Calling

A PUBLICATION OF THE NEW YORK STATE FUNERAL DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION, INC.

April 2015

The

DrainMoney Down THE

?AlkAline HyDrolysis in 2015

Con

tents

NYSFDA Officers

Robert C. EnosPresident

West Seneca, 716-674-3636

Douglas R. BrueggemannPresident-Elect

East Northport, 631-368-1235

Walter J. KentSecretary / TreasurerElmira, 607-734-5368

Francis “Joe” Martin, Jr.Immediate Past President

West Henrietta, 585-424-3700

Timothy P. Doyle, CFSPContinuing Past President

Poughkeepsie, 845-452-0460

Bonnie L. McCullough, CAEExecutive Director

800-291-2629

Randy L. McCullough, CAEDeputy Executive Director

800-291-2629

Bureau of Funeral Directing518-402-0785

New York State Funeral Directors Association, Inc.1 South Family Drive, Albany, New York 12205

PHONE: 800-291-2629 • FAX: 518-452-8667WEB: www.nysfda.org • EMAIL: info@nysfda.org

THE CALLING is published by NYSFDA © 2015. All rights reserved. Please send all photos and story ideas to rana@nysfda.org. CLICK HERE

for publication schedule.

Apr

il 2

015

President’s Message

In Remembrance

NYS Tribute Foundation

Classifieds

Calendar of Events

REGIONAL MEETINGS: EDRS!

Executive Director’s Message

PHOTO SLIDE SHOW: NYSFDA in Washington, DC

Thomas Long and Thomas Lynch

Headstones, Markers and Medallions

VIDEO: NYSFDA Leadership Academy

Value of Flowers at Funerals

COVER: Alkaline Hydrolysis

Car Care Corner

MEMBER NEWS: Scott Anthony

Online Resources for Funeral Directors

Have the Talk of a Lifetime

VIDEO: NYSFDA Annual Convention

Is Your Funeral Home Green?

The Undertaker’s Daughter

Directors Choice

PrePlan

VIDEO: Why Funerals Matter

Final Thoughts

INTERACTIVE SURVEY: Music

As I write April’s letter, the officers of NYSFDA have just returned from the NFDA ADVOCACY SUMMIT in Washington, DC [see photos on page 10]. The issues that we were advocating were:

1) Support the VETERAN BURIAL BENEFIT PARITY ACT OF 2015. Key elements of the Legislation:

• Increase funeral benefit for non-service connected deaths or veterans with no next of kin from $300 to $ 2,000.

• Increase funeral benefit from $700 to $2,000 for death in a VA department facility.

• The current code only indexes the payment for “death in a VA facility” for inflation.

• This legislation will index the other two benefits for inflation.

2) Support legislation to provide a permanent appropriation of funds for the payment of death gratuities and related

benefits for survivors of deceased members of the uniformed services in event of any period of lapsed appropriations.

• This legislation would ensure the immediate payment of military death benefits to survivors of fallen service members when federal spending authority lapses.

Dear Colleagues:

President’s Message

3) Support the SOCIAL SECURITY LUMP - SUM DEATH BENEFIT IMPROVEMENT

AND MODERNIZATION ACT OF 2015.

• This legislation would increase the value of the lump-sum death benefit, which has been capped for sixty years, from $255 to 1,000.

As you can see, all three of these legislative issues have an impact on all funeral homes and the families we serve. We will continue to follow these legislative issues that NFDA is pursuing.

We also had the opportunity while on Capitol Hill to visit the officers of Rep. BRIAN HIGGINS (D-Buffalo), Rep. STEVE ISRAEL (D-Melville) and Rep. TOM REED (R-Rochester). All three were genuinely interested in why we were there and seemed to be supportive of our issues.

This month NYSFDA will be hosting our REGIONAL MEETINGS. Everyone has received the information and I urge you to please pre-register. The two CEUs offered will be on the new ELECTRONIC DEATH REGISTRATION SYSTEM (EDRS), something that we all have been waiting for. I hope to see everyone there.

Robert C. Enos

New

s

A listing of friends of NYSFDA who have recently passed.

In RemembranceCLICK to view

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

CLICK to view

CLASSIFIED ADS

CLICK to view

THANK YOU to everyone who has donated to the NYS Tribute Foundation during the past year!

