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INDUSTRY NEWS Sen. Schumer Introduces Tissue Transplant Legislation: Sales From Funeral Homes Prohibited Last week, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) announced that he would introduce federal legislation to strictly regulate the tissue transplant industry. The move was prompted by recent news reports of illegally obtained tissues from a Brooklyn funeral home where bodies were allegedly exhumed and bones stolen. Schumer claimed that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not adequately regulated the tissue transplant industry, including mandatory testing procedures to prevent contaminated tissues from being used for transplants. According to Schumer's office, "Tissue transplantation is similar to organ transplantation but the industry is regulated much more loosely. While organ donors are identified only by doctors in hospitals, tissue donations can come out of funeral homes and morgues." Schumer's proposal would "make it illegal for tissue banks to buy tissue from funeral homes and morgues, with an exception for types of tissue deemed to be in short supply." The FDA would be required to perform surprise inspections annually of tissue banks and conduct periodic audits of where the tissue has come from. Also, Schumer would "require FDA to define the term 'reasonable processing fee.' It is currently illegal to buy and sell tissue, but it is legal to charge 'reasonable processing fees.' This term has never been defined, and can be used by for-profit tissue banks to make money off body parts." FTC Publishes Top 10 Consumer Fraud Complaints for 2005 Last Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission published its annual report listing the top ten consumer fraud categories for last year. According to FTC, "Complaints about identity theft topped the list, accounting for 255,000 of more than 685,000 complaints filed with the agency in 2005." Other top categories of consumer fraud included: internet auctions (12%); foreign money offers (8%); shop-at-home/catalog sales (8%); prizes/sweepstakes and lotteries (7%); internet services and computer complaints (5%); business opportunities and work-at-home plans (2%). Rounding out the bottom of the top 10 are advance fee loans and credit protection (2%); telephone services (2%); and "Other" (17%), which includes employment agencies/job counseling, charitable solicitations, government services, real estate, modeling agencies, green card application services, dating services, living trusts, and viaticals, among other areas. It is interesting to note that nowhere in the 70+ page FTC report are funeral-related issues mentioned. For more information on the 2005 consumer fraud report check the FTC web page at http://www.ftc.gov. Cemetery Consumer Service Council Announces Annual Survey Results The Cemetery Consumer Service Council (CCSC) has announced the results of its Activity Survey Report for the year 2004. The results for 2005 are scheduled to be published within 90 days. For 2004, a total of 186 complaints and inquiries were processed during the year. Of that number, 140 were resolved. Twenty-six complaints and inquiries were pending at the beginning of the year while another 16 remained at year's end. These figures are based on the responses provided by 20 of the 39 state CCSC committees and state agencies where no CCSC committee exists. Among the various types of complaints and inquiries received, 41 dealt with improper cemetery maintenance, 26 with questionable sales practices, 18 with Truth in Lending matters and other contractual issues, 30 with cemetery rules and regulations, and another 42 with a variety of other issues including simple inquiries into cemetery practices. Not all agencies track the types of inquiries they receive. CCSC is a non-profit organization created in 1979 and is funded by the International Cemetery and Funeral Association, the Cremation Association of North America, the Central States Cemetery Association and the Southern Cemetery and Funeral Association. Recently, new sponsors include the Western Cemetery Alliance, the Illinois Cemetery and Funeral Home Association, and the Cemetery & Mortuary Association of California. The sole purpose of CCSC is to assist consumers, without charge, in resolving complaints or answering inquiries regarding cemetery services or policies. Participation in the complaint resolution process is voluntary for both the consumer and the cemetery. Industry members volunteer their time and experience to serve as CCSC representatives in their respective states. The Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, various state consumer protection agencies, and offices of attorneys general are periodically notified of CCSC activities and are among the major sources for consumer referrals. CCSC is listed in the Consumer's Resource Handbook, a U.S. government publication that is circulated to public libraries and consumer assistance agencies throughout the nation. The complete CCSC survey results can be viewed on the ICFA web page at www.icfa.org/pdf/ccsc_2004_survey.doc ICFA NEWS ICFA's Expanded Block at The Venetian Sells Out Even after adding 220 additional room nights to the ICFA room block for the 2006 Convention & Exposition, March 13-16 at The Venetian in Las Vegas, Nevada, the block has completely sold out. Rooms are still available at The Venetian; however, attendees who do not already have reservations will be charged the hotel's regular room rate. For additional information on nearby accommodations, please contact the ICFA staff at 1.800.645.7700. This year's Convention will be the largest in the association's history, with more