April 2018

Page A4 APRI L 2018 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A Hardy Myers (right) of Myers Colonial Funeral Home, DeRidder, LA with John Muster of Muster Coaches, Calhoun, KY after taking delivery of their new Federal Coach. 1-800-274-3619 Muster Coaches Calhoun, KY Myers Colonial Funeral Home Adding a Crematory in Record Time and Taking Advantage of IRS Section 179 Deduction By Nancy Weil How do I reach you? Five words that can take us in so many directions. I would like to explore with you one of the major frustrations you may have in your professional (and personal) life. “How do I reach you?” is a question that requires paying attention to every person you want to connect to. In doing so, it allows you to get questions answered, take actions on projects and have your needs met. However it also means moni- toring more and more communication modes. Let’s take a quick inventory: 1. How many email accounts do you have? Person- al, professional, one to receive the things you have to put in an email address to get, but you don’t want to look at anything again from that company? 2. How many phone numbers can people use to reach you? Home phone (those still exist in many households)? Cell phone? Business cell Random Musings separate from personal cell phone? Office phone. Multiple locations for your business each with a different phone number. 3. Where do you receive your text messages? Some of the above? One of the above? None of the above? 4. Are you feeling the love for FaceTime? WhatsApp? Skype? 5. Let’s not forget social media. Facebook messen- ger is a great way to connect with someone who checks to see how many “likes” their latest post received. Do you need to check your LinkedIn account for messaging and notifications? Tweet much? Too much? This is the reality for many people. As ways to com- municate grow, so does the challenge. You must discov- er each person’s preference so that you can reach them when you need to. It is up to you to know that Frank likes a phone call and will either answer or call you back that day if you leave a message. While busy funeral di- rector Janet will take a quick glance at her text messages and respond. If you need to reach Bill, pop onto Face- book and send him a private message. You are sure to hear back within the hour. Amanda tends to work long hours and receives her emails on her work and home computer and her phone. She also likes to print out important information so that she can review it when she gets a free moment. Want to connect with Amanda? Send her an email. Long distance meeting? FaceTime is almost like being in the same room. It seems that the busier we get, the more ways tech- nology finds to confuse and irritate us when all we want is an answer to a simple question like, “Want to meet for lunch?” By the way, here are some of the ways you can reach me with your thoughts on this or whatever else is on your mind: Nancy@thelaughacademy.com 716-908-9154 https://www.facebook.com/weil.nancy WithcertificationsasaGriefServicesProviderandGriefManagement Specialist, Funeral Celebrant, as well as Laughter Leader, Nancy Weil is uniquely qualified to bring new perspectives into how to best meet the needs of the families you serve. A professional speaker, Nancy travels the country bringing effective tools to reduce stress, combat compassion fatigue and handle grief to companies, associations and conferences large and small. With a passionate interest in the healing qualities of laughter, she is known for her energetic, entertaining and content rich programs. In addition to talks geared to the general public, she has also been brought in by funeral directors to offer (CEU) programs to funeral staff, nurses, chaplains and social work- ers in their communities. Nancy has developed the most comprehensive aftercare program of any cemetery or funeral home in the country and is currently di- recting aftercare programs, community outreach and marketing at Veterans Funeral Care. She consults with industry professionals in how they can develop or grow their own grief support program in order to maintain contact with the families they serve and develop stronger relationships within their community. Her book, If Stress Doesn’t Kill You, Your Family Might , is filled with tools that work to reduce stress and find your “inner happy.” For more information on how Nancy can help you and your business grow, visit her website: www.TheLaughAcademy.com or by email at: Nancy@TheLaughAcademy.com . www.nomispublications.com Funeral Home & Cemetery News Contributors share insights and exchange ideas. B logs Kevin Brown, John Henderson, and Robby Taylor SOUTH HOLLAND,IL— In February 1995 local li- censed funeral directors, Phil Hinsey and Kev- in Brown opened their business to serve Henry County and surrounding areas with a goal to pro- vide excellence in funer- al service at a reasonable price. Twenty years later, 2015, while attending the Indiana Funeral Directors Association convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, Kevin Brown, already considering the addition of cremation services to his growing funeral busi- ness, meets Cremation Systems, an Illinois man- ufacturer of cremation equipment. Consider- ation turns to reality and the process of zoning, de- signing, permitting and installing a crematory at the Hinsey Brown Fu- neral Home location in New Castle, IN begins. To minimize the noise and disturbance to Hin- sey Brown customers, the construction of a new ga- rage, adjacent to the fu- neral home, was chosen for the location of the new crematorium. In late sum- mer, 2017, with all ap- provals and permits in place, Hinsey Brown plac- es an order with Crema- tion Systems for the man- ufacture, installation and training of a new CFS 2300 Cremation Retort. Things must move quick- ly to take advantage of the IRS Section 179 deduc- tion for 2017 which al- lowed for a 100 percent deduction on the cost of the cremation equipment. M.L. Taylor Construc- tion began construction on the new facility and the rapid time line moves forward: November 14th concrete is poured, No- vember 27th trusses are places and secured, De- cember 19th the retort is installed, stack and deco- rative cover placed, and on December 21st, the Hinsey Brown group per- formed their first crema- tion, only 37 days after the start of the garage ad- dition. “I want to tell you how pleased we are with Cre- mation Systems from the first time I met them at IFDA Convention to the installation and training process. From A to Z, we have been well-informed, and had timely answers to all of our questions and concerns,” said Brown. Solid planning, reliable and dependable suppli- ers can make short work of what needs to be done to add cremation to your funeral service busi- ness. To learn more, visit www.cremsys.com.