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Page B15
MARCH 2017
FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS
S ec t i on B
New Faces join Messenger Sales Team
Keisha Addison
Chuck Lemmons
Thomas Gutzmer
Women in the Funeral Industry: One
Challenge Stands in Their Way
Katie Hill
CEDAR RAPIDS,IA—
A
glance inside the classrooms
at any mortuary school con-
firms an industry trend:
women are outnumbering
men in choosing a career in
funeral service. Yet in the job
search that follows, women
candidates are not always on
an equal playing field with
the men. Prospective em-
ployers appreciate a woman’s
empathy and attention to
details, admire her impres-
sive credentials and respect
her educational accomplish-
ments. But a question of-
ten lingers in an employer’s
mind: Can she lift?
In 2010, women com-
prised 57 percent of the
mortuary student popula-
tion, an increase of more
than 60 percent since 1995,
according to
NFDA.
Not
content to be in the front
office only, these women
want an active role in all as-
pects of funeral service, in-
cluding the prep room.
Ka-
tie Hill,
a third-generation
licensed funeral director,
understands firsthand the
physical demands of the job.
So her company,
Mortuary
Lift,
manufacturers of the
Ultimate 1000 Lift™, made
it possible for employers to
get beyond their concern of
whether or not a female can-
didate can lift.
“Women are often drawn
to the funeral industry be-
cause of their empathy,”
of a hoist for funeral homes
and mortuaries. Unfamiliar
with the death-care indus-
try, the manufacturer was
struggling to market and
sell it. So Hill’s father rec-
ognized the opportunity,
bought the company and
its inventory and made his
own lift. His daughter, Ka-
tie, managed this new ven-
ture and now owns and op-
erates it.
Hill’s business has experi-
enced annual double-digit
growth, in part a reflection
of women choosing funer-
al service as a career. “I am
seeing an increase in calls
from funeral home owners
who say they are impressed
with a woman they have in-
terviewed and think they
should have a lift to accom-
modate her,” says Hill. But,
she points out, that a lift
brings efficiency to funer-
al homes and mausoleums,
whether or not women are
employed there.
“Being able to do all el-
ements of the job is very
liberating for women and
allows them to compete
shoulder-to-shoulder with
men in the job market,” says
Hill. “And a lift gives a posi-
tive answer to the question
‘Can she lift?’”
To see a demonstration of
the Ultimate 1000 Lift ™ and
to hear what funeral home
owners say about the lift, vis-
it
www.mortuarylift.com.states Hill. “However, once
in the profession they realize
it’s not just about meeting
with and supporting fami-
lies. It’s all the additional re-
sponsibilities such as dress-
ing bodies, lifting them onto
prep tables, lifting caskets in
and out of shipping trays
and onto casket biers.” The
Ultimate 1000 Lift ™ en-
ables a woman to carry out a
full range of responsibilities
singlehandedly. Not only
does it broaden her capa-
bilities, but it eliminates the
need for several people to be
involved in the processes.
Hill spent 10 years as a li-
censed funeral director at
her family’s funeral home.
Early on, her father realized
the benefits a lift would of-
fer, not just to his daugh-
ter but to the entire staff.
His search brought him to
a boat hoist manufacturer
who had designed a version
Tribute Companies add Attoe
and Clark to Sales Team
Maggie Attoe
Eric Clark
HARTLAND,WI—
The
Tribute Companies
re-
cently added
Maggie Attoe
and
Eric Clark
to their sales
team. Attoe is the new re-
gional sales manager for the
Western Region which in-
cludes Wisconsin, Minneso-
ta, Illinois, and Iowa while
Clark serves the Eastern Re-
gion which includes Michi-
gan, Indiana, and Ohio.
Attoe graduated from
UW Oshkosh with a de-
gree in Environmental Studies and Geolo-
gy. Prior to Tribute she worked in sales for
over 9 years. Maggie also has an extensive
background in large account management,
brand management, sales, customer rela-
tions, service, and company development.
She enjoys the outdoors through cycling,
hiking, paddle boarding and is a naturalist.
Maggie also lived in the Daxing district of
Beijing, China.
Clark graduated from Purdue University
with a degree in Organizational Leadership
and Supervision. He has a minor in Com-
munications. Prior to working for Tribute,
he worked at the Tradesman Companies.
In his spare time he coaches middle school
football, travels and likes to scuba dive.
“We are thrilled to have Maggie and Eric
representing our company in our expand-
ing markets. They will do an exceptional
job taking care of our current clients and
building our business in these markets,” said
Christine Toson Hentges,
president of The
Tribute Companies.
The Tribute Companies is made of up
several specialized areas within the cem-
etery profession;
Tribute Cemetery Sys-
tems, Tribute Precast Systems
and
Trib-
ute Design Systems.
Through the cemetery
division, the company owns four promi-
nent cemeteries throughout Wisconsin:
Pinelawn Memorial Park
in Milwaukee;
Restlawn Memorial Park
in Wausau;
Fort
Howard Memorial Park
in Green Bay; and
The Gardens of StoneBank
in Hartland.
Tribute Precast Systems is a leading pro-
vider of precast concrete products to cem-
eteries throughout the United States and
Canada with production facilities in Ashley,
IN and Freeport, IL.
Tribute Design Systems focuses on master
and site planning, chapel and administrative
facility design and mausoleum and colum-
barium design and development for cemeter-
ies, churches and funeral homes. The Tribute
Companies is located at 352 Cottonwood
Avenue, Hartland, WI 53029. Further infor-
mation can be found at
www.tributeinc.com.
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AUBURN,IN—
Mes-
senger,
the leading
funeral
stationery
supplier in North
America, has appoint-
ed three new sales
consultants.
Keisha Addison
will be serving
in Northern Georgia,
Chuck Lemmons
in
Arkansas and
Thomas Gutzmer
in Virginia.
Addison has over fifteen years of account
management experience, most recently rep-
resenting
Matthews-Aurora Funeral So-
lutions.
She was raised in a family owned
business and is driven by relationships and
helping people achieve success. Lemmons
comes to Messenger with over twenty years
of sales and account management experi-
ence and the past few years has served as
a funeral director and pre-need consultant.
No stranger to working in a small business
and wearing multiple hats, he is excited to
share his experience using Messenger solu-
tions when he was a funeral director and
the times savings it afforded him. Gutzmer
comes to Messenger with extensive expe-
rience in teaching and customer relations.
He loves meeting new people and helping
bring out the best in every situation.
All three recently completed comprehensive
training at Messenger and have since begun
serving clients in their respective area. “As we
continue to grow, we are committed to ensur-
ing that our front line team members are the
best in class and can help funeral professionals
take advantage of all that we have to offer. The
energy and professionalism these three bring
to the table is second to none and we look for-
ward to the positive difference they are going
to make,” stated
Bob Hoaglund,
vice presi-
dent of sales and marketing at Messenger.
Messenger, headquartered in Auburn, IN,
has been in business since 1913 and has trans-
formed funeral registries and stationery. Now,
Messenger leads with the best digital registry
on the market and the most extensive line of
funeral stationery available. Messenger invests
in consumer research each year and is dedi-
cated to helping funeral professionals stay rel-
evant in an ever-changing marketplace. Their
ultimate goal has been and always will be, to
make a difference to grieving families through
the products and services we provide. For
more information, call 800-827-5151 or visit
www.messengerstationery.com.