Page A22 september 2023 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Section A Starting as low as $2999 Standard 8 mil Body Bag Starting at $9.95 ea. 1~800~515~0400 www.acsupplies.com Body Lift Mortuary Stretcher Starting as low as $1095 Great Prices & High Quality Cot Covers & Pouches Church Trucks Starting as low as $425 Starting as low as $1395 Hydraulic Embalming Table Starting as low as $199 Lowering Device Straps 1~800~515~0400 www.acsupplies.com Cemetery Tents Roller Bars Great Prices & High Quality Lowering Device Stand & Drape Cemetery Grass Available in Hy-luster and Polyester $19.95 Chair Covers Collapsible Starting at $445 Includes Drape, Stand, bags Low Prices! BROOKFIELD,WI— The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) is delighted to announce the funeral businesses that earned a 2023 Pursuit of Excellence Award. For more than 40 years, NFDA has presented this award to firms that have demonstrated a commitment to raising the bar on funeral service excellence by adhering to strict ethical and professional standards and providing outstanding service to families and communities. The 2023 Pursuit of Excellence Award honorees will be formally recognized by the association at the AllStar Recognition Ceremony, taking place on Monday, September 11 at 4 p.m. during the NFDA International Convention and Expo in Las Vegas, NV. To earn a NFDA Pursuit of Excellence Award, a funeral home must demonstrate proficiency in key areas of funeral service, including compliance with state and federal regulations; staff participation in ongoing education and professional development; offering outstanding programs and resources to bereaved families; maintaining an active level of involvement in the community; active participation in and service to the funeral service profession; and promoting funeral home services through a variety of marketing, advertising and public relations programs. Participants are also required to adhere to a Pledge of Ethical Practices. “This year’s Pursuit of Excellence honorees are a truly exceptional group. Not only are they serving grieving families with dignity and compassion, but they are finding meaningful ways to support and give back to the community,” said NFDA Director of Public Relations Jessica Koth, who manages the Pursuit of Excellence Award program. “The Pursuit of Excellence Work Group was very impressed by this year’s entries and enjoyed reviewing each and every one. The Work Group applauds these firms for their hard work and dedication to providing a superior level of service to families and communities. We are proud to have them as part of our NFDA family.” Information about the NFDA Pursuit of Excellence program can be found by visiting www.nfda.org/pursuitofexcellence. Registration and application materials for 2024 will be available in mid-September 2024. Best of the Best Award Recipients All Pursuit of Excellence applicants submitted an essay describing the development and execution of a program or service that had a positive impact on the families they serve or their community, qualifying them for the Best of the Best Award, which recognizes the most novel and innovative programs and services in the profession. Essays are judged on the uniqueness of the idea on a national and international level, quality of implementation, benefit to those served, benefit to the funeral home and how easily the idea could be replicated or modified by another funeral home. After a thorough review, the Pursuit of Excellence Task Force selected nine funeral homes to receive the Best of the Best Award: • Arlington Memorial Chapels and Crematory, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines; • Arrington Funeral Directors & Crematory, Jackson, TN; • David C. Brown Funeral Home, Belleville, MI; • Lakeside Memorial Funeral Home, Inc., Hamburg, NY; • Macz Funeral Home, Centralia, IL; • Martin Funeral, Cremation & Tribute Services, Mt. Morris, MI; • Morris-Baker Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Johnson City, TN; • Spicer-Mullikin Funeral Homes & Crematory, New Castle, DE; • Waitt Funeral Home and Cremation Service, Morganville, NJ As they reviewed the essays to select the Best of the Best honorees, the Pursuit of Excellence Task Force noted a number of programs and services that were very well-executed and yielded positive results for the community served by the funeral home. The Task Force recognized these funeral homes with a Certificate of Honorable Mention: • A Sacred Choice, Houston, TX; • A.J. Desmond & Sons Funeral Directors, Troy, MI; NFDA Celebrates Members for Excellence in Service to Families and Communities • Bradbury Memorial Center, Lake Havasu City, AZ; • Brandon G. Thompson Funeral Home, Hammond, LA; • Capillas Señoriales Casa de Homenajes, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico; • Duksa Family Funeral Homes at Newington Memorial, Newington, CT; • J. Garcia Lopez Casa Prim, Mexico City, Mexico; • Jefferson Memorial Cemetery, Funeral Home, Crematory & Arboretum, Pittsburgh, PA; • Jennings-Calvey Funeral and Cremation Services, Inc., Clarks Summit, PA; • Life Celebrations Group – Radney Funeral Home, Alexander City, AL; • Lord and Stephens Funeral Homes, Athens, GA; • Memorial Parque Das Cerejeiras, São Paulo, Brazil; • Mercer-Adams Funeral Service, Bethany, OK; • Morada da Paz, Parnamirim, RN, Brazil; • Myers Mortuary, Ogden, UT; • Nie Family Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Inc– Carpenter Chapel, Ann Arbor, MI; • Phaneuf Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Manchester, NH; • Reeves & Baskerville Funeral Homes and Crematory, Coal City, IL; • Reynolds Jonkhoff Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Traverse City, MI; • Robinson Funeral Home & Crematory-Downtown, Easley, SC; • Roller Funeral Homes (Roller-Chenal Funeral Home), Little Rock, AR; • Smith Family Funeral Homes, North Little Rock, AR; • Soxman Funeral Homes, Ltd, Pittsburgh, PA; • Sproles Family Funeral Home, New Castle, IN; • Tetrick Funeral Services, Johnston City, TN; • Vila Memorial - Centro de Velório São José, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil; • Watson Thomas Funeral Home and Crematory, Galesburg, IL NFDA Hall of Excellence Inductees NFDA-member funeral homes are inducted into the Hall of Excellence upon receiving their 10th Pursuit of Excellence Award. In recognition of their consistent display of professional and ethical excellence, seven funeral homes have been inducted into the NFDA Hall of Excellence in 2023: • Copeland Funeral Service, Beaufort, SC; • Falco, Caruso & Leonard Funeral Home, Pennsauken, NJ; • Mercer-Adams Funeral Service, Bethany, OK; • Morgan & Nay Funeral Centre, Madison, IN; • Oliverie Funeral Homes, Manchester, NJ; • Thomas McAfee Funeral Home – Southeast, Simpsonville, SC; • Watkins Brothers Funeral Homes, Owosso, MI Several funeral homes have achieved milestones in their participation in the Pursuit of Excellence Award program in 2023. NFDA salutes the following funeral homes for their ongoing commitment to excellence: • 15th Pursuit of Excellence Award: Pedersen Funeral & Cremation, Morris, MN; • 20th Pursuit of Excellence Award: Memorial Funeral Home, Edinburg, TX; Milward Funeral Directors, Lexington, KY; and Wm. Sullivan and Son Funeral Home, Royal Oak, MI; • 25th Pursuit of Excellence Award: Reynolds Jonkhoff Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Traverse City, MI; • 35th Pursuit of Excellence Award: Martin Funeral, Cremation & Tribute Services, Mt. Morris, MI; • 40th Pursuit of Excellence Award: A.J. Desmond & Sons Funeral Directors, Troy, MI NFDA is the world’s leading and largest funeral service association, serving more than 20,000 individual members who represent nearly 11,000 funeral homes in the United States and 49 countries around the world. NFDA is the trusted leader, beacon for ethics and the strongest advocate for the profession. NFDA is headquartered in Brookfield, WI and has an office in Washington, DC. For more information, visit www.nfda.org. 2023 NFDA International Convention & Expo Pursuit of Excellence Awards
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