bulletin, 2009, june

of the National Concrete Burial Vault Association

B U L L E T I NTHE

June 2009

Are “Green” BurialsTruly Green?

The convincing case for traditional funerals

& eco-friendly concrete burial vaults

Also in this issue: Why You Should Care About Quality Concrete

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June 2009 NCBVA BULLETIN 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A Message fromthe President ............................... 4Anti-Trust & Your CompetitorsBy Stephen Hatfield

“Green” Burials& “Green” Cemeteries .................. 6Are They a Threat to How We TreatThe Living & The Deceased?By Sylvia HeidemannNCBVA Staff Writer

A Team That Works .................... 14Successful PartnershipFor Carolina-DoricA Manufacturer’s Profile

Why You Should CareAbout Quality Concrete ............. 16And How to Make Every Batch CorrectlyBy David Brugger, P.E.NCBVA Plant Certification Representative

Membership Application ............ 21

NCBVA Certified Plants ............. 22

Industry News ’N Notes ............. 24

Sponsor Spotlight ...................... 26Edgmont Metallic Pigment Co., Inc.

National Concrete Burial Vault Association, Inc.

P.O. Box 917525Longwood, Florida 32791

http://www.ncbva.org(888) 88-NCBVA • Fax: (407) 774-6751

PresidentStephen Hatfield

Hicks Industries, Inc.Mulberry, FL

President-Elect Hubert McQuestion

Lake Shore Burial Vault Co.Brookfield, WI

Secretary/TreasurerWendy Bott BrownMark H. Bott Co.

Ogden, UT

Immediate Past PresidentTodd Swihart

Saginaw Wilbert Vault Corp.Saginaw, MI

Directors

Michael CrummittCrummitt & Son Vault Co.

Martins Ferry, OH

Linda Darby-SempsrottTrigard Vaults / Greenwood Plastics

Danville, IL

Doug EvansCarolina Doric, Inc.

Florence, SC

Steve HandleyHandley Precast Systems, Inc.

Glendale, AZ

Dave LongNortheastern Eagle, Inc.

Joliet, IL

Tony ColsonWilbert Funeral Services, Inc.

Forest Park, IL

Jerry RussellSouthern Ohio Vault Co.

Portsmouth, OH

Dennis SchultzDoric Vault of Western N.Y., Inc.

Buffalo, NY

Steve VincentVincent & Son, Inc.

Galena, IL

Executive DirectorThomas A. Monahan, CAE

Certified Association Management Co.Longwood, FL

Legal CounselJ. Scott Calkins, Esq.

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American Cemetery Supplies, Inc. ...........7Axis Corporation .....................................25CemenTech ............................................26Crescent Bronze Powder Co. ....................4D & C Supply Co., Inc. ..............................4Doric, Inc. ................................................17Edgmont Metallic Pigment Co., Inc.. .......20Holland Supply, Inc. ................................11Long Machine Co. ...................................19Matthews Int’l., Cremation Div. .................2RoMix Chemical & Brush, Inc. ................13Rostine Manufacturing & Supply ............17Trigard Vaults ............................................5


It seems like I was just writing about spring springing and now all of a sudden the unofficial start of summer (Memorial Day) has smacked me in the face. My Mom always told me the older you get, the faster the days go. I didn’t realize she meant time traveled at the speed of light.

Since my last column, your Board and staff have worked quickly on several chal-lenging fronts to benefit our industry and members.

Some of you may not be aware, but a large funeral home conglomerate is working on having a single vendor handle its burial vault needs within certain regions or states. Because of that, some of our members are

working with their surrounding business associates in an effort to make a deal to accommodate the conglomerate’s needs. Please take note: Our distinguished attorney, J. Scott Calkins, has issued an opinion that those doing this could be on the verge

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of violating anti-trust laws. I seriously urge all our members to seek legal advice from a competent law firm that specializes in anti-trust issues before making any commitment with fellow vault dealers/manufacturers regarding pricing.

We have, again, addressed certain advertising claims of Goria Corporation with Mr. Pierre Goria, President, both with correspondence and personal conversations among Mr. Goria, NCBVA Director Steve Vincent and NCBVA Plant Certifica-tion Representative Dave Brugger. I am confident amicable solutions have been obtained and will be adhered to.

I ask all our members never to make disparaging remarks about another type of burial vault, but to only present the posi-tive side of our industry together, stressing the benefits and qualities of concrete as compared to other materials. Director Vincent made a very succinct comment during a recent board conference call. He said (and I’m paraphrasing) When the public sees or hears the term “burial vault,” in their minds the term encompasses all burial vault businesses, regardless of the composite materials used to make them. Therefore, any nega-tivity hurts the industry as a whole––whether manufacturers of concrete, plastic or metal burial vaults.

Having brought Mr. Vincent’s comments to your attention only reinforces my belief––and I know my comments may be considered heresy––that it might be time for our organization to study the viability of opening the membership to all burial vault manufacturers and not just concrete burial vault manufac-turers, but I’ll address that at a later time.

A Message from the PresidentStephen Hatfield

Anti-Trust& Your Competitors


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Google “green” buri-als and you’ll come up with more than 1,430,000 possible ref-erences. Do the same

with “green” cemeteries and the num-ber soars to more than 3,780,000. Now try “concrete burial vaults.” The yield is a modest 37,300! (NCBVA, by the way, shows up at the top of the list; that’s a good thing.)

Consider these Internet statistics, do just a little research, and you’ll soon come to the conclusion that there is a growing movement against traditional funerals and burials and everything connected with them.

There are two individuals who are highly visible in promoting this trend. One is Joe Sehee, Founder and Ex-ecutive Director of the recently formed Green Burial Council, and the other is Lisa Carlson, consumer activist.

Sehee, Carlson and others are in-clined to categorically lump cemeteries together as being flat and uninteresting, with few or no trees. Obvi-ously, beautiful park-like cemeteries have been disregarded, such as Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, MA (the oldest park-concept cemetery in the U.S., established in 1831; now a National Historic Landmark), Forest Hills in Madison, WI and Spring Grove in Cincinnati, OH. Spring Grove was patterned after the world-renowned Pere Lachaise in Paris, France. These green spaces, with

In case you haven’t noticed, some new buzzwords are prevalent in the mainstream media––words such as ecofriendly, ecoconscious, envirofriendly, and green anything. Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon to save Planet Earth from the harbingers of civilization: air pollution, plastic bags, styrofoam disposable food containers (the list goes on), and, oh yes, metal and wood caskets and concrete burial vaults. In the name of the environment, concrete burial vaults are getting labeled incorrectly as environmentally unfriendly and therefore unnecessary products. Burial vault manufacturers should educate themselves on the “green” trend as it affects the industry, and then take steps on a collective and individual basis to do something to positively to promote the concrete burial vault––a truly green product.

“Green” Burials & “Green” Cemeteries––

beautiful monuments and sculptures, are a public resource and attract visi-tors as well as those who are paying their respects to family members.

Through the Green Burial Coun-cil, Joe Sehee has been methodically targeting funeral directors and en-couraging them to offer the Council’s Green Burial Package and earn the Council’s seal of approval. The Coun-cil has also been working with trade and professional associations, such as the NFDA, the ICCFA and the Order of the Golden Rule to offer seminars, webinars, workshops and confer-ences on “environmentally sus-tainable practices and products.”

Two Important Facts––1. Concrete is Enviro-FriendlyDave Brugger, NCBVA’s Plant Certi-fication Representative, was consulted about the properties of concrete. He verifies that concrete is an environ-mentally friendly material.

“The concrete used to make burial vaults,” Brugger says, “is usually composed of 40 percent gravel, 36 percent sand, 18 per-cent cement and six percent water. Cement is made from mineral elements and compounds that occur naturally in the earth, such as calcium, silica (sand), alumina and iron.” He continues, “Further-more, concrete does not disintegrate into environmentally harmful

By Sylvia HeidemannNCBVA Staff Writer

Are They a Threat To How We Treat the Living & the Deceased?

