Del Doleman, left, presents a certificate to Cindy Foree, operations manager for Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens and Funeral Home, Nashville, Tennessee, to recognize her selection for a Women's Forum ICFA University scholarship. Anyone in the funeral or cemetery profession may apply for a scholarship. The university, held at the University of Memphis, Tennessee, in July, offers weeklong intensive study.
Download an application for a scholarship for 2005.
Women's Forum Awards 2004 ICFAU Scholarships
The ICFA Women's Forum awarded two ICFA University scholarships during the association's 2004 Annual Convention in Nashville, Tennessee.
The two scholarship winners will attend ICFAU at the University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, July 16-21. They will be able to choose from among five undergraduate colleges: Cemetery Administration & Management, Cremation Services, Funeral Home Management, Land Management & Grounds Operations and Sales & Marketing.
Cindy Foree
Foree is operations manager for Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens and Funeral Home in Nashville, Tennessee. Her duties include financial recordkeeping for all locations and responsibility for all business functions, such as the company's insurance and employee benefits programs, computer system management and compliance with state and federal laws. She also assists the sales department with pricing, packaging, advertising and database marketing.
"I was very honored to be selected to receive the scholarship to ICFAU from the Women's Forum," Foree said. "The 12 years I've spent in the cemetery and funeral industry have been quite rewarding. I look forward to the networking and knowledge I will receive in Memphis in July. I've heard so many great things about ICFAU. This experience will surely provide me with additional ways to serve the families we serve."
After Foree received an associate's degree in business management in 1992, she answered an ad for an office manager. "I was excited to get the call for an interview, but admit feeling a little strange about the thought of working at a cemetery and funeral home," she recalled in her scholarship application. "Going to the interview and meeting the caring people who worked there made all my apprehensions disappear."
She is still with the same company, working as assistant to the chief operating officer.
In describing her philosophy of customer service, Foree said, "Our goal should be to do everything in our power to ease the pain of a grieving family, through attention to detail, offering quality merchandise and excellent service, whether assisting them in preplanning, conducting funerals and burials or following up with valuable information and grief support. We are there to serve families."
Harpeth Hills owns and operates two combination facilities; two stand-alone funeral homes, one of which has a crematory on site; and one stand-alone cemetery.
Foree takes an active role in the industry, having served as the executive director of the Cemetery Association of Tennessee for eight years and executive director of the Southern Cemetery and Funeral Association for two years, where she was retained as a consultant following her service. She is a member of the board of directors and membership chair for the Cemetery Association of Tennessee. Foree holds a business management degree from Nashville State Technical Institute.
Sandra A. Colleton
Colleton is sales manager, advance planning and family services, for Evergreen-Washelli Cemeteries and Funeral Homes in Seattle, Washington. Colleton's responsibilities with Evergreen-Washelli include leading the sales team in the field, as well as a variety of management and training duties. She trains counselors on product knowledge, company policies and procedures and sales concepts. Colleton also assists in the areas of recruiting, marketing and advertising.
"I am honored to be a recipient of the 2004 Women's Forum scholarship," Colleton said. "I look foward to this opportunity to learn from some of the industry's best and brightest minds. It will be exciting to meet others who share my passion for helping families."
"Events in my youth no doubt led me to work in the memorialization industry," Colleton wrote in her scholarship application. "When I was a young girl growing up in rural Massachusetts, I would frequently ride my bike to the pioneer cemetery in town, which dated back the 1640s. My friends thought it was a creepy place; I found it fascinating.
"The twisted boughs of the majestic old growth apple and oak trees were great places for a young girl to sit and read a book or contemplate life. The tilted and worn slate tombstones had stories of their own to tell. I remember the day I realized how many of the pioneers who died were young children like me, and it made quite an impression on me. Before I became acquainted with the cemetery, I thought only old people died.
"Years went by, and then when I was 21 I experienced the first death in my immediate family circle, my paternal grandmother. I had been alone with her at the hospital holding her hand when she died. I was so grateful to have been there for her so she didn't die alone and frightened.
"The next day, I went to the funeral home with my dad to provide moral support while he arranged her funeral. Neither my mother nor my much older brother or sister were comfortable taking on that role, yet somehow I was able to remain calm and strong for him to lean on. I observed firsthand how emotionally difficult that experience was for him."
Years later, having discovered an aptitude for sales but unsure of where to apply it, Colleton saw a "help wanted" ad placed by Evergreen-Washelli, and "I knew instantly that was where I belonged," she said, and has remained because "I love serving families!"
"There is nothing more satisfying for a job well done than the hug I get at the end of nearly every meeting with one of our families." Colleton started as a cold-call telemarketer and since then has held every job in the sales department.
Colleton has been a guest speaker for the Washington Interment Association. She is a member of the Ballard Chamber of Commerce, the Shoreline Chamber of Commerce and the Executive Women's Golf Association. She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Washington.
The following sponsors made the two ICFA scholarships possible:
American Cemetery Supplies
BLP Bronze International
Christy Vault
Crematory Manufacturing & Service
Doric Vaults
Ferno Washington
Granit-Bronz/Cold Spring Granite Memorial Group
Matthews International
Trigard/Greenwood Plastics
Wilbert Funeral Services
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Copyright ICFA 2004
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