CLICK to view our donors

CLICK HERE to register

REGION 8 & 9 NYC AREA Monday, April 20th, 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.Melville Marriott, 1350 Old Walt Whitman Rd., Melville

REGION 7 POUGHKEEPSIE AREA Tuesday, April 21st, 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.The Grandview, 176 Rinaldi Blvd., Poughkeepsie

REGION 5 & 6 ALBANY AREA Wednesday, April 22nd, 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.The Desmond - Town Hall, 660 Albany Shaker Rd., Albany

REGION 3 & 4 SYRACUSE AREA Thursday, April 23rd, 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.The Craftsman Inn, 7300 East Genesee St., Fayetteville

REGION 1 & 2 BUFFALO AREA Friday, April 24th, 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.Buffalo Marriott Niagara, 1340 Millersport Hwy, Amherst

JOIN US for our2015 REGIONAL MEETINGS

Death of the Typewriter:EDRS Comes to New York State

This year’s meetings will feature an update and live demonstration of the NYS EDRS by NYS Registrar GUY WARNER and staff of the NYS Department of Health’s (NYSDOH) BUREAU OF VITAL RECORDS. Register online at www.nysfda.org. FREE for NYSFDA members, $250 for non NYSFDA members. EARN 2 CEUS!

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The number one hit with the oldest lyrics. And, if you’re of a certain age you may not know the answer to that factoid, but you know the song, absolutely. “Turn Turn Turn (To Everything There is a Season)” tuned by PETE SEEGER in the late 50s. It became the number 1 hit in the United States at the end of 1965, and it was the folk-rock band THE BYRDS that elevated it to that status.

CLICK to listen to the song.

What self-respecting boomer doesn’t know who The Byrds were? And any person that has even peripherally studied the Bible knows the lyrics come from Ecclesiastes and that King Solomon was most likely the author. Oldest lyrics . . . yes. My friends, this isn’t rap.

Why did the song rocket to number one? Some say it was because it was a peace song . . . there were some Seeger words crafted in at the end about it not being too late for peace (remember Vietnam)? Obviously, some of the fame could be attributed to that.

But I strongly believe it was because the lyrics are so deep, timeless and true they resonate with anyone who hears them. And, my fellow boomers, they get truer the more chapters of your life you complete.

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven”

Dear Members:

Executive Director’s Message

DEBORAH ORECKI, Director of the BUREAU OF FUNERAL DIRECTING, has retired following many years of diligent, tireless and caring regulatory oversight of funeral service.

“A time to be born, a time to die; a time to plant, a time to reap what’s planted”

It has always been clear that she has a passion and respect for funeral service, and has done everything in her power to elevate, educate and mediate. Now as she moves on to a new season of life, it is my deepest wish that she appreciate herself and the work she has done over a long and fruitful career. I personally thank her and I know you all do as well.

“A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance.”

Debbie, it’s time to dance.

“Turn, Turn, Turn.”

Sincerely,

Bonnie L. McCullough, CAE

NFDA Advocacy Summit in

PICTURES!

CLICK the THUMBNAIL to see LARGER!

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New York State

A winter storm didn’t stop the New York State Funeral Directors Association’s (NYSFDA) delegation from attending the 2015 NATIONAL FUNERAL DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION (NFDA) Advocacy Summit in early March. Although the snowstorm did alter some scheduled NFDA events, it didn’t stop our hearty NYSFDA members from meeting with members of Congress to discuss issues of critical importance to funeral service, and go on a tour of THE WHITE HOUSE!

FROM THE

TomsThomas G. Long & Thomas Lynch

Several years ago, at the kind invitation of the MICHIGAN FUNERAL DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION, the two of us spent a few weeks traveling like troubadours around

that state’s pleasant peninsulas. Our assignment was to speak to gatherings of funeral directors and clergy in various locations around Michigan on the theme of the “good funeral.” We were, in some ways, an odd pair-one of us a funeral director and the other a seminary professor and ordained minister; one of us raised Catholic and the other Protestant; one of us a composer of poems, short stories, and plays and the other a writer of seminary textbooks and church homilies. But the more we traveled and talked, the more we realized that we were kindred spirits on many things, especially funeral matters.

We discovered that both of us are persuaded that the rituals and practices around death are a window into the soul of a culture. And we also discovered a mutual concern that our cultural soul is currently troubled on this very score.

A society that is unsure about how to care for the dead and is confused about what to do with grief and loss is a society that is also uncertain about life. We found a common passion to work to reclaim wise ways of addressing death, both as an end in itself and also as a means toward recovering wise ways of simply being more alive as human beings.

New York StateSince those days in Michigan, we have had many other opportunities to work and speak together. Along the trail we have swapped stories and jokes about clergy and funeral directors, exploring both the foibles and the virtues of our two professions. We have talked, studied, and collaborated, our thoughts striking fire like flint against steel, so that over time we have refined our ideas of what makes for good death practices. Sometimes we have lost track of whose ideas were whose as our understanding has been deepened and brought closer through our conversations.

THE GOOD FUNERAL:DEATH, GRIEF AND THE COMMUNITY OF CARE

A program by TOM LYNCH and TOM LONG

HEMPSTEAD May 12, 2015 Hofstra University 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.BUFFALO May 13, 2015 Kleinhans Music Hall 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.SYRACUSE May 14, 2015 Oncenter 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

HELP US! The social workers, hospice caregivers, bereavement counselors, clergy and

educators will not hear the important messages provided in these wonderful forums if they are not there. We encourage funeral directors like YOU to help us reach out to them with warm invitations and enthusiasm, and see to it that the

seats are packed at each location.