Green, continued on page 8


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compounds when buried in the ground. Not only does it resist at-tack from mild acidity and alkalinity, it is also resistant to sulfates, nitrogen and most other common subsoil chemicals.”

2. Concrete Offers Protection & SafetyTom Monahan, CAE, Executive Director of the NCBVA, has for some time been alerting members to the green burial movement. “In addition to the physical protection of the deceased loved one, which is the main reason for the concrete burial vault, there is no better protection for the environment than a lined, properly sealed, concrete burial vault,” he states. Citing the facts given by Dave Brug-ger, Monahan emphasizes: “You can’t get a more environmentally friendly material than concrete. The ingredients for a burial vault (metal, sand, gravel, water) all come from the earth.”

Monahan continues, “The integ-rity of the burial vault is also a safety feature for the living. It prevents the collapse of earth around the burial site. Even in park-concept cemeter-ies, some heavy equipment is used for maintenance of the grounds and for digging new graves. Such equipment could feasibly cause ruts and holes, but the burial vault serves as a support for the ground above it and prevents this kind of damage and safety hazard.”

A threat to the traditional funeral industry now, according to Monahan, is the inroad into market share that the green burial and green cemetery movement is bringing about. Its proponents say the motivation is not money but concern for the environment and a kinder, more personal way of dealing with the death of loved ones. It’s a strong plea to emotions. “If members of our industry wait too long to get proactive about the protective and safety features of their products, they will lose a tremendous amount of market share. We must do exactly as the Joe Sehees of this world are doing, and that is work directly on the local level with funeral home directors and consumers, telling the important protective and environmentally friendly features of quality-manufactured, concrete burial vaults,” he states.

Will We Soon HaveA Lost Generation?A well-known NCBVA member and current Board member who is concerned about green burials and green cemeteries is Linda Darby Sempsrott. As CEO of Trigard (Danville, IL) Ms. Sempsrott has a significant amount of funeral industry experience behind her: She is responsible for the management and operation of burial vault manufacturing companies, funeral homes, cemeteries, crematories and cremation gardens. When she heard Joe Sehee speak at a NFDA Professional Women’s Conference, Ms. Sempsrott took advantage of challenging his information on the spot. She is concerned, however, that other concrete burial vault manufacturers may not be vocal enough about traditional funerals and concrete burial vaults.

“I am amazed at how easily led some members of our industry are

and why they are not concerned about the green burial and green cemetery movement,” Ms. Sempsrott says. “There are certainly inconsistencies that are being put out in the media. A lined, sealed concrete burial vault does not release any harmful chemi-cals into the environment.”

“Also,” she continues, “I’ve heard the rationale that refrigeration and dry ice can take the place of embalm-ing. What’s dry ice? It’s solid carbon dioxide. Not exactly an environmen-tally friendly option.”*

Ms. Sempsrott also takes excep-tion to negative comments about cemeteries. “Where does our history lie?” she asks. “It lies in cemeteries around the world. I’m concerned that with the green cemetery concept, we’re going to have a lost generation. There will be nothing to memorialize who people are and when they were on this earth.”

What About Disease?Does the Germ Die with the Host?Without the protection of a sealed concrete burial vault and casket, Ms. Sempsrott is concerned there is the possibility in some areas that the deceased may be dug up by predatory animals. She also raises the question about exposure to possible disease to individuals who come in contact with unembalmed bodies (such as body handlers, funeral home personnel, mourners and other personnel who may be in or near body storage areas). This is not an ungrounded, irrational fear. Thanks go to Debbie Dodge of the Cambridge, MA-based Dodge Company, which has been a respected name in embalming chemicals since 1893, for providing three published articles (see references on page 12) that substantiate that there is no scientific evidence for the “germ dies with the host” theory, and that embalming, because of the disinfectant nature of the chemicals used, has a public health value. You will note that these articles date as far back as 1968, but the time element is irrelevant. The natural laws of decomposition, infectious diseases and toxicology have not changed since then.

The final report of the literature search of Index Medicus for the years 1963, 1964, 1965 and part of 1966, sponsored by the Embalming Chemical Manufacturers Association (ECMA), is quite definitive. The guidelines for the search were to avoid literature published by an embalming chemical manufacturer, a college of embalming or any related interest. The search focused on literature published in the fields of medicine, pathology, biology and related sciences. A total of 265 references was selected. In addition, 88 book references were selected from the 1966 Subject Guide to Books in Print, published by R.R. Bowker. The two lists were submitted to

Linda Darby-Sempsrott

Tom Monahan, CAE

Green, continued from page 6


*[Editor’s note: According to the Wikipedia, dry ice is toxic in high concen-trations. In addition, it can cause severe skin damage. It sublimates into large quantities of carbon dioxide gas, which could displace oxygen-containing air and pose a danger of asphyxiation. Wikipedia cautions that dry ice should only be exposed to open air in a well-ventilated environment.]


an ECMA committee to select the articles to be photocopied at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, MD. While not all the articles were photocopied nor all the books purchased, the collec-tive evidence is substantial. One reference noted that staphylococci and B. anthracis linger on after death of the host. Another reference determined the life span of many organisms in dead, untreated tissue, and stated that tetanus lives 234 days and typhus 90 days. Tubercu-losis bacilli live on in a dead host, as does syphilis. A paper by Erich Hoffman (Ref. 23 in the search) states: “. . . the dangerous teaching that syphilis cannot be transmitted from cadavers to autopsy work-ers is refuted. Among 38 previous case histories, such transmission was proved in 20 and was probable in 14.” The final report of the literature search concluded that “. . . infectious organisms can be spread by physical contact or may be airborne. Laboratory studies indicate that compounds such as aldehydes, phenols, alcohols, etc., are effective disinfectants and preservatives.”

Questionable Info on WebsitesIt has long been said that, in most people’s perceptions, if something is published, it must be true. That can now be said for information published on Internet sites. Unfortunately, some Internet viewers may not be as discerning as they should be. Currently, traditional cemeteries and the traditional funeral industry are not getting good press in any media. Some half-truths and misleading information are published on websites. Here is just a sampling:

“. . . It is estimated that the more than 22,500 cemeteries across the United States bury 827,060 gallons of embalming fluid every year. . . . These [chemicals and additives] substances eventually find their way into the soil where they can contaminate local water supplies. . . .”

Or: “. . . .Death these days is bad news for the environment. Although you can’t stop the steady march of time, you can ensure that your passing does not take such a toll on the earth by informing your loved ones to provide you with a green burial. . . .”

Or, “. . . .Most individuals are now buried according to the customs of the Funeral industry, with rituals dictated more by the pocketbook than personal customs. . . .”

Or, “A green burial reduces environmental impact and conserva-tion easements preserve our open spaces. . . .”

And finally, here is information presented on the Glendale Nature Preserve website: “Each year, 22,500 cemeteries across the United States bury approximately––embalming fluid: 827,060 gallons, which includes formaldehyde; caskets: 90,272 tons of steel; caskets: 2,700 tons of copper and bronze; caskets: 30-plus million board feet of hardwoods; vaults: 1,636,000 tons of reinforced concrete; and vaults: 14,000 tons of steel.” The following attribution is provided for those statistics: “Compiled from statistics by Casket and Funeral Association of America, Cremation Association of North America, Doric Inc., The Rainforest Action Network, and Mary Woodsen, Pre-Posthumous Society.”

Speak Up for Concrete! What Can You Do?There is so much information and plenty of mis-information out there regarding green burials, home burials, and green cemeteries that it would be impossible to cover everything completely in this issue of The Bulletin. Rather, it is up to you, members of the NCBVA, to become highly informed about this trend. Websites of “traditional” deathcare associations that are members of the Funeral and Memo-rialization Council (FAMIC) are provided for your convenience. Be aware of the various messages each is promoting. Also provided are web addresses of some of the organizations whose representatives are speaking negatively about all aspects of the funeral industry.

