Page B6 april 2024 By Mike Jamar Your Source for High Quality Funeral Vehicles Mike Jamar is founder and co-owner of Advanced Integration Technology. Mike has been working with computers since the early 80s and started Advanced Integration in 1994. Advanced Integration specializes in Internet inventories designed for specialty vehicles and equipment. HearseHub was created through a collaboration between Advanced Integration and Nomis Publications, and is now in its fifth year of service. HearseHub brings together funeral vehicles from a number of dealerships that specialize in high quality funeral vehicles. HearseHub offers funeral directors a large, and easy to shop inventory, of funeral vehicles. You can reach him at Mike@AITAdvantage.com. FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS www.NomisPublications.com Monthly Columnsonline at If You Want To Know Someone Better, Take A Road Trip With Them Recently my daughter and her family moved from Manhattan, Kansas to the Destin, Florida area. I will not bore you with all the details, but the movers she hired showed up a day late, with a truck half the size promised, and worse, half the size required. By the time the moving truck arrived, her husband and his father were already in Destin. Jenna and her mother-in-law Kathy were to follow in Kathy’s car when the movers finished. The problem was that when the movers left there was still a house half-full of items needing to be moved. Jenna is resourceful and always has been. The next morning, she found a 33’ rental truck and enough friends to help load it. Here is where I come in. I wasn’t available to help load, but I volunteered to drive the truck. As you may have surmised over past columns, I love road trips. I especially love road trips when I get to drive a truck. My only concern I had was that I didn’t know her mother-in-law at all. Leslie and I had seen them at a few family events, but besides exchanging a few pleasantries we never really talked with them. But that was only a minor concern because I would be driving the truck and our actual interaction would be brief, so it should all work out. Boy, was I wrong! We met them on a highway in Kansas City. Jenna was driving the truck, with Kathy close behind in her SUV. We exchanged pleasantries and I headed for the truck, Jenna stopped me as she would be driving the truck the first leg and I would be riding with Kathy. It was going to be a 16-hour trip, so that meant for the next 4 hours I would be riding pretty much with a stranger. I am sure Kathy was as apprehensive as I was. So, I got into her car, on the rider’s side. Not only was I on a road trip with a person I hardly knew, but I wasn’t driving. I always drive, but it wasn’t my car. What could I do? One of the first things I noticed was that the radio was not on. Leslie and I drive this way too, but Leslie and I have things to talk about, what will Kathy and I talk about? Silence is not your friend in these situations and the silence was deafening. Why couldn’t I be driving the truck? The 4 hours were not as bad as I had imagined, and actually, it was a pleasant drive. We had our kids in common and we spent the time talking about them. I learned a lot about Joel during that time and the time passed rather quickly. We stopped in Springfield for dinner and I drove the truck the next 4 hours to our hotel in Jonesboro. I was up and ready the next morning to drive the truck the rest of the way to Destin. No worries, just me and the truck. Unfortunately, that was not Jenna’s plan. She was to drive the first leg of the final two. I should have known better; Jenna is like me she enjoys a new adventure and she was not giving up her opportunity to drive the truck. I was to spend the next 4 hours riding with Kathy. What could we possibly have left to talk about? Come to find out plenty. For the next 4 hours, we talked about family stuff; family history, vacations, spouses, and much more. As we started running out of family things to talk about, it was time to stop for lunch. I would be in the truck for the rest of the trip. I had made it. When lunch was finished, I started heading to the truck only to be stopped by my loving daughter, as she was going to drive the rest of the way. Darn her, I only thought I had made it. When I got in with Kathy I almost asked if we could listen to the radio but thought better of it. So, what did we talk about for the next 4 hours? The dreaded topics of religion and politics. I won’t say we always agreed, but we didn’t condemn the other for their opinions. It was refreshing to talk with somebody about such polarizing issues in a civil manner. It turned out to be a pleasant trip and we each came away knowing the other a little better. So, if you ever have the opportunity to take a road trip with someone you want to know better, turn off the radio and just talk. 1-888-792-9315 • mymortuarycooler.com Scan QR for our website Cots not included MODEL # TR3 Triple Cot Roll-In Mortuary Cooler AMC N W FAST SHIPPING AVAILABLE ON SELECT PRODUCTS I made sure to note the date I came to ICCFA University because I know I will be using it in the future as the day that changed my life. -Tony Armogida, Global Atlantic Financial Group “ ” Every year, the ICCFA University changes the lives of students all across the deathcare profession. Last year, the ICCFA Educational Foundation provided