put:
This is just a hobby, if you send and don't address the subject line with FSPA, it usually delete it because it looks like junk mail, FSPA get over 50 pieces of mail a day, most gets deleted, THE SUBJECT LINE is the key so please, use the subject line properly. Put FSPA in the Subject line along with the flavor of your message.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE the posting(s) you send are some times resent to others be careful, if you are proud of what you said and want the world to know how you feel Put your name, location and e-mail address at the end.
However If you don't want the world to know your ideas and you want to remain anonymous, just put name withheld at the end. FSPA does not reveal who its members are nor does FSPA lend it's list of members to others. There is no need to identify yourself. If you are not proud of your response (like the air line lost a body on us) it is not recommended you identify yourself, since we can all learn from problems. We need your input! Your answers go all over the place, E-mail is so easy to forward. We are happy to learn from your problems and issues, there is no need to identify yourself if you don't want to, South Western United States if just fine.
If the article you want is from a commercial publisher YOU MUST get permission from the person or company who created the story.
Because e-mail can be altered electronically, the integrity of this communication cannot be guaranteed. Any of the items you read here, you are free to reuse, understand, the postings are just that, the items are for the most part cut and pasted from E-mail, others FAXed and of course from funeral publications and other media. What you see here is never checked, if you do decide to republish or quote any thing FSPA puts out, check it out, please do not name the individual who sent the article without their permission. If you see fit to use any information from FSPA please give us credit. Ages ago a state association news letter posted a quote using the senders name, she was not a happy camper nor was her company, please use caution in the future. We appreciate your understanding and we need your support.
Consider these steps for your life.
1. Work like you don't need the money.
2. Love like you've never been hurt.
3. Dance like you do when nobody's watching.
C YA
John
BOTTOM LINE: WE ALL WORK FOR THE BETTERMENT OF FUNERAL SERVICE PROFESSION AND THE DEATH CARE INDUSTRY THE CONSUMERS WE SERVE AND THE PROFESSIONALS WE WORK WITH. IF YOU SEE ANYTHING WRONG, IF SOMETHING HERE REALLY OFFENDS YOU, LET'S WORK TOGETHER. PLEASE NOTIFY FSPA IMMEDIATELY, YOU CAN E-MAIL TO lowellma@aol.com Or call FSPA in the United States Voice 978-458-6816 Fax 978-459-0115 or the old fashioned way through the mail at FSPA c/o 14 Highland Street Lowell, Massachusetts 01852-3399 USA
* * * * END * * * * 26604 GO TO TOP