Because of generous funding from the NYS TRIBUTE FOUNDATION, there is absolutely no charge for NYSFDA members or caregivers to attend. Earn 3 CEUs.

Non-member funeral directors will be charged $199.

CLICK to register.

HEADSTONES, MARKERS AND MEDALLIONS

The DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (VA) furnishes upon request, at no charge to the applicant, a Government headstone or marker for the unmarked grave of any deceased eligible Veteran in any cemetery around the world, regardless of their date of death.

For eligible veterans that died on or after November 1, 1990 and whose grave is marked with a privately purchased headstone, VA may also furnish a headstone or marker to supplement the graves or a Medallion to be affixed to a privately purchased headstone.

Flat markers in granite, marble, and bronze and upright headstones in granite and marble are available. Bronze niche markers are also available to mark columbaria used for inurnment of cremated remains. The style chosen must be permitted by the officials in charge of the private cemetery where it will be placed.

When burial or memorialization is in a national cemetery, state Veterans’ cemetery, or military post/base cemetery, a headstone or marker will be ordered by the cemetery officials based on inscription information provided by the next of kin or authorized representative.

Spouses and dependents are not eligible for a Government-furnished headstone or marker unless they are buried in a national cemetery, state Veteran’s cemetery, or military post/base cemetery.

Veterans

NOTE: There is no charge for the headstone or marker itself, however arrangements for placing it in a private cemetery are the applicant’s responsibility and all setting fees are at private expense.

SETTING GOVERNMENT HEADSTONES AND MARKERS

Cemetery staff in national, military post, and military base cemeteries are responsible for setting the headstone or marker at no cost to the applicant. Some state Veterans’ cemeteries may charge the applicant a nominal fee for setting a Government-furnished headstone or marker. Arrangements for setting a Government-furnished headstone or marker in a private cemetery are the applicant’s responsibility and all placement costs are at private expense.

CHECKING STATUS OF A HEADSTONE, MARKER OR MEDALLION REQUEST

To obtain the status of headstones or markers ordered for national or state cemeteries, please contact the cemetery directly.

To obtain the status of headstones or markers ordered for private cemeteries, please use the following instructions: If more than 30 days have passed since the claim was submitted to the VA in Washington, DC, please call the APPLICANT ASSISTANCE UNIT to verify they are in receipt of your claim.

If more than 60 days have passed since submitting the claim and the grave is still not marked, contact the cemetery, funeral home, or other party responsible for accepting delivery of the headstone, marker or medallion to see if they have received it. If they have not received it, you may call our Applicant Assistance Unit between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (ET), Monday through Friday, at 1-800-697-6947.

Please Note: The above telephone number is for questions related to headstones, markers and medallions only ordered for private cemeteries.

For assistance in obtaining veterans’ records or for information on other VA benefits, please call your local Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office at 800-827-1000 or click on “Contact Us” on their website.

VA Form 40-1330, CLAIM FOR STANDARD GOVERNMENT HEADSTONE OR MARKER, must be submitted to request a memorial marker.

Member News

Tomorrow’s LeadersWe’re now accepting applications for the 2015-2016 NYSFDA LEADERSHIP ACADEMY!

The NYSFDA LEADERSHIP ACADEMY is a one-year program for current NYSFDA members who are interested in leadership roles in their state and local funeral directors associations. The program consists of a two-day leadership development workshop; monthly web-based training programs; a group capstone project; and a graduation ceremony at the NYSFDA Annual CONVENTION. Applicants who are not owners or managers will be required to provide written certification from their supervisor that they will be able to commit the time required for participation. All expenses (travel, accommodations, etc.) will be paid for by the Academy. There is no cost to the participant. Those interested in being part of the 2015-2016 NYSFDA LEADERSHIP ACADEMY may CLICK HERE for more information, or contact MARIANNE SCHROM at 800-291-2629.

CLICK to watch video

NATIONAL STUDY CONFIRMS

vAlue OF Flowers AT Funerals

According to the results of a report

from the American Floral

Endowment’s FLORAL

MARKETING RESEARCH

FUND (FMRF), both

bereaved families and

funeral directors feel

flowers and plants offer

comfort during and after

funerals.

Consumer Information

The study, FUNERAL DIRECTORS AND FLOWERS: INSIGHTS INTO FLORAL TRIBUTES IN THE FUNERAL INDUSTRY, by the FMRF sought to assess consumers’ attitudes toward and use of floral tributes in funeral services; the study also sheds light on funeral directors’ current relationships and experiences working with floral retailers. FMRF partnered with the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) to conduct the survey of association members; this is the first study of its kind in more than 20 years.

According to the study, when looking at non-human sources of comfort, funeral directors believe that flowers and plants offer the most comfort to bereaved families, followed by sympathy cards and food.

