Page A30
SEPTEMBER 2015
FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS
S ec t i on A
Funeral Directors Research,Inc.
AMRA INSTRUMENT,
LLC
“the shorter the supply line the better off you are”
WEB DIRECT GIFT & PRICING
TM
The International Order of the Golden Rule Announces New
Supply Partner Program
Funeral Professionals to Earn CEUs at Selected
Independent Funeral Homes 97th Annual Meeting
NEWS
Association
AUSTIN,TX—
The Inter-
national Order of the
Golden Rule
(OGR), the
world’s leading profession-
al association dedicated to
making independent fu-
neral homes exceptional,
recently unveiled its new
Supply Partner Program.
The program will offer
unique discounts and in-
centives to Golden Rule
funeral homes on innova-
tive products and services
that will help them solve
business and customer ser-
vice challenges.
Mark Allen,
OGR’s ex-
ecutive director, said, “The
new Supply Partner Pro-
gram was designed to give
OGR member firms excep-
tional value they can’t ob-
tain on their own.” Allen
added, “Suppliers want op-
portunities to connect with
funeral home leaders and
decision makers. Members
want unsurpassed value.
OGR’s Supply Partner pro-
gram is designed to achieve
both goals.”
The program will fea-
ture three supplier desig-
nations each with distinct
logos: Supply Partner, Pre-
mier Partner and Endorsed
Supplier. Premier Partners
provide an elevated level
of support to OGR mem-
bers. Endorsed Suppliers
offer OGR-exclusive ben-
efits that have been thor-
oughly vetted. Allen noted,
“When a member sees any
of the Supply Partner des-
ignations, they can trust
that supplier to support
OGR and its members.”
OGR announced that
Heritage Memorial Fund-
ing
is the latest firm added
to its group of Supply Part-
ners. Based in Tupelo, MS,
Heritage Memorial Fund-
ing is a family-owned busi-
ness offering financial so-
lutions and personalized
service to meet the needs of
funeral directors and their
client families. Their fund-
ing program offers fast pay-
ment to the funeral home
(within 24 hours of veri-
fication), with no out-of-
pocket expense to the fami-
ly and no cost to the funeral
home. “At Heritage Memo-
rial Funding, we are simple
and transparent. There are
no hidden fees and no flashy
and misleading “introduc-
tory” rates, just a one-time
flat funding fee,” said
Tay-
lor Main,
account repre-
sentative, Heritage. “When
a family friend and funer-
al home owner brought to
our attention the need for a
trusted, flexible, and friend-
ly life insurance funding
option, we went to work
designing what we believe
to be the best life insurance
assignment funding service
offered today,” said Main.
Founded in 1928, OGR
is affiliated with more than
600 independent funeral
homes that share common
goals of exemplary service,
uncompromising care and
compassion to families
in their time of need. For
more information, email
Connie Haymes,
OGR’s
golden services group di-
Simon T. Bailey
Lt. General Russel L. Honoré
Rob Paterkiewicz
Louis Charbonnet
by guest speaker and leader-
ship catalyst,
Simon Bailey
,
plus resources on building
a healthy personal life when
surrounded by death, dis-
cussions on retaining funeral
services amidst growing cre-
mation rates and Selected’s
friendly Best Practices com-
petition. Participants also will
experience an authentic New
Orleans “jazz funeral” facili-
tated by
Doug Gober
and
Louis Charbonnet
.
Selected members will en-
joy a special presentation by
Lt. General Russel L. Honoré
,
as well as closed discussion fo-
rums and breakout sessions
allowing for open sharing on
topics of concern and inter-
est amongst their peers. Also
on tap is a members-only
welcome reception and din-
ner, daily meal functions and
an Association Update from
Selected Executive Director
Rob Paterkiewicz
.
Selected has been approved
for 9.75 hours of continuing
education for applicable ses-
sions from the Academy of
Professional Funeral Service
Practice and has applied to
all states requiring continu-
ing education. For the most
up-to-date list of approv-
als received, members can
the meeting’s continuing ed-
ucation sessions are open to
any funeral service profes-
sional.
Non-members may contact
Selected at 800-323-4219 for
pricing information, which
is based on CE units. Ad-
Founded in 1917 as Na-
neral homes. Members of the
association are expected to
operate according to specific
standards and best practices
in order to provide the pub-
lic with reliable, high-quality
funeral services and funeral-
related information.
DEERFIELD,IL—
Selected Independent Fu-
neral Homes
will host its 97th Annual Meet-
ing atThe Roosevelt NewOrleans, September
16-19, 2015. Featuring a diverse collection of
speakers, impactful sessions, and fun network-
ing and social activities, the meeting is open
to all professionals within the funeral industry
interested in pursuing continuing education
credit and networking opportunities.
Highlights this year include a presentation
