November 2019

Page B4 NOVEMBER 2019 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on B DESIGN l PRODUCTS l VENTILATION 7 2 0 . 5 8 3 . 1 8 8 6 l V I S I T OU R I D E A G A L L E RY l D U N C A N S T UA R T TOD D . COM CFSA 2019 FALL CONFERENCE ANDTRADE SHOW Casket and Funeral Supply Association of America 49-Y Sherwood Terrace, Lake Bluff, IL 60044 • P 847-295-6630 • F 847-295-6647 • E info@cfsaa.org • W www.cfsaa.org MARKYOUR CALENDAR November 11-12, 2019 • JW Marriott • Indianapolis, Indiana The CFSA Fall Conference &Trade Show is the premier annual event for manufacturers, distributors, and service providers in the casket and funeral supply industry. Join us to network with decision makers, evaluate new product offerings, and gain industry insight. OUR FALL CONFERENCE IS RETURNINGTO INDIANAPOLIS Homesteaders Names New Account Executive and Regional Director WEST DES MOINES,IA— Homesteaders Life Company vice president of field sales Dan Lodermeier is pleased to announced that Doug Farrell has joined Homesteaders’ industry-leading team of account executives and Terri Bordenkircher has been named regional director. Farrell has worked in the life insurance industry for the majority of his career, and has spent the last five years serv- ing funeral homes, agents and policy owners as a member of the Homesteaders customer service team. Terri, who has worked the last six years serving as an account executive, will lead the east region. “Doug’s experience working directly with funeral homes in our customer service de- partment will make him a great addition to the account executive team at Homestead- ers,” said Lodermeier. “He has a passion for providing excellent service and a drive to help our funeral home customers succeed.” Farrell is looking forward to continuing his career at Homesteaders and working directly with funeral homes. “I am excited to have the opportunity to de- velop strong working relationships with my customers and assist them in customizing success plans that match their strengths.” Farrell will work out of the home office serving customers in Alabama, Indiana, Ken- tucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. “Terri has extensive experience in managing successful pre-need programs, including hir- ing, training and developing pre-need sales counselors,” Lodermeier explained. “These experiences, along with her time as a Senior Account Executive with Homesteaders, will certainly benefit the team in her region and their funeral home customers.” Bordenkircher began her career with Homesteaders in 2012 as a senior account executive serving customers in Kentucky and Ohio. In her new role, she will help maintain the exceptional level of customer service fu- neral homes have come to expect from their Homesteaders representatives. “I enjoy working for a company that holds a stellar reputation in the pre-need insur- ance profession. Whether it’s developing in- novative programs or working with funeral home clients to develop strategies for success, Homesteaders has something for everyone,” Bordenkircher expressed. “I am looking for- ward to working with a proven team and building relationships with customers, pros- pects and our successful marketing partners.” Bordenkircher is a licensed funeral direc- tor and certified pre-need consultant. She has been consistently recognized as a positive leader. She earned the territory development Award in 2016, was named Account Execu- tive of the Month in April 2018 and was also selected to be part of Homesteaders’ inaugu- ral Emerging Leaders class. Homesteaders Named Among Top 15 Workplaces in Iowa Homesteaders been named among the top 15 workplaces in Iowa. This is the fifth con- secutive year Homesteaders has been named a Top Iowa Workplace. “We truly have something special here at Homesteaders,” said Steve Shaffer, Home- steaders president and CEO. “I am honored to work in a place where people care about the work we do and care about each other. Year after year, this award is driven by Home- steaders team members who are invested in the long-term success of our company and our commitment to our policy holders and funeral home partners.” The Top Iowa Workplace award recogniz- es companies that exhibit outstanding em- ployee satisfaction and organizational health. Honorees are chosen based on the results of an employee feedback survey conducted by The Des Moines Register in conjunction with Energage, LLC. More than 87 percent of Homesteaders employees participated, re- porting high satisfaction in the areas of align- ment, communication, appreciation and work/life balance. “We are thrilled to be named a Top Iowa Workplace for the fifth year in a row,” said Homesteaders executive vice president of hu- man resources Judy Ralston-Hansen. “This year, we are also excited to be in the top 15 workplaces for midsize companies. Our suc- cess in this area is all thanks to our company leadership and talented employees who are committed to creating a positive and reward- ing environment on a daily basis.” Homesteaders’ employs 185 employees at its home office in West Des Moines and a team of 31 sales staff in the field. In addi- tion to competitive compensation and ben- efits, the company offers professional de- velopment opportunities, a success-sharing program, an incentive award program and commitments to employee health and com- munity outreach. Homesteaders Life Company, a mutual company owned by its policy holders, is a national leader providing products and ser- vices to promote and support the funding of advance funeral planning and end-of-life ex- penses. To learn more about Homesteaders and theTop IowaWorkplace designation, visit www.homesteaderslife.com/careers . Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions Sells Canadian Facility to Victoriaville PITTSBURGH,PA— Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions, a division of Matthews Memorialization, has announced it has sold its Alliance St. Laurent (ASL) casket manufacturing facility, located in New Brunswick, Canada, to Victoriaville & Co., Inc. Victoriaville will continue to operate the facility and will provide caskets to Matthews Aurora under a long- term supply agreement. This transaction will create no change in product availability or pricing for any products Matthews Aurora supplies to its funeral home customers. Matthews Au- rora will continue to sell to its distributor customer’s products made at its manufacturing facilities. Distributors can continue to buy ASL products directly from ASL/Victoriaville. “We thank the Alliance St. Laurent employees for their ser- vice toMatthews Aurora, and we look forward to continuing to supply ASL products to our funeral home customers through our supply arrangement with Victoriaville. This divestiture rep- resents a manufacturing consolidation as part of our integration of the Aurora Casket Company. We continue to invest to de- liver world class manufacturing capabilities and superior prod- uct quality at our core casket manufacturing plants.” said Steve Gackenbach, group president, Matthews Memorialization. “Victoriaville is excited to continue the tradition of produc- ing quality and innovative products at Alliance St. Laurent,” said AlainDumont, president of Victoriaville &Co. “We are confident that ASL is a great fit for us, and we look forward to growing the business and meeting the ever-changing needs of today’s funeral professionals.” Matthews Aurora™ Funeral Solutions is a division of Mat- thews International. Matthews Aurora is committed to helping families move fromgrieving to remembrance by providing prod- ucts of superior craftsmanship and solutions that meet the needs of every family who wish to honor and remember their loved one. As a leading provider to the funeral home industry, they offer their customers an extensive variety of high-quality wood, metal and cremation caskets, urns, keepsakes, memorial jewel- ry, stationery and other programs, products and solutions. The Matthews Aurora™ Funeral Solutions team is focused on provid- ing their funeral home customers with outstanding service and support, helping funeral homes better serve the families in their communities. For more information, call 1-800-457-1111. Founded in 1907 and committed exclusively to the funer- al industry since 1948, Victoriaville & Co is a fourth-gen- eration family business that employs hundreds of people in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Vic- toriaville & Co has become the third-largest manufacturer of hardwood caskets in North America and one of the most im- portant distributors of funeral products. L i k e Us On Facebook!