Seventy-three percent of funeral directors believe the families they serve recall flowers and plants as a source of comfort; approximately 64% of families talk about flowers and plants sent by loved ones and friends.

Funeral directors personally feel, and believe the families they serve think, that floral tributes and plants serve as an expression of sympathy, are a token of tribute and respect for the deceased, and help provide comfort and warmth to the funeral setting.

Funeral directors indicate that nearly 84 percent of families want to take flowers and plants home after the service.

FMRF also asked funeral directors why they believe some families prefer

memorial donations to floral tributes. The top reasons why families prefer memorial donations include: their loved one’s involvement in a specific charity (33.7 percent) and not believing flowers are needed at a funeral (27.5 percent).

The study examined the relationship between floral retailers and funeral homes. Most funeral homes (73 percent) indicated they had a great relationship with local florists and that they work well together.

Approximately 63 percent indicated that they’d had a “relationship-building” visit from a local florist in the last three to four months.

The report offers suggestions from funeral directors to help florists offer better service. Suggestions for florists include keeping product information they provide to funeral directors up-to-date, ensuring that deliveries are made well before a scheduled service to allow adequate time for set-up, and being mindful of the size and shape of floral tributes so that they are easy to transport and set up at the locations where services might be held and to the family’s home after the service.

The report can be downloaded at no charge from the FMRF website, www.floralmarketingresearchfund.org (first, create a free account on the site; once logged into the site, click the RESEARCH REPORTS link at the top of the page).

By Edward Munger, Jr.

A bill to include “chemical cremation” as an option in the state of Indiana died in the Legislature in March of 2015.

For supporters of the process, it was a letdown that highlights the challenge funeral professionals face trying to embrace the non-fire cremation process known as ALKALINE HYDROLYSIS (AH).

Ohio funeral director JEFF EDWARDS (pictured above) – the keynote at NYSFDA’s 2012 Regional Meetings – is a firm supporter of the method which dissolves human bodies into liquid and bone using lye, water and heat in a cylinder that looks like an industrial laundry machine.

After conducting AH for 19 customers, Ohio officials told Edwards to stop so lawmakers could review the process and add it to the written law. They’re still reviewing it. The bill failed last year and it’s back on Ohio’s legislative agenda for 2015.

Despite the setback, Edwards remains optimistic, and said his biggest motivation to share this process with fellow funeral directors comes from the general public who support the method.

“I simply asked them!” he said in an e-mail.

AlkAline HyDrolysis in 2015

Cover Story

Edwards likens AH to other “outrageous ideas” that have found their way into mainstream American culture – like cremation.

“I mean, who in their right mind would burn their loved ones like we do our trash? Wait, what, what do you mean 48 percent nationwide,” Edwards said, referring to the cremation rate that continues to climb in the U.S. He believes those in the funeral profession have no choice but to embrace new technology.

“Folks everywhere, not just in New York, don’t want to think much about death. But we funeral directors had better think about it, think forward, and think fast” Edwards said. Our cultures have changed, evidenced by current cremation rates, we are now living in a mobile, throw away, party party, me me me society. Our industry must come up with innovative solutions and ideas for the folks that are faced with handling a death. Otherwise, the funeral industry will become the modern day blacksmith,” Edwards said.

There’s been a concerted effort to get AH into the mainstream funeral profession since at least 2010. Many of these efforts appear to be fueled by companies that sell the machinery.

Optimistic writings with words like revolutionary, progressive and green have been promoting AH like it’s the “next big thing” funeral directors shouldn’t miss out on. One website supporting AH shares a map of the U.S. which suggests it’s got a “green light” in seven states while another 16 states prepare to approve it. That adds up to nearly half the country.

But it’s not. Indiana and Ohio are among the states “preparing to approve it.”

After boiling away the states that are “reviewing” legislation the map looks quite different.

By March of 2015, AH was being offered as an option in five U.S. states: Florida, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota and Oregon.

After discussion with funeral directors associations, funeral directors or

WHERE ALKALINE HYDROLYSISIS HAPPENING

MARCH 2015

regulators in states that approved AH, it appears the advent of Alkaline Hydrolysis in the funeral profession is slow-moving.

Colorado is among several states where AH has been approved and where it isn’t currently happening.

That’s an important distinction for those wondering if they should get in on the ground level and buy an AH machine.

A bill that’s been considered in New York State has found little support and, in its current form, would only allow cemeteries to own and operate AH systems, not funeral directors.

Cover Story

Despite its slow pace towards acceptance, one longtime funeral professional in Colorado said he suspects the new process will, some day, grow as cremation by flame did.

“It took a lot of years,” said JOE WALSH, owner of 5280 CREMATIONS in Colorado, a state that added AH to the list of acceptable processes back in 2011.