How can you help preserve the way we honor our dead and pro-tect your industry? Here are some things you could consider doing

Funeral & Memorialization Council (FAMIC)(NCBVA is a member of this group)

Casket & Funeral Supply Association of America Inc.www.cfsaa.org

Cremation Association of North America, Inc.www.cremationassociation.org

Funeral Service Foundationwww.funeralservicefoundation.org

International Cemetery & Funeral Association, Inc.www.iccfa.com

International Order of the Golden Rule, Inc.www.ogr.org

Monument Builders of North Americawww.monumentbuilders.org

National Concrete Burial Vault Associationwww.ncbva.org

National Funeral Directors Association, Inc.www.NFDA.org

National Funeral Directors & Morticians Association, Inc.www.nfdma.com

Existing “Green” Cemeteries in the U.S.Visit the following websites for a view of the trend that is

now well-established in the UK (since 1993) and that is making inroads in the culture of the U.S.

www.foreverfernwood.com

www.glendalenaturepreserve.org

www.memorialecosystems.com

www.naturalburialground.com

www.foxfieldpreserve.org

www.honeycreekwoodlands.comwww.naturalburial.org

(Greensprings Natural Cemetery Preserve; Mary Woodsen, President, Board of Trustees)

www.eternalrest.com

www.prairiewildernesscemetery.org




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in your immediate area: (1) Write letters to the editors of local newspapers with factual information about the positive reasons for the use of concrete burial vaults and why concrete is an environmentally friendly material. Note: Keep it upbeat and stress the pros, not the cons; it will do no good to write inflammatory letters. (2) Consider paying for advertising space and create ads that call attention to the items mentioned in #1. In this issue you’ll find an ad created and donated by Trigard for NCBVA member use that graphically shows the environmentally friendly composition of concrete, the benefits of concrete burial vaults and promotes NCBVA, all at the same time. (3) Invite local press and funeral directors to an “open house” at your facility, and talk up the positive attributes mentioned in #1. (4) Present positive seminars for the general public and the press.

Do your homework. Get the facts, then do something positive. The way we honor our dead depends on you.

References-- Provided by The Dodge CompanyHinson, Maude R., Medical Research Librarian, “Literature Search on the Infectious Nature of Dead Bodies for The Embalming Chemical Manufacturers Association,” Sept. 1, 1968, Downers Grove, IL.

Rose, Gordon W., PhD & Hockett, Robert N., MS, “The Microbiologic Evaluation and Enumeration of Postmortem Specimens from Human Remains,” reprinted from Health Laboratory Science, Vol. 8, No. 2, April 1972; copyright by the American Public Health Association, Washington, DC.

Burke, P.A. and Sheffner, A.L. (October 1976). “The Antimicrobial Activity of Embalming Chemicals and Topical Disinfectants on the Microbial Flora of Human Remains. Health Laboratory Science; 13: 267-270.

Leaders in the Green Burial Movement

Joe Sehee, Green Burial CouncilJoe Sehee is a former Jesuit lay minister who, according to an article published in the April 2008 issue of American Funeral Director, had been recruited by IBM, later left that corporate life and did communications work for the cemetery and funeral industries. Leaving that all behind, too, he and his wife started to build an ecological retreat called “The Pilgrimage,” which was sited near Joshua Tree National Park in California. Somewhere along the line, he became an advocate for social change, and took aim at the funeral industry. In 2005 he sold his home and used the proceeds to found the Green Burial Council. Sehee espouses an environmentalist’s and conservationist’s love for the land, and views green burials as a way to conserve natural land resources, and to protect the land from the proliferation of boring, lackluster cemeteries.

Lisa Carlson, Consumer WatchdogFor many years Lisa Carlson was Execu-tive Director of the Funeral Consumer Alliance. She is a public speaker and sought after as a guest for talk shows, and has appeared on hundreds of na-tional and local television and radio stations (such as National Public Radio, to name one important connection). Carlson’s first book was published in the ’80s and was a how-to for bypassing the funeral industry. Carlson is described on book publisher Upper Access’s website as “. . . a full-time consumer activist and sometime hell raiser, working on behalf of Americans to protect their rights in dealing with the funeral industry.” In the late ’90s, Carlson’s “landmark” book, Caring for the Dead: Your Final Act of Love, was published. The book is described on the Upper Access site as “. . . the major source of information for anybody wishing to understand and take charge of funeral arrangements for a friend or relative without being taken advantage of by people aggressively selling funeral goods and services.” She has also published a collection of cartoons, I Died Laughing: Funeral Education with a Light Touch.

A Few Consumer Watchdog & “Pro-Green” Websites(There are many more!)

Funeral Consumers Alliancewww.funerals.org

GAIAM Lifewww.life.gaiam.com

Green Burial Council www.greenburialcouncil.org

www.greenburials.org

www.limbodisseny.com

www.reclaiming.org

“Must” ReadingA few sites visited in the research for this article provided links to magazine articles or tran-scripts of broadcastings. You may be interested to read the following:

A March 2009 feature by Max Alexander, “The Surprising Satisfactions of a Home Fu-neral,” published in The Smithsonian magazine and Smithsonian.com (number of readers: 7,069,000).

From the www.greenburialcouncil.org site, you can click on the article “Going Green,” writ-ten by Joe Sehee and published in the November 2007 issue of ICCFA Magazine. Currently, the Council’s list of news articles adds up to more than 40--including articles published in the Chicago Tribune, The Wall Street Journal and National Geographic.

What you can do: Write letters to newspapers; create and submit positive ads; hold an Open House at your facility; present seminars for the public and the press. Do your homework!



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This Memorial Day we honor the more than one million American soldiers who havedied to preserve freedom, the more than 140,000 prisoners of war, and all thosewho were declared missing in action.

Their patriotism and sacrifice haveleft a legacy of freedom and hope.

P.O. Box 917525Longwood, FL 32791-7525407-788-1996www.ncbva.org

In recognition of Memorial Day, NCBVA created and distributed a series of public service ads to assist members in their communities. The ads were prepared in both color and black and white, with space provided for insertion of individual company name, ad-dress and logo.

The ads were designed to be used in newspapers, as posters or flyers to show members’ appreciation of those who have died in service to our country and showing support for family, friends and neighbors.

The ads were distributed electronically via the NCBVA E-Bulletin. If you did not receive the mailing, please contact NCBVA headquarters to insure we have your correct e-mail address in our records. Call on our new toll-free line 1-888-88NCBVA.

On this Memorial Day, take a moment toremember not only those Veterans who gavetheir lives so that we might have the hope andfreedom we all enjoy, but also all of our

lost loved ones whose lives have made us what we are today.

P.O. Box 917525Longwood, FL 32791-7525407-788-1996www.ncbva.org

Give Us a Call!

NCBVA has a new toll-free number. Please make a note of it

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By Sylvia HeidemannNCBVA Staff Writer

What makes a successful partnership? Respect, shared interests, and each individual bringing something different to the table that complements the partner-ship. Just being friends helps. Such are the charac-

teristics of the partnership between Doug Evans and Jim Woods, owners of Carolina-Doric, Inc. in Florence, SC. Although the two didn’t live near each other or go to the same schools when they were children, their parents were all good friends, so Doug and Jim have known each other since they were about five years old. While they are two different individuals, their lives have some commonalities. Take Doug, for example. After graduating from Francis Marion University in Florence, SC, Doug had no thoughts about going into burial vault manufacturing. Instead, he went to work for corporate giant “Big Brown”––UPS––at a time when that company’s star was rising and winning award after award for excellence in business. Forbes magazine once described UPS as “. . . [It] used to be a truck-

ing company with technology. Now it’s a technology company with trucks.” On its website, UPS describes itself as “A company that’s never shied away from reinventing itself.”

