October 2018

Page A10 OCTOBER 2018 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A ideas and solutions and always be coachable in the prep room. I ask that each of my fellow funeral professionals, new embalmers/arrangers, soon to be embalmers/arrang- ers do the same. We are all tasked with providing the fam- ily everything we have to start their path to healing. Embalming 101 www.nomispublications.com Funeral Home & Cemetery News Contributors share insights and exchange ideas. B logs Matthew Morian, CFSP and Zach Carnley, CFSP are the Millennial Directors. Matt and Zach met through the North Texas Funeral Directors Association and TFDA Emerging Leaders. They started their Millennial Directors blog as a way to give voice to a genera- tion of young professionals. Matt is a first generation funeral director and embalmer and is the managing director of Lucas Funeral Homes in Keller and Grapevine, TX. Matt has been in the funeral profession since 2010 and is a graduate of the Dallas Institute of Funeral Service. He was awarded the 2017 North Texas Funeral Director Association’s Young Funeral Professional of the Year as well as the 2017 Texas Funeral Director Association’s Young Funeral Professional of the Year. Matt currently serves on the board for the North Texas Funeral Director Association. Zach was class valedictorian at Dallas Institute of Funeral Service, where he earned a degree in Funeral Sciences. He has also earned his Certified Funeral Service Practitioner designation. He had pre- viously earned a B.A. in Criminal Justice from Stephen F. Austin State University. Zach was awarded the 2014 North Texas Funeral Director Association’s Young Funeral Professional of the Year as well as the 2014 Texas Funeral Director Association’s Young Funeral Professional of the Year. He serves on the board of the Texas Funeral Director Association Services Inc. He is a board member of the Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice, serves on the Job Task Analysis Committee for The Conference of International Funeral Examining Board. He is the funeral home manager of Lucas and Blessing Funeral Home in Burleson, TX. Millennial Directors Matthew Morian, CFSP Embalming… the opportunity for we professionals to create the perfect “memory picture” for a family. When a family chooses to have their loved one embalmed, never take it lightly and always be aware of the sacred trust that is being placed in you. It is smart to watch and learn from as many licensed embalmers as you can when serving an apprenticeship or starting your path in the funeral profession. You see, there is no “perfect way” to prepare the human body. There are several ways and many tricks of the trade (both old and new) that can be learned to better serve your families. Develop these skills by showing the ability to be coachable in the prep room rather than someone who gets offended when asked, “Why did you do it that way?” Be open-minded and willing to try things that seem outside of the box when an embalmer says, “Let me show you a different way to do that.” There are several embalmers with many years of experience who are not open-minded and do things the EXACT same way, EVERY time. This is not the way to do it! Never pour together a solution in your tank prior to the deceased arriving. Embalming fluids are not a one type fits all kind of product. You may not know that there is a wide array of solutions made by a multitude of companies, each with their own dyes, indexes, and problem solving capabilities. Learn what you are comfortable with and learn how each fluid interacts with the human body. Perform a solid case analysis before beginning any of the embalming process. This case analysis is a good walk around the table to notate any edema, lacera- tions, skin slip, bed sores, color, etc.… anything that will give you a sense of direction when choosing your fluid and approach. Nowadays people expect more from a funeral home and it is our job to give families what they expect. Peo- ple judge us more now than ever before, mainly be- cause the media only reports on a small percentage of what funeral professionals actually do (but that’s an- other story). We are here to give that family everything we have in us to make sure that what they experience in our funeral homes is something positive, peaceful, and impactful towards the road to healthy healing. Make sure you are thorough and are doing the simple things such as plucking nose and ear hair, and cleaning the fingernails. These small things go a long way in the attention to detail you are showing towards both the decedent and their grieving family. Make sure you are massaging as you embalm and in- jecting areas that need further fluid. Don’t be that em- balmer that didn’t want to take the extra 15 minutes and thus potentially ruins that family’s opportunity or the credibility of your funeral home or company. I will also suggest that funeral arrangers are just as an important part in the embalming and cosmetic pro- cedures as is the actual embalmer. As an arranger you must ask the very specific questions about complexion, hair style, and anything else that is pertinent to doing everything as perfect as you can. Questions such as which way a part in someone’s hair went; a natural lip/nail color or something bold? These questions play a huge part in delivering, as I said in the beginning, the perfect “memory picture.” You should al- ready be having these types of conversations, but make sure you are notating these details and asking questions if you are given a picture so everything is absolutely perfect. As a passionate embalmer and funeral professional I will always pride myself on being thorough and taking the time to do my best. I will also stay open minded to other’s Zach Carnley, CFSP Written by Zach Carnley, CFSP Brady & Levesque Funeral Home takes Delivery of New Hearse Cypress Lawn Funeral Home & Memorial Park selects Inman as their Preferred Shipping Provider COLMA,CA— Cypress Lawn Funeral Home & Memorial Park, an experienced enterprise in the funeral home, cemetery, and cremation services industry, has an- nounced the selection of Inman Shipping Worldwide as their preferred shipping pro- vider. Cypress Lawn has a long rich history dating back to when California first began. Currently, Cypress Lawn includes a funer- al and cremation center as well as reception and flower shop facilities to offer complete services to the families of San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area communities. Robert Gordon, Jr., president and CEO, commented: “Because of our location and the population we serve, we do a large num- ber of domestic and international ship- ments.” We like the fact that the owner of the Inman Shipping Worldwide, Dave Mc- Comb, is a funeral director and understands the needs of Cypress Lawn cemetery, their funeral professionals and the families they serve.” “We are honored to work with Cypress Lawn and look forward to working together to help them better serve their client fami- lies,” said McComb. Utilizing Inman Shipping Worldwide for all their shipping needs allows Cypress Lawn associates to spend more time serving their families rather than spending time making shipping arrangements. For more information on Cypress Lawn, visit www.cypresslawn.com or call 650-550- 8808. Inman can be reached at 800-321- 0566 or by visiting www.shipinman.com . ST. ALBANS,VT— Jeffrey Levesque, president of Brady & Levesque Funeral Home, St. Albans, VT, took deliv- ery of a new 2006 Superior Crown Sovereign Hearse. The vehicle was purchased from Michael Parks of Parks Su- perior Sales in Somers, CT.