February 2019

Page A32 FEBRUARY 2019 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A Phone: 877-770-TIES (8437) Fax: 276-466-3474 E-mail: customerservice@tiesforyou.com www.tiesforyou.com STYLISH MATCHING TIES FOR PROFESSIONALS Any Size Group or Organization Call 651-450-7727 to request a wholesale catalog, Our Extra-Large Cremains Bags (13”x 15”) are perfectly sized for the Standard Plastic Human Service Urn. or visit UrnBags.com to order some bags. Just $2.90 each*. * Bags sold in multiples of 10 Choose from Black, Blue, or Burgundy (Memories of Jack’s Recipes) Original Recipes from Dottie and Jack Frediani Shared by Kate Frediani-Gorman Cremation Products Inc. 800-837-0701 www.cremationproductsinc.com Eat Dessert First… this is the best chocolate cake ever, and just in time for Valentine’s Day! TEXAS STYLE GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE ½ cup buttermilk 1 tsp baking soda 2 cups flour 2 cups granulated sugar 1 package German sweet chocolate 3 Tbsp cocoa 3 cubes butter 1 cup water 2 eggs 1 package powdered sugar For topping: 1 cube butter 3 Tbsp milk ½ package of German sweet chocolate 2 tsp cocoa 1 package powdered sugar Preheat oven to 400º. Set aside buttermilk and baking soda. Sift together flour and sugar. In a saucepan, melt together and bring to a boil chocolate, cocoa, butter and water. Add 2 eggs, and then the flour sugar mixture and lastly the buttermilk and soda mixture. Let batter stand for 5 minutes while you grease and flour an oblong cake pan. Bake for 20 minutes. While cake is baking – in the same saucepan, melt togeth- er: butter, milk, German sweet chocolate and cocoa. Bring to a boil and remove from heat; add powdered sugar and beat until creamy. Pour over the hot cake and enjoy! SHRIMP AND BLACK BEAN SALAD 1 pound shrimp, cooked and shelled 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained ½ cup celery, thinly sliced 1 small green pepper, cut in strips 1/3 cup red onion, thinly sliced 2/3 cup mild picante sauce 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro 2 Tbsp oil 2 Tbsp honey 1 tsp lime peel, 2 tsp juice Lettuce leaves Cherry tomato halves Combine shrimp, beans, green pepper, cel- ery and onion in large bowl. Combine remain- ing ingredients except tomatoes and lettuce; mix well. Pour over shrimp mixture; toss lightly to coat. Cover and chill 2-24 hours, tossing now and then. Spoon onto lettuce lined plates, gar- nish with tomatoes. Serve with additional pican- te sauce. Memoires des choix des Jacque Good Eating! News Association DEERFIELD,IL— Select- ed Independent Funer- al Homes’ Educational Trust has announced two new recipients of the Sec- ond-Career Scholarship in the amount of $1,500 each. The winners are Wesley Waddle and Carie Burns- Smith who were selected from 28 eligible candidates. The scholarship program was sponsored by Batesville and was created to meet the educational needs of the in- creasing number of second- career professionals entering independent funeral service seeking positions as funer- al directors, embalmers and future leaders. Wesley Waddle of Mun- fordville, KY is a student at Mid-America College of Fu- neral Service and will grad- uate in September of 2019. He comes from a 27-year career in public education as a teacher, principal and district administrator. “Although I am new to the profession, I am acutely Selected’s Educational Trust Announces Two Second-Career Scholarship Winners Wesley Waddle Carie Burns-Smith aware of the swiftly chang- ing attitudes toward final disposition, funeral service planning, preferences for less traditional and often more secular services,” said Waddle. “Regardless of the changing tides in the profes- sion, all families are similar in that they need a sense of closure and finality as they work toward beginning the healing process and that is my call to service.” Carie Burns-Smith of Ver- non, CT is a student at Lin- coln College of New Eng- land and will graduate in May of 2020. She has held a wide variety of positions in the service profession and currently works as the ad- ministrative assistant to the district manager for Con- necticut Valley. “It takes a special temper- ament and disposition to assist families in handling their needs at this challeng- ing time,” said Burns-Smith. “With my extensive experi- ence in customer service, I believe I have the life skills and personality to be suc- cessful in this profession.” For more informa- tion, visit the Educa- tional Trust website at www .selectedtrust.org. CANA Keynoter to Show How “Trigger Talk” Generates More Business WHEELING,IL— Customers expect more from their consum- ers now than ever. What are they doing differently to meet their needs? They might say they offer the best service. But that’s what their competitors say, too. There’s a better way to differentiate their self, according to Daniel Lemin, keynote speaker for CANA’s 2019 Cremation Symposium and co-author of the new book Talk Triggers . It’s about creating conversations, or what he calls “trigger talk.” The first step is to listen to the customers. This doesn’t mean poring over survey responses or combing through online re- views. It means having in-person conversations with custom- ers to find out what their pain points are and what they really want. It means identifying a gap—an expectation gap—that they can plug. This, in turn, creates valuable marketing opportunities. This deeper way of connecting with customers is what people will focus on when they talk about them. And with 50 to 90 per- cent of all purchases, influenced, by word of mouth, that’s significant. What’s more, half of these recommendations are happening offline. Offline recommendations have more persuasive power than online ones do; body language, facial expression and tone of voice are all magnifiers of the message. How do they make sure that message is positive? Plug the expectation gap with a talk trigger. Have an inten- tional word of mouth strategy. Join CANA in February at the 2019 Cremation Symposium and hear Daniel Lemin explain all this in person. To see the complete program and register, go to www.cremationassociation.org/CANAheroes . Daniel Lemin is a startup co-founder, advisor and bestselling author on reputation management, digital marketing and social media customer service. Lemin was an early member of Google’s global communications team and is the CMO and co-founder of Selectivor , a food intelligence startup that helps people stay healthy through personalized eating. Lemin’s new book with co- author Jay Baer, TalkTriggers, explores word-of-mouth market- ing and lays out a framework for generating crucial customer conversations. A sought-after presenter and commentator, Le- min released his first book, ManipuRATED , in 2015. Founded in 1913, the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) is an international organization of over 3,300 members, composed of funeral homes, cemeteries, cre- matories, industry suppliers, and consultants. CANAmembers believe that cremation is preparation for memorialization. Send Us Your News! PO Box 5159, Youngstown, OH 44514 Fax 1-800-321-9040 Email info@nomispublications.com FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Association Officers...