The spirit of reinvention must have rubbed off on Doug, who learned entrepreneurial thinking and technology skills from the best during the 11 years he spent in UPS management. Those skills have come in handy in the partners’ expansion of Carolina-Doric.

In Jim’s case, he began working in a funeral home part-time when he was 15 years old and continued until his high school graduation. His family thought his job interests were a little strange because no one in the family had ever been involved in the funeral industry. Like Doug, Jim enrolled after graduation at Francis Marion University, but says after he’d spent 18 months there, he felt like he was wast-ing his time. He followed his heart and earned a degree in mortuary science from Gupton-Jones Funeral Service in Atlanta, GA. After that he returned to Florence and went to work for a funeral home

It’s not always wise to become partners with a friend, but in the case of Doug Evans and Jim Woods, it was a good move. Each feels strongly about making quality products and treating customers as they like to be treated themselves. Together, they’ve forged a relationship that has dou-bled the growth of their company, Carolina-Doric, Inc., in 11 short years. Here are some insights into why their partnership has been successful.

Jim Woods (left) handles sales to funeral homes and PR. He says Doug Evans

helps him keep the promises he makes to funeral directors.

A Team That Works! Forging a Successful Partnership


for about five years. Then he entered the burial vault manufacturing industry and worked four years for Carolina-Doric prior to purchas-ing the company.

Partnership FormedIn 1997 the opportunity presented itself to buy Carolina-Doric, and that’s when Doug and Jim decided to team up and buy the business. How has that worked out? Extremely well.

“We work well as partners,” says Doug. “With Jim’s background as a funeral director and in the vault business, he takes care of sales and PR. I handle the manufacturing end, driver coordination and plant maintenance.”

Jim’s expresses his side of the partnership by saying, “Doug allows me the freedom to go out as a sales representative to funeral homes and make promises we can keep. We have a good relationship with our funeral homes because I’ve been on their side of the industry. The fu-neral directors have a sense of comfort that a funeral director is watching their interests in handling their burial vaults.”

Coordination of the company’s drivers is a big job, but consid-ering his background with UPS, it’s more of a “natural” for Doug. Carolina-Doric has ex-panded over the past 11 years into three lo-cations: the original location, which is the main manufacturing facility in Effingham, SC; a satellite delivery location in Walterboro, SC; and a production and delivery facility in Burlington, NC. The three sites employ a total of 37 people, including Barbara Evans (Doug’s mother), who works in the main office. A fleet of 28 trucks covers a territory from the Burlington location (central North Carolina), down through Florence, SC and all down the Carolina coast. Doug estimates that Carolina-Doric covers 70 percent of the South Carolina market. The company produces approximately 6,700 units per year.

How does a former UPS employee learn the facts about concrete burial vault construction? Doug admits this was not so much of a “natural” transition for him. “I had to learn quickly everything I could about the concrete industry,” says Doug. “It was kind of trial by fire. Fortunately for me, Ryan Kannaday, Sr., who had retired,

took me on, helped me with production details and gave me a lot of insight.”

Today, Doug and Jim pride themselves on keeping their promises to their funeral home customers––by manufacturing a quality prod-uct they can stand behind with no misgivings whatsoever. “We do a lot of personalization with our products,” says Jim. “That makes us s tand out from our competition.”

Carolina-Doric’s manufacturing facilities are NCBVA-certified and Doric’s standards are strictly followed. In addition, the company provides such services as above-ground sealing and offers bottled water in the cemetery during the summer.

Image is very important, the two believe. “We have a nice-looking fleet of trucks,” says Doug, “and we make sure they are always clean and in good condition. The same goes for all of our equipment. The good reputation we have with the funeral homes we serve is important to us, and maintaining that relationship is what helps us stay at the top of our game, to put it into teamwork terminology.”

Pro-Traditional FuneralsWhen asked about the green burial

trend, Jim prefers to concentrate on tra-ditional burials and takes Doug’s

statements a step further: “We focus on the ex-tra value of the tra-

ditional funeral. As suppliers of person-

alized vaults and nice set-ups at the cemetery,

we make an important contribution to an overall

pleasing, calming presen-tation for the family in honoring loved ones. What we do helps people see the value of a traditional funeral.”

Doug reinforces that goal: “We don’t want to get away from traditional burials,” he states. “A traditional service is designed to help the people who are left behind when a loved one dies. The funeral director’s role is very important in creating a service that allows people to get together to share in the grieving and healing process. From what I’m seeing initially, I don’t think green burials can accomplish that purpose effectively.”

Photos: (upper) The Woods family: Jim and wife Wendy with sons Jaye and Thomas.

(left) Carolina-Doric sponsors a Little League team for which Doug coaches. Sons Walker and Wayne play on the team.

(right) Doug and wife Alison enjoyed the sunset in Key West during the 2009 NCBVA Convention.

Carolina, continued on page 20


By Dave Brugger, P.E. Plant Certification Representative

As I visit more plants, doing NCBVA inspections, I am more aware than ever of the variety of aggregates,

admixtures, cements, fly ash and water quantities that are used by manufacturers of concrete burial vaults. Some of the mix designs may result in easy pouring and finishing, but they fall short of the mark because they don’t develop the ultimate strengths required of a burial vault. Some mix designs give great strength, but are more expensive than necessary. There are excel-lent mix designs available, but some are not so good. There are many ways to get a good batch of concrete––every time. This article is intended as a review of the materials and the methods that can result in high-quality concrete.

GravelFor gravel, many use crushed limestone, crushed granite, pea gravel and many more varieties of gravel than I could name. Based on my experience, I have come to the conclu-sion that hard crushed stone in size ranges from ¼ inch to 5/8 inch or blends of those sizes is the best choice. Clean washed gravel is essential to making good concrete.

Pea gravel becomes rounded either by rolling around in sand and turbulent water, or from thousands of years in moving earth flow. The speed at which gravel came to be rounded is an important consideration. Soft stone that became rounded fairly quickly makes poor aggregate. Hard stone, how-ever, took thousands of years to become rounded, and is certainly a better aggregate than rounded soft stone. Another important consideration in using rounded pebbles is smoothness. Pebbles with shiny, hard sur-faces might not be a good choice because they may be too slippery for adherence of the

concrete paste. Remember that concrete can be no stronger than its weakest component. The greatest mix design can be ruined by a poor choice of aggregate.

A simple, non-scientific test of gravel hardness is to take individ-ual samples of gravel, put them in the jaws of a bench vice and crush them. Exam-ine the results carefully, then d r a w y o u r own conclu-sions regard-ing strength and hardness.

Gravel works best when it absorbs and retains water. Therefore, the best gravel from that standpoint is saturated on the inside with water, but damp on the surface. The industry term is Saturated Surface Dry (SSD). If you soaked your sand and gravel in water for 48 hours, then dried it on the outside only to the point where it was damp, it would be SSD. Any water in excess of a damp surface should be deducted from the water you add to the mix. The same is true of water in the sand.

SandSand should be hard, angular, and free of excessive amounts of silt, clay or organic materials. There is a measure of the fineness of sand that involves shaking it through a series of screens with the distance between screen wires ranging from 3/8 inch to 1/100 inch. The sand retained on each screen is weighed in grams and a series of calcula-tions is performed to come up with a number called the fineness modulus (FM). Concrete sand should have a FM that is between 1.95 and 3.11. Smaller numbers are finer, and

FM’s between 1.95 and 2.50 are better for self-consolidating concrete mixes. A fine-ness modulus of 2.25 to 3.11 is better for non-SCC mixes. You can obtain the FM of your sand from your supplier or from a concrete testing laboratory. (A modulus is simply a number that results from a specified series of equations. That number conveys useful comparative information.)