Walsh said he’s watched cremation grow in popularity from as few as 15 percent of deaths in the early 1990s to more than 60 percent today. But he isn’t hearing talk about AH and he doesn’t envision it catching on quickly there. Walsh speculates the cost of the machinery – in addition to the difficult task of describing the process to people – are among the reasons.

“I’m not sure if I’ll see it in my lifetime,” Walsh said.

Depending on the status of state laws and the goal of those seeking to promote this form of dead human body treatment, AH is called a variety of things.

Edwards, for example, believes “aquamation” is the most-fitting name for it.

Calling it “flameless cremation” would be a bad idea in any state that doesn’t permit funeral homes to cremate people. Like New York.

It’s also being called liquid cremation, bio-cremation, natural green cremation, water-based dissolution and resomation.

Most funeral directors already understand the process – you place the deceased in what looks like a big washing machine, add some lye – or potassium hydroxide – and water. The machine then agitates the solution and speeds up decomposition. Liquid leftovers are poured down the drain and bones are processed and placed in an urn. Some machines can do it in just over 3 hours, some take 12 or more hours – it depends on the amount of heat and pressure and, of course, the AH unit itself.

Discussion with funeral professionals in March of 2015 revealed different situations regarding the laws, the perception of the process and expectations.

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Kathy Williams & Melissa Drake

FLORIDAThe ANDERSON-MCQUEEN FUNERAL HOME in Florida offers AH as “flameless cremation” and JOHN MCQUEEN in an e-mail said the firm is adding another AH machine to accommodate a growing interest there in the Sunshine State.

McQueen said from what he’s seen, many people who choose AH do so not because they want to save the planet – but because they don’t like the idea of fire.

“The vast majority of the families we serve who choose flameless cremation do so because of the “non-fire” appeal as opposed to the environmental appeal,” McQueen said.

“It will be the progressive firms that embrace the technology in the early years. Remember, we work in a profession where “progressive” to most is changing the color of their cars from black to white or vice-versa.”

McQueen said cost is one of the factors that will have to be considered by those thinking about offering AH. He said a standard flame crematory retort costs about $150,000 whereas a speedy, high-pressure AH machine costs around $400,000.

Cover Story

KANSASThere are no firms yet licensed to offer AH in Kansas, according to the STATE BOARD OF MORTUARY ARTS.

A change in the law took place without the direct knowledge or involvement of the KANSAS FUNERAL DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION, according to KFDA executive director PAM SCOTT. Scott said a generic statement shifting that state’s language to permit AH was not on the association’s agenda.

“None of us caught it,” Scott said. She said it doesn’t appear members are embracing the idea.

“I haven’t heard anyone that’s even thinking about it in Kansas,” Scott said.

ILLINOISFuneral director RYAN CATTONI offers AH in Illinois and to other funeral directors and those in neighboring states. He said it’s growing in terms of interest, following a slow start that began in 2012.

“I thought the majority of families that would choose the process would be the environmentally friendly people or the ones that want to limit the amount of natural resources they use,” Cattoni said.

“However, I am finding that the majority of families that go with flameless cremation choose the process because they do not like the idea of fire or their loved-one being burned,” Cattoni said.

“I think that is in our human nature and DNA that when we think fire, we think danger or to run away from it. Whereas water, we find more relaxing and easier on the mind since we depend on it to live,” Cattoni said.

“I am not trying to change anyone’s mind, but only offering families another option.”

LONG HISTORYFire has been around much longer than AH, but roots of AH date back at least 127 years.

The first known U.S. Patent for an Alkaline Hydrolysis-like process was issued in 1888 to British scientist AMOS HERBERT HOBSON who considered it a new way to turn bones and animal waste into useful things like fertilizer, gelatin and glue.

New York holds its place in AH history as well, according to a “History of Alkaline Hydrolysis,” a 2011 booklet written by BIO-RESPONSE SOLUTIONS, INC. which made the AH machine for Edwards’ Ohio funeral home.

Two scientists from ALBANY MEDICAL COLLEGE, GORDON KAYE and ALDEN MARCH, and a business partner PETER B. WEBBER were looking to spend less money disposing of animals they’d exposed to low-level radioactive waste.

The leftover liquid by law could be poured down the sewer drain so the team patented a tissue digester and began selling it not long after their 1994 patent was granted.

Cover Story

CAR CARE CORNER

Top Ten Battery Care TipsTo help you avoid getting stranded with a dead car battery on your next service call [insert joke here], GALE KIMBROUGH, also known as “Mr. Battery,” offers these suggestions:

1. Take a few minutes to read about your battery in your car’s manual and become familiar with the type of battery it is, where it is and how it can be cleaned

safely.

2. At the start of each new season, check the battery to make sure it is still fully charged for the excursions ahead.

3. When working with your car battery, wear protective eyewear, remove all jewelry and wear long sleeves to protect your arms from battery acid discharge.

