Page B11
SEPTEMBER 2015
FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS
S ec t i on B
Messenger LLC Recognizes Top Sales Representatives
Tom Ahlers
Jay Amburgey
David Bednar
Jeff Burnett
Ellie Dane
John Duncan
David Kolbe
Glenn Vaughn
Rick Wood
Gerry Wright
Greg Wright
Forethought Named to Ward’s 50 Top Life and
Health Performers for Sixth Consecutive Year
I ND I ANA PO L I S, I N—
Forethought Life Insur-
ance Company,
a subsid-
iary of
Global Atlantic
Financial Group Limit-
ed,
once again has earned a
spot on the Ward’s 50® list
of top life and health in-
surance companies. This is
the sixth consecutive year
that Forethought, a grow-
ing annuity provider and
mainstay in the preneed
life insurance business, has
been included on this list.
Ward’s 50 is published
annually by
Ward Group,
an
Aon Hewitt
company
and the leading provider
of benchmarking and best
practice services for insur-
ance companies.
“We are very pleased
Forethought has been rec-
ognized as a top perform-
ing insurance company by
Ward’s 50® for the sixth
straight year,” said
Allan
Levine,
CEO of Global
Atlantic. “The continued
recognition is testament to
how well Forethought has
integrated into the Global
Atlantic enterprise and the
investments we have made
in the Forethought busi-
ness lines.”
In naming the recipients
annually, Ward Group ad-
heres to an objective meth-
odology based on financial
and performance met-
rics analyzing nearly 800
companies over five con-
secutive years. Insurance
companies are evaluated
and must pass minimum
thresholds of assets and re-
turn levels, among other
metrics, to be considered
for the Ward’s 50® designa-
tion.
Each of the top 50 com-
panies is awarded the
Ward’s 50®
Seal. Each
Ward’s 50®
company has
also passed all
safety and
consistency screens
and
achieved superior perfor-
mance over the five years
analyzed. Ward Group has
conducted the Ward’s 50®
analysis for 25 consecutive
years. It is a financial anal-
ysis of the insurance indus-
try based on publicly avail-
able data and conducted
independently of the Ward
Group annual benchmark-
ing programs.
Forethought Life Insur-
ance Company provides a
full suite of annuities and
a leading preneed life in-
surance platform to help
solve the pre-retirement,
retirement and end-of-life
challenges currently fac-
ing Americans. A targeted
strategy delivers multifac-
eted product lines to cus-
tomers through key distri-
bution relationships across
the country. Experienced
leadership and financial
discipline underlie strong
growth and success in the
marketplace.
Matthews International Announces New Director of Customer Solutions for
Cemetery Products Business
Daniel Wolfslayer
PITTSBURGH,PA—
Mat-
thews Cemetery Products,
a division of
Matthews In-
ternational Corporation
is pleased to announce that
Daniel Wolfslayer
has been
hired as director of cus-
tomer solutions. In his new
role, Wolfslayer will lead the
Matthews Cemetery Prod-
ucts’ customer service and
order entry teams to provide
a world-class service experi-
ence.
“Matthews is commit-
ted to helping our custom-
diverse customer service,
data entry and call center
teams with a heavy emphasis
on realizing operational effi-
ciencies and improving the
overall customer experience.
Matthews
Internation-
al Corporation, headquar-
tered in Pittsburgh, PA is a
designer, manufacturer and
marketer principally of me-
morialization products and
brand solutions. Memorial-
ization products consist pri-
marily of bronze and granite
memorials and other memo-
Bob McDouguald Joins
Specialty Vehicles
Bob McDouguald
as offering various trades ser-
vices and livery to many cli-
ents in the Cleveland area.
Bob will be exclusively rep-
resenting the
Superior
and
S&S Coach
brands of fu-
neral cars.
Bob is married and has
two children. In his spare
time he enjoys attending car
shows, is a huge NHRA fan
and enjoys spending time
with his family. Bob can be
reached at 216-314-4801 or
at
EAST FARMINGDALE,NY—
Professional Cars
of Cleve-
land, OH and
Specialty Hearse
of East Farmingdale, NY
proudly announce that
Bob McDouguald
has joined
both firms selling new and used professional vehicles.
Bob has a long history in funeral service having grown up
in the
H.M. Martin Funeral Home
of Cleveland, OH.
Bob will remain active with the family funeral home as well
ers grow their business and
strives to provide outstand-
ing support with every cus-
tomer interaction,” stated
R.
Michael Eddy,
president,
Matthews Cemetery Prod-
ucts. “Daniel’s strong op-
erational background and
previous customer service
experience will help us to
drive continued quality im-
provements and proactive
customer communications.”
Wolfslayer has extensive
customer service experience
including 25 years leading
rialization products, caskets
and cremation equipment
for the cemetery and funeral
home industries. Brand so-
lutions include graphics im-
aging products and services,
marking products, and mer-
chandising solutions. The
company’s products and ser-
vices include cast bronze and
granite memorials and other
memorialization products;
caskets; cast and etched ar-
chitectural products; cre-
mation equipment and cre-
mation-related
products;
mausoleums; brand man-
agement; printing plates and
cylinders, pre-press services
and imaging services for the
primary packaging and cor-
rugated industries; marking
and coding equipment and
consumables, and industri-
al automation products for
identifying, tracking and
conveying various consum-
er and industrial products,
components and packaging
containers; and merchandis-
ing display systems and mar-
keting and design services.
AUBURN,IN—
Messenger
LLC
recently recognized
its top 10 sales represen-
tatives with sales awards
at the company’s National
Sales Meeting held in Or-
lando, FL.
Top honors went to
Tom
Ahlers, Jay Amburgey, Da-
vid Bednar, Jeff Burnett,
Ellie Dane, John Dun-
can, Dave Kolbe, Glenn
Vaughn, Rick Wood
and
father and son team,
Gerry
and
Greg Wright.
“Messenger had a record
setting year in 2014. These
top sales representatives
were significant contribu-
tors to our success. With-
out their efforts, we cannot
accomplish our objectives.
We are proud of our en-
tire sales organization for
their dedication and hard
work this past year,” stated
Bob Hoaglund,
vice pres-
ident of sales and market-
ing at Messenger. Messen-
ger’s sales team consists of
forty-five independent sales
representatives who provide
full coverage of the United
States, Canada, and Puerto
Rico.
Ahlers and Vaughn were
named 2014 Co-Sales
Representatives of the Year,
succeeding 2013 Sales Rep
of the Year, Bednar. This
prestigious award is be-
stowed on sales represen-
tatives who achieve exem-
plary sales performance
and service throughout
the year. Ahlers serves fu-
neral homes in Wisconsin
and the Upper Peninsula
of Michigan and Vaughn
serves funeral homes in
Western Texas. Both sales
representatives have been
representing
Messenger
since 2003.
Messenger LLC has been
in business since 1913
and has grown to be the
most innovative manufac-
turer of funeral stationery
products in North Amer-
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