A non-scientific test is to take samples of sand and fill a glass jar half-way. Add water to the jar until it is not quite full, close the jar and shake vigorously. Observe how cloudy the water gets, how long it takes for the cloudiness to settle, and finally, observe the layers of material that are formed when ev-erything has settled. Compare several sands and, again, form your own conclusions. You can learn a lot at almost no cost.

Unit Weights of Aggregates––An Important ConceptIf you fill a container with compacted SSD sand, level it off and weigh it accurately, then take the same steps in the same container with the gravel you use, the results will be the comparative weights of the same vol-umes of material. Let’s say, hypothetically, that you weigh a pail of sand and it weighs 26 pounds. Then you do the same procedure with gravel and it weighs 29 pounds. You can use a ratio equation that tells you 100 pounds of sand takes up the same space as 112 pounds of gravel. Therefore, if you wanted equal amounts of sand and gravel, you would use a ratio of 100 to 112. If you want 10 percent more sand than gravel, reduce the gravel by five percent to 106 lb and increase the sand by 5 percent to 105 lb. Even though they weigh approximately the same amount, there would be 10 percent more volume of sand than gravel.

The ratio equation is simple: Divide 100 by the 26-pound sand weight (100/26=3.85), then multiply the 29-pound gravel weight

Why You Should Care About Quality Concrete

Plant Management Savvy

& How to Make Every Batch Correctly


sets more slowly than Type I. Type III cement--Called High Early

Strength Cement, this cement hardens and gains strength faster than Type I, but in 28 days the results are about the same. It costs more, so you may consider using a higher quantity of Type I instead. For the same

investment you may attain an acceptably faster set time and higher ultimate strengths. It can be used in all the same conditions as Type I cement.

Type V cement––This is special cement for use in structures that are exposed to severe sulfate soils or conditions. Type V is frequently used in the vicinity of the Great Salt Lake, for example.

Doric has been providing funeral homes with quality lined concrete burial vaults for over 50 years. Experience, unparalled service and a dedicated nationwide dealer network make Doric the preferred choice of funeral directors around the country.

www.doric-vaults.com 1-888-55-DORIC

is not only in our vaults, but in the people who build and service them.

doric 1/4 page bw 1/30/07, 10:40 AM1

by 3.85 (3.85X29=112). The numbers are rounded off, but the answer is close enough to say that 100 pounds of sand occupies about the same space as 112 pounds of gravel. The numbers will vary according to the materials you use, but the method is the same. Use your bathroom scale if you don’t have a lab scale. The ratio will be accurate enough. It is important to weigh the container when empty and deduct the container weight from the total weight.

CementThere are several types of cement that have acceptable applications, depending on the prevailing soil chemistry, pouring temperatures and product turnaround time. The types are presented in order of frequency of use.

Type I cement––Most commonly used, this cement has a good set time, good work-ability, and develops strength in a reasonable time when used properly. It is suitable for most soil chemistries.

Type II cement––Best used where soil sulfate concentrations are higher than in normal soil, but not extremely high. Type II

Too Much Cement vs. Not EnoughIt is well established that in order to attain next-day stripping strength as well as good ultimate strength, a 700-lb/yard cement content is recommended. With less, you are taking a risk because it leaves no margin for error. Too much cement in a mix is also

problematic. Again, based on my experience, I would say that 800 lb/yard should be the maximum. The reason is that the demand for water is increased to the point that the amount of water per total batch size is excessive. There is a ratio of water to aggregate content as well as a ratio of water to cement that should not be exceeded. The ultimate result of an over-rich design is that the product will look great when stripped and

the early strength will be high, but, in the long term, months after the production date, internal curing stresses will develop and the concrete will self-destruct.

Fly AshFly ash is a by-product of combustion of pulverized coal. It has many cement-like properties and can be used to replace cement

It’s not rocket science–– It doesn’t have to be expensive or difficult to produce high-quality concrete. Good mix designs, good procedures, proper timing and quality materials are all important.


in a concrete mixture. My recommendation is that it be used to replace no more than 20 percent of the cement in a burial vault mix design. Compression test samples should be used to optimize the mix because there are different types of fly ash and the contribu-tion to ultimate strength can vary. Fly ash is a lot less expensive than cement, so it can contribute to a cost savings without loss of quality, if used properly.

WaterClean, potable, chemical-free water is es-sential for good concrete. The amount of water varies, however, depending on the chemical admixtures used. With no admix-tures, the maximum amount of water should be 46 percent of your cement weight. That includes water carried on the surface of the aggregates and already in the mixer. If you are using a high-range water reducer, the water can range from 35 to 40 percent. With the use of self-consolidating admixtures, the water can be much lower. (I have seen it as low as 30 percent total water.) If you use ready-mix concrete, you might have to fight off the guy with the hose to keep the water-to-cement ratio within limits!

An ammeter, or some form of electronic moisture or slump control, along with a wa-ter meter, are very good investments. They are equal in importance with the scales used to measure the sand, gravel and cement. Check out: www.concretecontrols.com/DETS.html for a good, affordable slump control device. The ammeter can be cali-brated to account for aggregate-borne water and yield perfect total water content in every batch. The mini-slump indicator is the one you should have for an electric motor-driven mixer. You will need a slump testing cone in order to equate your desired slump to the meter readings.

Air EntrainingA small amount of entrained air is beneficial. Three to 5.5 percent is a good target range. More than that will start lowering concrete strength. Air entraining makes concrete more durable in freeze-thaw circumstances. It also reduces bleed water, helps with fin-ishing properties and reduces corner joint bleed marks.

Admixtures High range water reducers--Based on my experience, I believe everyone should use these. (They are also called super-plasticizers). The benefit is concrete that is

much easier to pour, contains less water and yields higher strengths. A super benefit of all water-reducing admixtures is much better dispersion of the cement particles, which also contributes to strength.

Self-Consolidating Concrete (SCC) admixtures--These are the ultimate flow-inducing, water- reducing chemicals. If used with the right blend of aggregates, cement content and water, the results are incredible. At the expense of appearing to be a nut-case, I confess that SCC really excites me, and I believe everyone should use it. This technology can reduce labor costs, wear and tear on molds and equipment, and produce a superior product. SCC works best with finer sand and smaller gravel.

MixersThere are many types of mixers on the mar-ket and most of them work well. The types with a stationary mixer body and moving blades, paddles or augers work best. Small rotating drum mixers work, but take a lot of time to properly mix a batch, and some don’t mix as well. Be sure to keep your mixer adjusted properly, replace worn parts and keep it lubricated.

Timing is everything––The most impor-tant factor is to mix for the proper amount of time. This varies, of course, for every type of mixer, but one concept is critical: A certain amount of agitation is required to completely blend the materials and initiate the chemical reactions that must take place between the cement, water and admixtures. Cement is such a fine, highly absorbent powder that it forms into little balls or clusters, consisting of many particles. The mixer, aided by the admixtures and the grinding action of the aggregates, must break up and disperse these clumps of cement so that every individual particle of it contributes to the strength of the concrete. Once broken down, a given amount of time and agitation is required to get the cement to soak up some water and start chemically reacting to make new chemical molecules called concrete.

The right time window for discharging and pouring is when the materials are fully blended, the chemical reaction is initiated, but the material is still at the maximum level of flowability. Over-mixing causes the reac-tion to be pushed too far in the mixer and can be detrimental. Your goal is to properly initiate the reaction in the mixer and finish it in your vault molds.

One of the worst timing scenarios is where a ready-mix truck arrives too early or

the manufacturer is not ready to pour, and the truck just sits there for a long time, with the drum revolving slowly. By the time it is discharged, the concrete is incompletely blended and starting to set up. The tempta-tion is to add water and mix even longer, which makes the situation worse. Make sure you communicate with your ready mix producer, because timing is everything.