Business Tips

4. Perform a visual inspection to see if the battery case is showing signs of extreme bulging, cracking or leaking. Replace your battery if you

see any of these signs.

5. If your battery has removable filler caps, open them and check the water level in each cell. If the level is low, add distilled water (not tap

water) until the plates are covered, preferably to one-half inch above the plates. This prevents the buildup of sulfate crystals, which can reduce the overall battery charge and performance.

6. Avoid overfilling, because heat can cause the electrolyte solution inside to expand and overflow.

7. Clean up the connections by removing any corrosion and lead oxidation and make sure to brush the dirt and grime off the case.

8. To remove the battery cables, first disconnect the negative cables and then the positive. To reinstall the cables, first connect the positive

cables and then the negative.

9. Be sure the battery is mounted securely in place to minimize vibration. Excessive vibration is harmful to the battery plates and terminals and

could lead to battery failure. After completing reconnection, use a protective spray on the terminal connections.

10. Have your battery and electrical system professionally tested every three to six months, especially prior to heading out on a trip or

extreme changes in temperature. (Source: NAPSI)

.

in His OWN Words

The following is part of NYSFDA past president SCOTT B. ANTHONY’S

remarks during the recent National Funeral Directors Association’s

(NFDA) Advocacy Summit held in Washington, DC. In January, Anthony

announced his candidacy for NFDA Secretary.

Member News

My experience as a NYSFDA board member and officer for 15 years has given me the confidence to seek the NFDA Secretary position. The grassroots advocacy program that we developed in NY has given our state association and funeral service a

strong voice in Albany. I have been able to work closely with our state representatives to enact legislation that supports the role of every NY funeral director in their community.

As Trustee and Chair of the FUNERAL SERVICE FOUNDATION I was honored to be involved in the charitable opportunities offered through the foundation.

The $250,000 that is granted by the foundation yearly support many different facets of funeral service and scholarships. One project that I am particularly proud of is making it possible for the 90 unclaimed bodies after Katrina to have a dignified final resting place in a memorial park dedicated to those who died in the storm. The Funeral Service Foundation made the lead gift which allowed the project to move forward in obtaining more donations.

My funeral home was started over 60 years ago on the east side of Rochester, NY. A city and county that has ¾ million residents. The city is located on the south shore of Lake Ontario and is closer to Toronto than NYC. We are very Midwestern in our lifestyle and personality. My father was a WWII veteran of the war in the South Pacific and returned home to fulfill his dream of having his own funeral home. That dream became a reality in 1952. My family has continually served our community since then. The business is now owned by my cousin and I and we have another generation that has joined the firm.

I really love the role that I play helping families initially through the grief process. I never felt that it was a job.

Serving the community that I love so much is easy because I really care about what I do. Recently, we served a family member who died who was the father of two young women who were tragically killed in an auto accident on their way home from college for Thanksgiving in 1978. I came across two notes in their funeral file that were directed to my father who had served the family. The notes were from the father of the girls and the other from their minister. The father’s note said that he, “expressed deep thanks and appreciation for your great help and especially your kind understanding, you handled the situation extremely well and gave us the support needed to get through a sorrowful situation.”

The minister said in his note, “so often in this world we take each other for granted, I want you to know how much I appreciated the skillful and sensitive way in which you dealt with the family and service.”

I am sure that many of you have been the recipient of notes like this.

It seems so simple to me that if you treat the families you serve with respect, dignity and understanding that the future of funeral service is secure.

We have to continually look to each other, our state association, Funeral Service Foundation and NFDA to provide us with the information, education and advocacy that we need to help our families who call on us in their darkest hour.

In keeping with the constantly changing landscape in which to communicate, I have created a website, Facebook page and twitter account to be as accessible by you. This way I can share with you who I am both professionally and personally. Please feel free to contact me using any of those methods or just pick up the phone and call me. I would be happy to hear from you.

Member NewsNFDA’s governing boards; the Executive and Policy Board and the Funeral Service Foundation Trustees have been successful in attracting dedicated and knowledgeable people who want to see our profession and association continue to grow and serve our communities as we have been doing for the last 130 years.

I humbly ask you to show your confidence in me with your vote in October.

To follow Scott’s campaign journey, visit: www.ScottAnthony.care.

ONLINE RESOURCES FOR FUNERAL DIRECTORS

The U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (VA) has an online FUNERAL DIRECTORS RESOURCE KIT. Funeral directors nationwide may use the kit when helping veterans

and their families make burial arrangements in VA national cemeteries. It has links about eligibility, benefits and services, plus videos and information regarding services offered with and without military funeral honors. The videos are available in English and Spanish.

www.cem.va.gov/cem/funeraldirector.asp

(NO, NOT THAT ONE!)

Approximately 80 million Americans are currently avoiding the end-of-life discussion with their aging parents. As you already know, having a conversation about end-of-life wishes can save families years of heartache, bickering and even legal issues.

