April 2021

Page A18 APRIL 2021 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Se c t i on A www. vischerfuneralsupplies.com By Mark Bowser In 1903, Horatio Nelson Jackson was visiting the University Club of San Francisco. While he was there, someone wagered fifty dollars that it would be impossible to drive a horseless carriage, or auto- mobile, from San Francisco to New York in less than ninety days. Horatio immediately accepted the bet. Now, he had to figure out how to do it. Let’s take a look for a moment at the challenges that Horatio had in front of him. • At that time, the United States only had about 150 miles of paved roads in the entire country. And, most of them were in the cities. • It had never been done before. • Horatio didn’t know that much about the me - chanics of cars. • And to top it off, he didn’t even own a car. So as you can see, Horatio may have bit off a little more than he could chew. Or, did he? The first item on the to do list was to get a car. So, he purchased a used, very small twenty horsepower car and commissioned it into his service as the “Ver- mont” in honor of his home state. The next challenge on the list to overcome was not being very mechanically minded. That is where The Foundations of Success for Funeral Directors Sewall Crocker comes into the story. Horatio hired this talented mechanic to go on the adventure with him. Horatio and Sewall loaded up the Vermont with sup- plies and on May 23, 1903, they embarked on their journey, waving goodbye to San Francisco and antici- pating saying hello to the Big Apple. Saying this coast-to-coast journey was hard would be an understatement. What roads there were weren’t more than a couple of worn patches on the ground. Horatio and Sewall got stuck in mud more times than Pinocchio told lies. They blew tires, broke springs, and had so many sounds coming from the engine block that it would have even made A.J. Foyt nervous. But, they kept the car together and continued to forge forth towards New York. At one point, they received bad di- rections and got lost hundreds of miles off course. But not even that could keep them discouraged. In Idaho they took on another passenger. His name was Bud and he was a bulldog. They fitted the dog with driving goggles and the journey continued. On July 26, our trio sped into New York City. Despite all the setbacks, they had completed the journey in only sixty-three days. So, the next time you go on a road trip, think about Horatio, Sewall, and Bud. Because without them, your adventure wouldn’t be possible. Who’s ready to hit the road? Thanks for reading today. To view a video on this topic from one of Mark Bowser’s live seminars then go to https://youtu.be/NXRBFB8cLvM Excerpted and adapted from Mark Bowser’s Seminar, The Foundation of Success for Funeral Directors . To schedule Mark Bowser as a speaker for your next event or conference then email mark@BrightCorporation.com or visit www.MarkBowser.com Mark Bowser is the Vice President at one of the funeral indus - tries premier stationary publishers, the Bright Corporation, and one of the top Professional Business Speakers in the United States. He is the author of several books including The 3 Pillars of Success for Funeral Directors and Sales Success with Zig Ziglar. He can be reached at 1-800-428-6424 or email mark@BrightCorporation.com. FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS www.nomispublications.com Monthly Columns online at Coast to Coast in Sixty-three Days nual recognition banquet. For the first time, this event was held virtually to con- tinue the tradition of recognizing account executives for providing exceptional ser- vice and delivering results for their fu- neral home customers, while adhering to recommendations from health experts on social distancing. Senior account executive, Brianne Nie- dermyer of the Home Office Region was named the Homesteaders Account Execu- tive of the Year. The award recognizes the account executive who best exhibits the qualities required to provide superior sup- port to funeral home customers. “Brianne’s experience and dedication has helped her customers continue to grow and succeed in a challenging year,” said Dan Lo- dermeier, Homesteaders vice president of field sales. “These characteristics make Bri- anne – and all our Homesteaders account executives – such an important part of the value we bring to funeral professionals.” Homesteaders Recognizes Account Executives for Outstanding Achievement; Named Top 21 USA Workplace Jill Lazar Jill Lambert Bill Fisher Jeff Evans Lynn Bewley Phillip Anglin WESTDESMOINES,IA— Homesteaders Life Com- pany recently held its an- Niedermyer also received the Home Of- fice Region Territory Development Award, Home Office Region Sales Achievement Award and was recognized as the Home Office Region Account Executive of the Year. Several other Homesteaders account executives were honored during the event, including: Phillip Anglin, Central Re- gion Account Executive of the Year, Sales Achievement Award, Territory Develop- ment Award; Lynn Bewley, Homesteaders Solutions Demo Award; Jeff Evans, Com- mitment Award; Bill Fisher, East Region Account Executive of the Year; Jill Lam- bert, Partner Points® Service Award; Jill Lazar, Rising Star Award; Kristie Lynch, Positive Attitude Award; Vincent Mi- chaelsen, Highest Annual Volume Award; Eolo Nizzi, West Region Account Execu- tive of the Year; Dana Parmenter, Home Office Region Sales Achievement Award; Jake Sale, Marketing Partner Engagement Continued on Page A19