A Good RecipeYour final mix design depends on a combina-tion of factors, such as gravel size and type, sand fineness, type of cement and fly ash, the use of admixtures and the type of concrete mixer used. In general, I recommend a mini-mum of 700 pounds of cement or cement-fly ash combined per yard. Use equal amounts of sand and gravel by volume. Be sure to calculate the unit weight or weight-volume relationship explained earlier in this column. Use a super plasticizer and the minimum amount of water to get the necessary flow. A slump of about 5.5 inches, when using super plasticizers, is ideal.

It would be preferable to use the same cement-aggregate mix weights, but finer sand and smaller gravel, an SCC admixture and a minimum of water, along with a small amount of air entraining. For SCC, a spread puddle between 18 and 24 inches in diameter should produce high early strengths and a good-looking product. A good mixer-mount-ed slump control system is almost essential to producing good SCC mixes.

Not Rocket ScienceIt doesn’t have to be expensive or difficult to produce high-quality concrete. Good mix designs, good procedures, proper timing and quality materials are all important. In future columns, I plan to expand on these subjects so that you can be the best at what you do.

About Dave BruggerDave Brugger, who has served as NCBVA’s Plant Certification Representative since April 2008, has more than 40 years’ expe-rience in funeral service and burial vault manufacturing (also including other precast concrete products). From 1975 to 2007 he owned and directed Horton-Wilbert Vault’s operations, budgeting, finance, production, product development and personnel manage-ment, restoring that company as a market leader. Dave managed a staff of 41 at two factory production sites.


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Challenges Facing IndustryDoug became a member of the NCBVA Board of Directors when the association’s annual convention was held in San Antonio in 2006.The company has been a member of the NCBVA almost since its inception, and Doug and Jim both appreciate its benefits. “We need more people involved in NCBVA so they can fully appreciate the value of our industry and stand together to promote it,” says Doug. “NCBVA provides the arena in which this can be done. There is no other organization that solely represents our interests.”

Family & CommunityDoug’s and Jim’s family situations have similarities, too. Each is married to a woman who has a professional career. Doug’s wife Alison is marketing manager of international sales for Newco, Inc., a full-service non-destructive testing firm that has its headquarters in Florence. The couple are the parents of two active boys (Wayne, 7, and Walker, 5). Carolina-Doric sponsors a Little League team on which both boys play and learn teamwork skills. Doug is the coach.

Jim’s wife Wendy is a psychologist for the Florence School Dis-trict. They have two sons––also very active––Jaye, 10 and Thomas, 5. Their boys play on a Florence Recreational Department Little League team, and often end up playing against the Carolina-Doric-sponsored team. By way of supporting the recreational department, Carolina-Doric has bought an advertising sign that’s one of many lining the ballfield fences.

Community service is a value supported and endorsed by the partners. For the past six years, Doug has served on the Darlington County Planning Commission, the county in which he resides, and is currently chairman.

The two men laughed when asked about their special interests or hobbies. Each is intensely involved in the success of Carolina-Doric and in being good Dads. “That’s enough on the home plate so far,” says Doug. Obviously, the men have hit a home run in their partnership, and want to keep the scores high for the burial vault industry.

Brief History –– Carolina-Doric, Inc.In March 1971, the husband-and-wife team of Ryan L. and Anna Kannaday opened Carolina Vault Company. After only a few months, Mr. Kannaday joined the Doric Burial Vault Manufac-turer’s Association and became a Doric dealer. The Kannaday’s son, R.L., Jr., soon joined the family business.

In September 1997, the family sold Carolina-Doric to Doug Evans and Jim Woods. Jim had been involved in funeral service for more than 15 years and had worked for the Kannaday’s for more than four years.

Doug and Jim soon had the opportunity to purchase a small Eagle Burial Vault operation, which created additional volume and provided some much-needed equipment to help meet the increase in services. The two men opened a distribution facility in Burlington, NC in September of 1999, and in 2004 purchased a manufacturing facility outside of Burlington and began pro-duction in that location.

Carolina-Doric, Inc. has received the Number One Dealer Award from Doric Products for the years 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2007.

Carolina, continued from page 15


National Concrete Burial Vault Association“Serving the death care industry with the very best”

APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP

Key Contact____________________________________Nickname_____________

Title ______________________________________________________________

Company Name _____________________________________________________

Street Address _______________________________________________________

City _____________________ State _______________ Zip __________________

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❐ Check here if you prefer to have your mail sent to your home.Home street Address _________________________________________City _____________________ State ______________ Zip ___________Home Phone _________________ Home Fax ______________________

COMPANY INFORMATION

❐ Burial Vault Manufacturer ❐ Funeral Director

❐ Crematory ❐ Cemetery

❐ Doric ❐ Wilbert ❐ Eagle ❐ Trigard

❐ Con-O-lite ❐ Other ❐ Provide Graveside Services

❐ Metal Vaults ❐ Plastic Vaults ❐ Fiberglass Vaults

Offer sizes for ❐ Children ❐ Adults ❐ Oversize

❐ Associate Member: Tell us in 25 words or less about your product/services

❐ Please enroll me in NCBVA today!Signature indicates that you have read and agree to abide by NCBVA’s Code of Ethics and the rules that govern the National Concrete Burial Vault Association. Signature is required before this application can be processed.

_________________________________________ ___________ (Signature) (Date)

Dues Schedule

❐ Manufacturer MemberDues are based on total units sold at this location.

Please check appropriate level:

❐ 1-999 Units .........$225

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NCBVAP.O. Box 917525

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Fax: (407) 774-6751

www.ncbva.org

We believe that concrete is an ideal material for the construction of burial vaults for the interment of human remains and that a properly constructed concrete burial vault is worthy of acceptance by the public. Our sales and advertising policies will be governed by standards acceptable by the public and the funeral profession and by principles advocated by the National Concrete Burial Vault Association, Inc. We pledge fair trade practices to our competitor, whose product we will not dispar-age. We shall conduct our business on sound business principles, striving to build a relationship of respect and confidence for the burial vault industry with the public, with the funeral director and with the cemetery’s management. We will abide by the rules and regulations of the National Concrete Burial Vault Association, Inc., thereby contributing to a stronger and greater national industry.

CODE OF ETHICS


A D & Sons Vault Co. Suffolk, VAAbel Vault & Monument Co. Canton, ILAmerican Concrete Industries Veazie, MEAmerican Vault Co. Cleveland, OHAmerican Wilbert Vault Corp. Forest Park, ILArnold-Wilbert Corp. Goldsboro, NCArrow Vault Co., Inc. Lafayette, INAtlas Concrete Products, Inc. Orlando, FLAustin Concrete Products Dover, NHBabylon Vault Co. New Windsor, MDBadger Burial Vault Co. Eau Claire, WIBailey Monument & Vault Co. Waycross, GABaumgardner Products Co. Akron, OHBaxter Burial Vault Cincinnati, OHBaxter Vault Co. Baxter Springs, KSBeck Vault Co. Rome, NYBell Vault & Monument Miamisburg, OHBrewster Vaults & Monuments Millville, NJBrown-Wilbert, Inc. Morris, MNBrown-Wilbert, Inc. St. Paul, MNBruns Norwalk Vault Co. St. Louis, MOBrutsche Concrete Products Battle Creek, MIBrutsche Concrete Products Benton Harbor, MIBuckeye Vault Service, Inc. Mansfield, OHC & M Precast Kerrville, TXCalumet Wilbert Vault Co. Inc. Gary, INCapital Precast, Ltd. St. Johns, NL, CanadaCarolina-Doric, Inc. Florence, SCCentral Burial Vaults, Inc. Marlow, OKCentral Burial Vaults, Inc. Oklahoma City, OKCentral Burial Vaults, Inc. Tulsa, OK