IT MAY BE TIME TO HAVE “THE TALK”

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Nevertheless, millions are actively avoiding it, according to a recent MARIST SURVEY. Citing being uncomfortable and procrastination as the top two reasons families aren’t having these conversations, survey respondents also indicated fear that their families could have problems in the future due to lack of

communication about topics such as finances and health.

Other research shows nearly a third of baby boomers said their biggest communication obstacle with aging parents is the continuation of the parent-child roles that emerged in childhood, making discussion of sensitive issues even more difficult.

Unfortunately, further research indicates that 70 percent of conversations happen too late, being initiated by an event such as a health crisis or other emergency, which can increase the likelihood of family disputes. According

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NYSFDA Annual Convention

POUGHKEEPSIEAugust 16 - 19, 2015

to surveyed attorneys, two-thirds of these disputes that end up in court could have been avoided if end-of-life wishes were communicated and documented in advance. Given the severe consequences of waiting too long to have this critical conversation, the FUNERAL AND MEMORIAL INFORMATION COUNCIL (FAMIC) launched the campaign titled, HAVE THE TALK OF A LIFETIMESM.

The campaign is aimed at motivating families to have conversations about life, what matters to them and what they value most. These discussions can help families make important decisions about how they wish to remember and honor the lives of their loved-ones through the most meaningful memorialization.

Member News

Like most funeral home operators, you take care to be a good corporate citizen in your community. You’re mindful of the chemicals you use in your business,

conscious of the effect they may have on the environment. And you recycle certain products to reduce landfill waste. NYSFDA appreciates your efforts in this area and has a program to officially recognize your good business practices. The ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM has recognized many funeral homes across NYS for their efforts to minimize their impact on the environment. The program is free of charge to NYSFDA members. All you need to do is complete a BRIEF APPLICATION describing your efforts. Applications are reviewed and funeral homes awarded Platinum, Gold, or Silver certification. Certified funeral homes receive a plaque as testament to those efforts. In addition, we provide a sample press release so you can let potential consumers know that your funeral home is sensitive to the effects funeral service has on the environment. For more information, contact Frank Kerbein at 800-291-2629 or at frank@nysfda.org.

Is Your Funeral Home

Green ?

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

You are a chip off the old block.

You’re just like your father. Just like your mother. Cut from the same cloth and the apple doesn’t fall

far from the tree – which was okay when you were a kid. Back then, you wanted to grow up just like them anyhow.

Or not. When you’re the child of a parent with an unusual career – for instance, if you’re “THE UNDERTAKER’S DAUGHTER” – you might, as did Kate Mayfield, pick another path.

KATE MAYFIELD spent most of her young life surrounded by death.

Just after she was born in the late 1950s, her parents moved the family to tiny Jubilee, Kentucky, where Mayfield’s father had decided to open a funeral

home. There were two funeral homes there – one for Jubilee’s black residents and one for whites – but he reasoned that there was room for competition.

He didn’t reckon on the town’s Old Guard, which closed ranks among themselves and almost stopped the newcomer in his tracks.

Slowly, though, and with the help of one of the town’s most eccentric and forward-thinking residents, Mayfield’s father was accepted in the small town and his business thrived. He hired a few locals for help when times were busy and, as was the norm then, he also ran one of the town’s ambulances. The family lived in an apartment above the coffins and embalming room, Mayfield’s mother worked her way into the town’s social life, the Mayfield children settled into Jubilee’s schools, and the dead came and went at Mayfield and Son Funeral Home.

BOOK REVIEW: THE

UNDERTAKER’S DAUGHTER

But Jubilee was no Mayberry.

Racism was a way of life there and, though Mayfield says that the family maid was sometimes her only friend, there was an otherwise strict separation of black and white. As time passed, life in the small-town became a cauldron of gossip and sniping; Mayfield was reprimanded by teachers and taunted by schoolmates for liking a black boy; and The Old Guard continued to plague her father, whose secrets began to affect everyone around him. Mayfield, a teenager by then, knew her family would never leave Jubilee…. but she couldn’t wait to go.

Have you ever gotten a gift that was different – and better – than you expected? That’s what happens when you open “The Undertaker’s Daughter.”

You might think, for example, that the title indicates a tale of living with a funeral director, but you’d only be partially correct. Author Kate Mayfield includes plenty of funny, heartfelt, sad memories of life above death, though she starts her book with a game of bridge and a love letter to small town life, a lifetime ago.

And yet – we see the dark spots, and the love letter soon becomes a Dear John letter. For that, I buried myself in this book.

While you may (rightly) see comparisons to a couple of popular works of fiction, remember that this book is a memoir - and a good one at that. Look for “The Undertaker’s Daughter” and you’ll be glad to block off your time for it.

To see more book reviews like this one, visit: www.SympathyNotes.org!

