Page A4 October 2022 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Se c t i on A By Nancy Weil We are at the time of year when we look back at the current year and determine what steps, if any, need to be taken to end the year hitting your annual goals. Is there a need for course correction? Are you using your staff members efficiently and allowing them to share their areas of genius with your firm? Have you done everything you could for each of your customers or do you still want to offer one more touch point before the year is over? There is still time to support your local veterans on Veterans Day by sponsoring or attending an event or hosting a “thank you” meal at your funeral home or cemetery. November and December are great months to hold a community remembrance service. Don’t forget that the seasonal merchandise starts being put out in stores before Halloween and those who are grieving the loss of a loved one begin to struggle with the upcoming holidays by early November. Perhaps you mail out “Thinking of You at the Holidays” cards to the families you have served. By October you may also be thinking about what you can do for your staff for the holidays. Will you be holding a holiday gathering? Giving out gifts or bonuses? How are you going to handle the scheduling for coverage over the holiday season. Yes, the final quarter of the year can be a busy time of review and wrap-up. However, this is also the time of year when planning begins for next year. What areas of improvement can you build upon? What new goals can you set? How do Random Musings you want to end the year differently than you started it? All of this is common business practice for a funeral home or cemetery, but it also applies to the associations you belong to. Whether it is NFDA, ICCFA, CANA, your state association or one like I work for, the Order of the Golden Rule, the association’s staff are going through the same process. They are busy assessing the member benefits they offer you in order to determine if they are the best that they can be, if they meet your needs or if they are even needed any more. They are lining up speakers for next year’s conference and on-line webinars. Beyond the daily tasks, budgets are being created, goals are being set and the current year’s progress is being charted. Associations are welcoming new members and sadly saying good-bye to members who leave. Those who join are seeking a like-minded community where they can network, grow professionally and utilize programs and cost-savings to help their business. Those who leave may be due to budget constraints, retirement or the selling of their funeral home. I promise you that all association staffs are constantly looking at where funeral service is heading in the years ahead and how they can best be prepared to help you be prepared for these changes. Serving as Member Resources Director at the International Order of the Golden Rule, Nancy Weil brings her years of experience working in the funeral industry to funeral directors across the globe. Her professional experience includes serving as Director of Grief Support and Community Outreach at Veterans Funeral Care in Clearwater, FL and at eleven cemeteries in Western New York. Nancy travels throughout the country offering presentations on how to reduce stress, combat compassion fatigue and offer support for those who are grieving through her company, The Laugh Academy. With certifications as a Grief Services Provider and Grief ManagementSpecialist, FuneralCelebrant, Soul InjuryAmbassador and Laughter Leader, Nancy is uniquely qualified to bring new perspectives into how to best meet the needs of the families you serve. For more information on how Nancy can help you and your company grow, visit her website: www.TheLaughAcademy.com or email Nancy@TheLaughAcademy.com. F U N E R A L H O M E & C E M E T E R Y N E W S w w w . N o m i s P u b l i c a t i o n s . c o m Monthly Columnsonline at So, when you see your association dues invoice hit your inbox or arrive in your mailbox, be aware that this investment in your association is truly an investment in your funeral home or cemetery, in your staff and in your community. That is how I see it and I hope you feel the same way too. How Do You Due(s)? SHROUDS Green Burial Cremation www.kinkaraco.com (415) 874-9698 100% American Made Burial Cradle CasketsSM Bay Memorials Zerbel’s Proportionally sized for Miscarried, Stillborn, & Newborn Babies Available in 10”, 20”, 30” allowing you to tastefully care for even the smallest baby with all the compassion every parent desires for as low as $48.00 Appropriate For Viewing Available in 10”, 20”, 30” Flannel Lined Unisex Juvenile Pattern White Corrugated Cardboard Beginning at $20.00 321 S. 15th St. • Escanaba, MI 49829 • 906-786-2609 • Fax 906-786-2692 • www.baymemorialsbabycaskets.com Infant Cremation Containers Kerri Balliet joins The Tribute Companies Phony Funeral Home Director Sentenced to Nearly 12 Years in Prison HARTLAND,WI— Kerri Balliet has spent her career in operations and business management and in July 2022 joined The Tribute Companies team as the office manager at the Pinelawn Memorial Park. In this position Balliet will is responsible for hiring, training and management of the office staff. In this position she will develop and implement programs to generate positive public relations throughout the community such as Memorial Day Program and activities, remembrance programs, clergy receptions and educational seminars. Kerri will also assist sales staff and coordinate with area funeral directors, monument dealers and other vendors servicing the cemetery. Kerri has spent the past 40 years working for brands such as Prevention, Taste of Home, Reader’s Digest and Family Handyman as well as owning her own coaching and consulting business. Her experience includes optimizing operational efficiencies, process re-engineering, leadership coaching and improving employee engagement. Kerri has been having a love affair with the word “why” for most of her career. Figuring out the answers to all of those whys has enabled her to create change and make a positive impact ment needs for over 40 years and helps them develop preplanning programs for the communities they serve. Within the cemetery division, the company owns four prominent cemeteries throughout Wisconsin: Pinelawn Memorial Park in Milwaukee, Restlawn Memorial Park in Wausau, Fort Howard Memorial Park in Green Bay and The Gardens of StoneBank in Hartland. Tribute’s affiliate divisions include Tribute Design, a full service architectural, design, construction and planning firm and Tribute Precast, manufacturer of cemetery products including mausoleum crypts, columbarium niches, lawn crypts and burial vaults. Pinelawn Memorial Park is located on the corner of Highway 100 (Mayfair Road) and Capitol Drive. Pinelawn offers a full range of memorialization options and focuses on personalization while providing caring, compassionate service and remaining family owned and operated. Their website is www.pinelawn.net The Tribute Companies is located at 352 Cottonwood Avenue in Hartland, WI. For further information visit www.tributeinc.com or contact Daiga Ancane directly at daigaa@tributeinc.com. Kerri Balliet for the companies she has worked with. Kerri believes that investing time to coach and mentor people creates sustainable change and fosters a culture of innovation and accountability. The Tribute Companies has focused on assisting cemeteries and funeral homes with their developTOLEDO,OH— Shawnte Hardin, a minister who was found guilty of running an illicit funeral home business across Ohio, was sentenced to 11 years, 10 months in prison August 26, 2022. “Real pastors pray at funerals, not prey on grieving families,” Dave Yost, Ohio Attorney General, said. “The defendant’s lies, fraud and complex scheme – including literally driving bodies across the state – are thankfully ended by today’s sentence.” On August 5, Hardin was found guilty in Lucas County Common Pleas Court on 31 charges, including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, tampering with records, telecommunications fraud, operating an unlicensed funeral home, possessing criminal tools, abuse of a corpse, representation of a funeral director while unlicensed, passing bad checks, theft and failure to file taxes. He operated several businesses in Lucas, Cuyahoga, Summit and Franklin counties under various names: Hussain Funeral Directors, Celebration of Life Memorial Chapels, Hardin Funeral Home, Inc., American Mortuary Services and Transportation, and Shawnte Davon Hardin Services, LLC. The case was prosecuted by the Special Prosecutions Section of the Attorney General’s Office and was investigated by the AG’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Special Prosecutions Section, and the Ohio Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors.
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