Central New York Vault Co. Cortland, NYCentury Vault Co., Inc. West Barnstable, MACharleston Wilbert Summerville, SCCheboygan Cement Products Co. Cheboygan, MIChesapeake Burial Vault Co. Ingleside, MDChristy Vault Co., Inc. Colma, CAColumbus-Beier Vaults Columbus, WICooper Wilbert Vault Co. Middletown, DECordeiro Vault Co., Inc. Vallejo, CACostello & Company Vaults Smith Falls, Ontario, CanadaCreter Vault Corp. Flemington, NJCrummitt & Son Vault Corp. Martins Ferry, OHD.G. Robertson, Inc. Williston, VTDardanelle Vault & Monument Dardanelle, ARDeihl Vault & Precast Co. Orangeville, PADelaware Valley Vault Co. Blackwood, NJDePue Wilbert Vault Savannah, GA Detroit Wilbert Vault Corp. Detroit, MIDoody Burial Vaults, Inc. Winchendon, MADoric Concrete Vaults Inc. Garden City, KSDoric Concrete Vaults, Inc. Great Bend, KSDoric Concrete Vaults Inc. Osage City, KSDoric Huntingburg Vault Co. Huntingburg, INDoric of Kansas Vault Iola, KSDoric of Nashville, Inc. Nashville, TNDoric of Northeast Arkansas Jonesboro, ARDoric of Tennessee Cowan, TNDoric Concrete Vaults Limon, CODoric Concrete Vaults, Inc. Newton, KSDoric Manufacturing Co. Boaz, ALDoric Mississippi, Inc. Jackson, MS

Doric-South, Inc. Demopolis, ALDoric Vault of Connecticut North Haven, CTDoric Vault of Eastern NY, Inc. Hudson, NYDoric Vault of Western NY, Inc. Depew, NYDoric Vault Co. Griffin, GADura Vault North Bend, OHEagle Burial Vault Co. of LA Ruston, LAEagle Burial Vaults Perry, GAEsterly Burial Vault Co. West Reading, PAEvans Eagle Vaults, Inc. Leola, PAEverlasting Vault Co. Randallstown, MDFlagg-Palmer Precast, Inc. Oxford, MAFlorida Wilbert, Inc. Jacksonville, FLFond du Lac Wilbert Vault Fond du Lac, WIForsyth Bros. Concrete Prod. Terre Haute, INForsyth Bros. Burial Vaults Fithian, ILFort Myers Wilbert Vault Service Fort Myers, FL Gettysburg Burial Vault Co. Gettysburg, PAGolden Eagle Vault Co. Rocky Mount, VA Grable Vault Co. Logansport, INGraffius Burial Vault Co. Sinking Springs, PAGranite State Doric Newport, NH Gross Vault Co. Thomasville, GAHairfield Vault Co. Hickory, NCHardy Doric, Inc. Chelmsford, MAHarn Vault Service Massillon, OHHarris Precast Laporte, INHicks Industries, Inc. Davie, FLHicks Industries, Inc. Mulberry, FL Horton Precast Gerard, PAHuntingburg Vault Co. Huntingburg, IN

Jacson, Inc. Henderson, TXJefferson Concrete Corp. Watertown, NYJosten Wilbert Vault Co. Sioux Falls, SDKansas City Wilbert Grandview, MOLakeshore Burial Vault Co. Brookfield, WILavaca Vault Co. Lavaca, AKLindquist Concrete Products Ogden, UTLouisell-Davis Vault Service Chattanooga, TNLycoming Burial Vault Co. Inc. Montoursville, PAMarion Vault Works Marion, INMark H. Bott Co. Ogden, UTMaster Grave Service Athens, GAMcDowell Doric Vault Co. Fletcher, NCMemphis Burial Vault Co. Memphis, TNMercer Vault Company Fredericksburg, VAMilan Burial Vault, Inc. Milan, MIMinchew Concrete Products Co. Waycross, GAMinnick Services Corp. Fort Wayne, INMontgomery Vault Co. Woodsboro, MDMontgomery Vault Co. Rockville, MDMoore Wilbert Vault Co. Evans, GANeher Burial Vault Co. Springfield, OHNor-Don Vault Co. Inc. Strafford, MONorth Central Mich. Vault Srvc. Cadillac, MINorthwest PA Burial Service Cochranton, PANorwalk Vault Co. Johnstown, PAOdon Vault Company, Inc. Odon, INOmaha Wilbert Vault, Inc. Omaha, NEOstwalt Vault Co. Concord, NCPalm Vault Co. Ada, OKPatriot Vault Co. Park Hills, MOPanhandle Vaults Amarillo, TX

For information on NCBVA’s exclusive Plant Inspection and Certification Program, please contact NCBVA Headquarters at 1-888-88-NCBVA or use application form on the next page. continued . . .

NCBVA proudly recognizes the following companies that have a current standing in the

Plant Certification Program

NCBVA Certified Vault Manufacturing PlantsU U


Name of Plant ___________________________________________________________________________

Plant Mailing Address______________________________________________________________________

Plant Street Address_______________________________________________________________________

Plant Telephone_________________ Fax Number_______________________________________

Owner’s Name_____________________________ Evening Phone______________________________

Plant Manager/Contact Person__________________ Evening Phone_______________________________

Types of Outer Burial Receptacles Produced❐ Top Seals ❐ Air Domes ❐ SectionalsOther________________________________________________

Please return this application with full payment to:

The National Concrete Burial Vault Association, Inc.P.O. Box 917525Longwood, FL 32791(888) 88-NCBVAFax (407) 774-6751

For a NCBVA member in good standing, the Plant Certification Inspection fee is $1295.

National Concrete Burial Vault Association, Inc.Member Application for Plant Inspection

NCBVA Certified Vault Manufacturing Plants(Continued)U U

Pennsylvania Concrete Vault Co. Greensburg, PA Perfection Vault Woodson, ILPhenix Vault Phenix City, ALPioneer Vault, Inc. Doylestown, PAPoplar Bluff Doric Vaults, Inc. Poplar Bluff, MOPrecast Concrete Products, Inc. Blissfield, MI Precision Precast Inc. Pittsfield, MAQuality Burial Vault Co. Houston, TXRex Vault Service Newton, ILRocky Mountain Monument/Vault Sandy, UTRoland-Wilbert Vault Co. Marion, IASaginaw Wilbert Vault Corp. Saginaw, MISam Green Vault Corp. Lynchburg, VASt. Louis Wilbert Vault Co. St. Louis, MOSaline Vault Co. Sweet Springs, MO

Santeiu Vaults Inc. Livonia, MISexton Wilbert Corporation Blomington, INSheldon Vault Co. Sheldon, IAShore Vault & Precast Co. Exmore, VASimerly Concrete Products, Inc. Bristol, TNSimerly Vaults, Inc. Knoxville, TNSouthern Ohio Vault Co. Portsmouth, OHSouthern Vault Service Blakely, GASpoerr Precast Concrete Sandusky, OHSI Funeral Services Cedar Hill, TXSI Funeral Services Gerard, PASI Funeral Services Parsons, KSSI Funeral Services San Antonio, TXSunnycrest, Inc. Auburn, NYSuperior Burial Vaults, Inc. Salt Lake City, UT

Superior Vault Co. Bryantown, MDSuperior Vault Co. Charlestown, INSuperior Vault Co., Ltd. Mississauga, Ont., CanadaSwan’s Concrete Products Westbrook, METurner Vault Company Toledo, OHVanden Boomen Burial Vaults Inc. Appleton, WIVanden Boomen Burial Vaults Inc. Wausau, WIVincent & Son, Inc. Galena, ILWashington Wilbert Vault Works Inc. Laurel, MDWarga Concrete Products Inc. Fort Wayne, INWatts Vault & Monument Co. Des Moines, IAWayne Burial Vault Co., Inc. Indianapolis, INWelte Vault Co. Danbury, IAWest Plains Vault & Mfg. Co. Pomona, MOWhitman Vault Co.