© 2015, Gallery Books$24.99 / 368 pages

Sympathy Notes

ONE AND Done . . . IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT SPORTS PLAYOFFS

Effective JANUARY 1, 2015, the IRS changed the Individual Retirement Account (IRA)

Rollover regulation.

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DirectorsChoiceCU.com(800) 593-5920

Previously, members with IRA’s; both Traditional and ROTH, SIMPLE IRA’s, and Coverdell ESA Accounts, were allowed one rollover per year, per account. Remember, a Roll over is when the member takes a distribution from one IRA account and then rolls over the assets to another financial institution within

60 days.

Now, an IRA owner, regardless of how many IRA accounts in how many different financial institutions may only transact one roll over in a 12 month period. Any additional withdrawals will be considered taxable income, which could create a substantial tax bill.

Other factors in this regulation change are that unlike correcting excess contributions or recharacterizing a contribution to the wrong type of IRA, the IRS isn’t allowing corrections, regardless if accidentally made or otherwise. Also, it is the IRA owner’s responsibility to comply with the new rollover rule, not the custodians or trustees.

So, you have multiple IRA Accounts, and now you want to consolidate them? This can still be accomplished without causing tax implications or taking several years. Simply request your destination financial institution to accomplish a trustee-to –trustee transfer, where the funds are directly transferred from one IRA to another.

If you have questions regarding this or any other IRA regulation, you can contact DIRECTORS CHOICE CREDIT UNION or your tax accountant.

ARE YOU USING

SELECT PAY?The SELECT PAY program is offered to PrePlan participating funeral homes as an easy, flexible payment plan for families who prearrange and prefund their funerals through PrePlan.

SELECT PAY was designed as a tool to help funeral directors in assisting families with limited resources.

The flexible payment plan allows the purchaser to make annual payments (1-5 years) or monthly payments (up to 60 months). There is a one-time fee billed to the funeral home to establish each SELECT PAY account. The fee charged

to the funeral home is determined by the total number of payments the consumer selects.

The SELECT PAY program also reduces the minimum deposit to open a preneed account to $250 (vs. the $500 normally required). For individuals on a very fixed income, the wide variety of payment term options allows

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RATE WATCHCURRENT NET CONSUMER YIELD

1.18%ANNUAL CONSUMER NET YIELD

1.29%

for a tailored solution to meet their personal financial situation while still providing them with the peace of mind that their funeral has been prefunded.

An additional benefit to offering SELECT PAY to your consumers is that those who select one of the monthly payment term options can elect to have it directly debited from their checking account. With so many of us opting to have our monthly expenses debited from our bank accounts, it is a great time to offer this to your consumers when they are prefunding their funerals. Should the consumer elect to participate in the DIRECT DEBIT program, they will never have to write a check again! (In fact, once they’ve elected a monthly direct debit no checks will be accepted from that consumer.) DIRECT DEBIT ensures that their payment is always on time and increases the likelihood of their plan being fully funded at the time of need.

The process is simple. If you are interested in offering this SELECT PAY service to your families, please call the PREPLAN staff at 800-577-3752. We will gladly answer any questions you may have and walk you through the process of setting up this service.

Business Tips

Why funerals matter

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Every culture throughout history has used ceremony and ritual to recognize weddings, birthdays, and funerals.

This video describes Dr. Alan Wolfelt’s Hierarchy of the Purpose of Funerals.

WHY WE’VE HAD FUNERALS SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME

NEW VIDEO TITLE PRODUCED BY NYSFDA:

Regardless of the kind of service, it helps for families to understand the parts of a meaningful funeral. Each element serves a unique

purpose and plays an important role.

A new business was opening and one of the owner's friends

wanted to send him flowers for the occasion.

They arrived at the new business site and the owner read the card, "Rest in Peace."

The owner was angry and called the florist to complain.

After he had told the florist of the obvious mistake and how angry

he was, the florist replied, "Sir, I'm really sorry for the mistake, but rather than getting angry, you should imagine this: somewhere there is a funeral taking place today, and they have flowers with a note saying, 'Congratulations on your new location.'"

On the Light Side . . .

Rest in P

eace

Final Thoughts

What Do You Think?Take a moment to fill out our interactive survey.

Once you submit your opinion, you can view what your peers think too!

Is AMAZING GRACE the most requested song during funeral services at your funeral home?

If not, tell us what is! CLICK HERE.

NYSFDA to offer

CELEBRANT TRAININGJune 23-25, 2015 in AlbanyThis training has been designed for anyone interested in learning how to personalize and design meaningful funerals or tributes. Our previous Celebrant Trainings have attracted a wide-variety of participants: funeral directors; preneed and aftercare specialists; hospice professionals; clergy; chaplains; business people; and students. The curriculum to be covered: articulating the value of the funeral; listening skills; family meetings; service planning; music and readings resources; eulogy writing; closing ceremonies; master of ceremonies; presentation skills; and developing the celebrant concept in the community. Registration details will be mailed in the coming weeks.