December 2021

Page A18 DECEMBER 2021 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Se c t i on A Continued from Page A2 www. vischerfuneralsupplies.com By Mark Bowser In 1905, Florence Butt founded the H. E. Butt (H-E-B) grocery stores in San Antonio, Texas. For decades they dominated the grocery store market in the Lone Star State. That was, until Walmart came to town. Sam Walton started Walmart in 1962 in Arkan- sas. A couple of decades later and Walmart domi- nated the market not only in Arkansas but also in Texas. As you can imagine, H-E-B probably didn’t have Sam Walton on their Christmas card list. They weren’t Walmart’s biggest fan. Well, maybe they weren’t a fan , but they certainly were an admirer . One day, Charles Butt, who was the grandson of the founder, called up Sam Walton and asked if he could come over and learn from Sam’s team. Sam said, “Sure. Come on over. I am not sure if I can help, but glad to help if I can.” When Charles and his leadership team arrived at Walmart, they saw Sam at the end of a long aisle talking to a lady. Charles and his team walked up the aisle to meet with Sam. When he saw them, Sam said, “Charles, I’ll be with you in a moment. I’m talking to this young woman.” Sam was show- ing the young woman an ironing board cover. Sam went on and helped her and then he turned to Charles and his team. Before anyone could speak, Sam said, “Charles do you know how many worn-out ironing board covers there are in this country? We’re going to sell a million this month!” Sam was a smart businessman because he believed in serving people. That lady had a need and Sam The Foundations of Success for Funeral Directors had the answer. She got the quality ironing board cover that she needed and Sam made another sale. A true win-win. As Zig Ziglar said, “You can have everything in life that you want if you just give enough oth- er people what they want.” I wonder if Charles and his team took it to heart? Just some food for thought. It Is All About Ironing Boards Mark Bowser is the Vice President at the Bright Corpora - tion which is one of the leading publishers of quality funeral stationary products in the world today. Mark’s grandfather bought the business in 1945 and the Bowser family is in its fourth generation of running this business. Bright Corp can be reached at www.BrightCorporation.com Mark Bowser is the author of several books including “The 3 Pillars of Success for Funeral Directors” and “Sales Success” with Zig Ziglar. He is a Professional Speaker and the host of the popular podcast “Let Me Tell You A Story with Mark Bowser” which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and other major platforms. He can be reached at mark@BrightCorporation.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 Columns online at Funeral Service Foundation 2021-22 Executive Committee Back row (L to R): Treasurer Eric Tanzberger, Chair-elect Lisa Baue, NFDA Liaison Christopher Robinson. Front row (L to R): 2021-22 Chair Allan Cole and Immediate Past Chair Anthony Guerra. Emeritus Trustees (L to R): Chris Trainor, Kelly Milberger, Anthony Guerra, and J. Mark Busch. 2021-22 Funeral Service Foundation Board of Trustees Top row (L to R): W. Ashley Cozine, Thomas Pontone, John Heald, NFDA Liaison Christopher Robinson, Matt Outcalt, David Falconer, and Tim Schramm. Middle row (L to R): Jenn Parvin, Mark Krause, Bob Arrington, Joan Billman, Jeff Smith, and Kim Medici Shelquist. Bottom row (L to R): Executive Director Lee Wiensch, CFRE, Treasurer Eric Tanzberger, Chair-elect Lisa Baue, 2021-22 Chair Allan Cole, and NFDA CEO Christine Pepper. and programs to strengthen funeral service and lift up grieving communities.” The Board of Trustees also elected Lisa Baue, for- mer president and CEO of Baue Funeral Homes in St. Charles, MO as chair-elect, and re-elected Eric Tanz- berger, senior vice president and CFO of Service Cor- poration International in Houston, as Treasurer. Christopher Robinson, vice president and general manager of Robinson Funeral Home in Easley, NC con- tinues his service as the NFDA liaison, an NFDA board- appointed role. Anthony Guerra, vice president of Guer- ra Gutierrez Mortuaries in Los Angeles, transitioned off the board after seven years of dedicated service having held the roles of grants committee chair, chair-elect and chair. During the coming year, he will continue his service on the executive committee as immediate past chair. Emeritus Trustees Kelly Milberger, senior vice president of national sales for Global Atlantic Financial Group, Batesville, IN con- cluded a three-year term of the Board of Trustees, and served on the grants committee. J. Mark Busch, former co-owner and funeral director at Busch Funeral and Cre- matory Services in Cleveland, OH concluded four years of board service, and served as the fund development com- mittee chair since 2020. Chris Trainor, president and CEO of Batesville in Batesville, IN concluded his second three-year term and served on the grants committee. Since 1945, the Funeral Service Foundation has served as the philanthropic voice of the funeral profession and has identified as the charitable arm of the National Funer- al Directors Association since 1997. Donors and volun- teer leaders’ profession-wide support the Foundation in its mission of investing in people and programs to strengthen funeral service and lift up grieving communities. Funeral Service Foundation Trustees In the late 1970’s, Cole attended classes offered by the National Foundation of Funeral Service (the name by which the Fu- neral Service Foundation was recognized from 1945 until 1997) and was first elected to the Foundation’s board in 2017. “I take this role very seriously, and will do my best to lead with in- tegrity, transparency, and respect for my colleagues on the Board of Trustees and within the bereave- ment sector,” said Cole. “I promise I will work hard to carry forward our mission of investing in the people SEND US YOUR NEWS! PO Box 5159 Youngstown, Oh 44514 1-800-321-7479 info@nomispublications.com