financial support for over 100 students by covering the registration cost of the ICCFAU. Apply for a scholarship today and you can attend ICCFA University this summer for no registration cost. Don’t miss out on this premier education event featuring the leaders of the deathcare profession and five full days of learning. Visit iccfa. education to learn more! Halcyon Deathcare Management Solutions adds Artificial Intelligence Features PEACHTREE CITY,GA— Halcyon Deathcare Management Solutions is proud to announce the launch of two new artificial intelligence (AI) features. The first innovative feature uses advanced artificial intelligence algorithms to suggest reputable charitable organizations. Families often have an idea of what type of donation they would like to make on behalf of their loved one but they may not have a specific charity in mind. Halcyon’s charitable organization suggestion tool can seamlessly discover and recommend reputable charities that align with the family’s passion and beliefs. Simply enter the family’s interest(s) and optionally a geographic area and a list of several matching charitable organizations and a brief description of each will be quickly returned. Deathcare providers can empower families to honor their loved ones’ legacies through meaningful charitable contributions. The second feature is the addition of an artificial intelligence (AI) obituary writer to Halcyon’s existing obituary creation options. This new tool streamlines the process of creating obituaries and delivers personalized, heartfelt tributes with unmatched efficiency. Creating meaningful and respectful obituaries can be a daunting task. Recognizing this challenge, Halcyon has leveraged the power of AI technology to create an intuitive platform designed to assist in composing eloquent and dignified obituaries. When using the artificial intelligence obituary feature existing decedent information is conveniently pre-filled onto a screen. The information can be submitted to the obituary writer as-is or modifications and additions may be made prior to submitting the information for draft creation. There is also the ability to modify the tone of the generated draft on a scale from conservative to creative. Once a draft has been saved it can be sent to the family for review, submitted to publishers, and/or posted directly from Halcyon to their publicfacing website. “At Halcyon, we are dedicated to innovation and I’m excited about these two latest features,” said Sara Gard, president of Halcyon. ”We have seen a lot of technologies evolve in our 23 years of experience and I am proud that we are continuously improving Halcyon whenever we see a way to benefit our customers.” Halcyon is a provider of comprehensive web-based deathcare management solutions for funeral homes, crematories, pet crematories and trade businesses. For more information, visit www.halcyondcms.com. Funeral Directors Life Names Chad Mitchell as Market Center Manager Chad Mitchell ABILENE,TX— Funeral Directors Life is proud to announce Chad Mitchell as Market Center Manager (MCM) in Mississippi. “We are very excited to add Chad to the Funeral Directors Life sales team,” said Kris Seale, president and CEO of Funeral Directors Life. “Chad has spent several years working closely with funeral homes, which we know will greatly benefit our clients in Mississippi. We’re looking forward to the passion he brings and are thrilled to have him represent our company.” Mitchell has nearly 20 years of funeral sales experience. He spent the last two years as a sales consultant with a funeral supply company in Mississippi and five years with a casket company in Maryland. At the casket company, he was named rookie of the year in 2017 and sales consultant of the year in 2018 and 2020. “Chad’s experience is a benefit to both Funeral Directors Life and our Mississippi funeral home clients,” said Mark Owen, senior sales vice president for Funeral Directors Life. “He’s a dedicated family man who perfectly fits our team culture. We are excited to see Chad help our funeral home owners increase their market share and improve their profitability in a rapidly changing environment.” After earning a bachelor’s degree from Mississippi State University, Mitchell received a master’s degree from Union University in Jackson, TN. Mitchell is excited to educate, support, and share helpful information with new and existing Mississippi funeral home clients. “Joining Funeral Directors Life and being part of such a highquality team is sincerely one of the highest honors of my career in the funeral profession,” Mitchell said. “I’m looking forward to working alongside the many great funeral homes in Mississippi and helping them confidently serve their communities with the utmost attention and care. I am beyond blessed and grateful!” Funeral Directors Life is focused on being the best, most-respected provider of service to the funeral profession with preneed solutions, financial services, and technology offerings. The help their clients improve their businesses and grow their profitability through their full-service solutions. Their clients’ business requires more than preneed solutions – that’s why Funeral Directors Life is more than a preneed company. For more information, visit www.funeraldirectorslife.com. www.nomispublications.com
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