Whitman, MAWicomico Vault Co., Inc. Salisbury, MD Wieser Precast Stewartville, MNWieser Doric Vault Co. LaCrescent, MNWilbert Burial Vault Co. Atlanta, GAWilbert Burial Vault Co. Waycross, GAWilbert Burial Vault Co. Muskegon, MIWilbert Burial Vault Co. Traverse City, MIWilbert Services Lancaster, NYWilbert Vaults of Houston, Inc. Houston, TXWillbee Concrete Products Jackson, MI Williams Wilbert Des Moines, IAWilliams Vault Company Emporia, VAWillmar Precast Co. Willmar, MNZeiser Wilbert Vault Co. Elmira, NY


We at the National Concrete Burial Vault Association Bulletin would love to hear from you. Please take a few minutes and send us a press release about your happenings. We’re interested in details about special events, individuals who deserve recognition, awards, and new services you are providing. Suppliers: let us know about your new products and services. Color or black and white photos are also welcome. Send to [email protected].

We Want to Hear From You!!

INDUSTRY NEWS ’N NOTES

2009June 4-7Funeral Service Assn. of British ColumbiaThe Grand Okanagan ResortKelowna, BC

July 26-28Trigard Biennial ConventionDanville, IL

August 1-15NFDMA Annual ConferenceDetroit Marriott and Cobo Convention CenterDetroit, MI

August 19-22CANAAnnual ConventionMarriott City Center HotelDenver, CO

Sept. 29-Oct. 2Catholic Cemetery ConferenceChicago Hilton & TowersChicago, IL

October 25-28NFDAInternational Convention & ExpoBoston Convention & Expo CenterBoston, MA

November 16-17CFSA Fall ConferenceCrowne PlazaIndianapolis IN

2010March 10-13ICCFAGrand Hyatt & San Antonio Conven-tion CenterSan Antonio, TX

Matthews Cremation Hosts Pet Loss ConferenceMatthews Cremation (Division of Matthews International Corp), with the support of the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) & Kates-Boylston Publications, announces the second annual Pet Loss Busi-ness Development Conference––Opportu-nity Unleashed. This one-day educational forum will be hosted in Chicago (Aug. 10), Philadelphia (Aug. 12) and Orlando (Aug. 14). The presenting faculty will share their unique expertise through Funeral, Cemetery, Veterinary and Grief Support networks that focus on building meaningful memo-rial services that connect with today’s pet parent. This year’s conference will feature new faculty members plus pet loss suppliers who will showcase their specialty products & services. For reservations go to www.matthewscremation.com/pet09 or call 1-800-327-2831.

Wilbert HonorsTop Sales PerformersWilbert Funeral Services recently honored top sales performers in its licensee network. Sales Rookie of the Year was presented to Matt Stewart of Suhor Industries in Okla-homa City, OK. Outstanding Sales Awards were given to Arnold Wilbert, Goldsboro NC; Bickes, Inc., Decatur, IL and Yates Wilbert Vault Co., Charlotte, NC. Awards of Outstanding Sales in the cremation segment were awarded to Legrand Wilbert, Los Ange-les, CA; Elm Cap Industries, West Hartford, CT and Christy Vault Co., Colma, CA.

Trigard Dealers to Meet in DanvilleTrigard’s biennial convention is taking place in Danville, IL this summer on July 26th – 28th. Danville is the hometown of Trigard’s main office and manufacturing plants. It is a location where Trigard’s vault dealers can learn from and network with the entire Trigard staff. While Trigard of-fers a program called “Trigard University” and encourages dealers to visit its Danville facilities often, the Trigard Convention will be a more extensive learning experience, complete with plant tours, keynote speakers, and of course, a little fun with a Trigard golf outing and luau.

“Trigard University is more of a crash course, while the Trigard Convention is a fun event to bring the entire family to. We will share ideas on how to survive during these hard economic times, and introduce our new Healing Tree product to our dealers. Our goal is that our vault dealers will walk away with a lot of ideas on how to improve their businesses when they leave the Trigard Convention,” says Trigard’s CEO, Linda Darby-Sempsrott.

Trigard dealers will also learn how to be-come leaders with Trigard’s keynote speaker Maureen O’Brien. Maureen is a motivational speaker and a small business sales coach, and is the author of “Get Your Big Girl Pants On and Sell Something”.

“We know how hard the economy is right now, and that is why there is no registration fee to attend the Trigard Convention. We feel that it is only when we give our best, that our vault dealers are able to give theirs,” says COO, Donna Darby-Walthall.

ICCFA Has New LeadershipThe International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) elected new leadership during its 2009 Annual Convention & Exposition in April in Las Vegas, NV.

Gregg M. Williamson, CCE, was elected President. Other new officers are Kevin R.

Daniels, CCE, President-elect; Jeff Kid-wiler, CCE, CSE, Vice President, Education; Nancy R. Lohman, CCFE, Vice President, Membership & Marketing; Darin B. Drab-ing, Vice President, External Affairs; I. Frederick Lappin, CCE, Vice President, Internal Affairs; Kenneth E. Varner, CCFE, Treasurer; and Cynthia A. Thompson, CCFE, Secretary.


P. O. Box 668, 314 Water Ave., Bellefontaine, Ohio 43311, Toll Free: 800-422-2947 Phone: 937-592-1958, Fax: 937-592-5230, www.loganhandlers.com, [email protected]

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CEMENTECH “POSSIBILILTIES”NVBA jUNE AND DECEMBER 2008

Sponsor SpotlightEdgmont Metallic Pigment Co., Inc.

West Chester, Pennsylvania

Edgmont Metallic Pigment, NCBVA’s “Platinum” sponsor, has been serving the burial vault industry for more than 45 years. The company takes pride in supplying its customers with a qual-ity product and a host of other services, including expert color matching, fast turn-around on orders, development of custom colors and shades, and product support.

In addition to the burial vault industry, Edgmont serves a number of other industries, but Dolly Horsell, President and CEO, says she has a special fondness for the members of the

vault industry, and that’s why her company has chosen to be a sponsor of the NCBVA. Sponsor support makes possible the providing of special enhancements for the membership and the association.

“We are pleased that the NCBVA plays an important role in upholding ‘family’ values in the disposition of loved ones, and we strongly support that ethic in a time when other consider-ations often overshadow respectful treatment of a loved one. In turn, we are deeply appreciative of the support given to us by members of the NCBVA. Our working relationship for more than 45 years has been wonderful—one that we truly value,” states Mrs. Horsell.

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No need to get lost on commercial job boards.The NCBVA Career & Job Center is tailored specifically for you.

National ConcreteBurial Vault Association, Inc. PO Box 917525Longwood, FL 32791(407) 788-1996


JOBSEEKERS ❖ Manage your job search

❖ Access hundreds of corporate job postings❖ Post an anonymous resume

❖ Advanced Job Alert system

EMPLOYERS❖ Quickly post job openings

❖ Manage your online recruiting efforts❖ Advanced resume searching

capabilities

❖ Reach targeted & qualified candidates

NEVER LET A JOB OPPORTUNITY PASS YOU BY!

START YOUR JOB SEARCH TODAY! http://www.ncbva.org



No need to get lost on commercial job boards.The NCBVA Career & Job Center is tailored specifically for you.



P.O. Box 917525 • Longwood, FL 32791

National Concrete Burial Vault Association, Inc.

FIRST CLASSAddress Correction Service Requested

P l a t i n u m

S P O N S O R S

Gold

Bronze• FORTA CORPORATION

• WILBERT FUNERAL SERVICES

Mark your Calendar for 2010

NCBVA Annual ConventionFebruary 2-4, 2010

World-Famous Bellagio Hotel & Casino

*Held in conjunction with World of Concrete February 1-5

“The timing and location for the 2010 meeting presents a unique opportunity for our members. We feel having the world’s largest concrete show right next door will really generate a great deal of interest with our members.

--Steve HatfieldNCBVA President

bulletin, 2009, june

Documents

network pet loss

pet loss opportunity

dynamics of pet loss

pet crematories

grief support network

compet09pet loss conference

ncbva fax

green burialstruly green