educational programming, more booths and more registrants than ever before. This is the only Convention that covers it all: funeral service, cemetery management, cremation and preneed sales. For program details and to access a registration form, visit www.icfa.org/ac06.htm or call 1.800.645.7700. Convention Early Registration Deadline Looms Time is running out to take advantage of the early registration discount for the ICFA Annual Convention & Exposition, March 13-16 at The Venetian in Las Vegas, Nevada. Attendees who register by February 8 will save $50 off the regular registration fee. For a complete program schedule and to register, visit www.icfa.org/ac06.htm or call 1.800.645.7700. ICFA Announces 2005 KIP Award Winners The ICFA has announced the winners for the 2005 KIP Awards, which recognize outstanding examples of personalization of services or products in the cemetery and funeral service profession. A panel of four independent judges reviewed 39 entries in four separate categories: Magic Moment, Events, Most Personalized Service or Memorial and Innovative Personalized Products. A complete list of winner and descriptions of their entries can be found at www.icfa.org/kip_categories05.htm. Congratulations to the 2005 KIP Awards winners: Grand Prize (and First Place in the Most Personalized Service or Memorial Category): St. Michael's Cemetery, East Elmhurst, New York Edward Horn, director of sales, marketing and community relations Queen's firefighters memorials Most Personalized Service or Memorial Honorable Mention: Anderson McQueen Funeral and Cremation Centers, St. Petersburg, Florida William McQueen, President Personalized service for Dr. David K. Davis Honorable Mention: Bronleewe Inc., Oregon Memorials, Hillsboro, Oregon Hibiki Miyazaki Brittany and Cory memorials (tied) Magic Moments First Place: Eternal Hills, Klamath Falls, Oregon Tim Lancaster, CCFE, executive vice president Twilight service Honorable Mention: Krause Funeral Homes and Cremation Services, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and MKJ Marketing, Largo, Florida Mark Krause, owner Funeral reception rooms Honorable Mention: Nelsen Funeral Homes-Loving Pet Crematory, Richmond, Virginia, and MKJ Marketing, Largo, Florida Blair Nelsen, owner Online Memorial Candle program Events First Place: Montelena Complejo Funerario, Antiguo Cuscatlan, La Libertad, El Salvador, Central America Jose Alberto Samayoa Rivas, executive director Mass honoring Pope John Paul II Honorable Mention: White Haven Memorial Park, Pittsford, New York Andrea Vittum, CCE, president Quarterly remembrance services Honorable Mention: Kelowna Memorial Park Cemetery, Kelowna, British Columbia Dennis Radford, CCE, cemetery manager "Marking our Past - 100 Markers for 100 Years," program (to install markers on 100 of the 700 unmarked graves in its pioneer section) Innovative Personalized Product First Place: Funeria LLC, Graton, California Maureen Lomasney, president "Offerings" silver scattering vessel Honorable Mention: Assurant, Atlanta, Georgia, and MKJ Marketing, Largo, Florida Tom Barnard, vice president, development Remembrances Memory booth for funeral homes Honorable Mention: Candle Perfection, Scottsdale, Arizona Phyllis James, owner 'Light of Life' Candle Cremation Urn and Keepsafes Advanced Seminar on Quality Funeral Care Now Online The ICFA and funeral director and educator Todd Van Beck will present a 14-credit-hour continuing education program at five convenient locations around the United States during 2006. The Advanced Seminar in Quality Funeral Care is a certificate program through which funeral home owners, managers and employees will learn how to apply the principles of quality funeral service. The seminars will be held throughout the year at the following locations:
ICFAU Scholarship Application Deadline: February 13 The February 13 deadline to apply for an ICFA University scholarship is fast approaching. Enter to win a free registration to attend the ICFAU college of your choice by downloading an application form here. The five colleges include Cemetery Administration and Management, Cremation Services, Funeral Home Management, Land Management & Grounds Operations and Sales & Marketing. ICFAU will be held July 21-26, 2006, at the University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee. Students attending ICFAU will spend five intensive days learning from the top leaders in the profession, networking with colleagues and developing as leaders in the cemetery and funeral service profession. Sponsored by the Women's Forum, the ICFAU scholarship covers all registration fees as well as housing and meals. The scholarship does not include transportation to or from Memphis. Anyone in the funeral or cemetery profession may apply for a scholarship. For details, rules and regulations on the ICFAU scholarship program, download an application from at http://www.icfa.org/pdf/wforum06(1).pdf or call 1-800-465-7700. 2007 Wide World of Sales Conference Slated for Treasure Island The ICFA has announced that the 2007 Wide World of Sales Conference will be held January 17-19 at Treasure Island in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 2006 Conference broke previous attendance records, with 443 attendees. The post-conference evaluations were extremely positive, with 84 percent of attendees rating the overall conference as "excellent" or "very good" and the remainder rating it as "good." Among the comments:
Additional program information details will be available this summer. Sign Up For the Cemetery Idea Swap ICFM columnists "Smitty & Fife," Tom Smith and Tom Pfeifer of Spring Grove Cemetery, have offered to set up a "cemetery employee swap." Do you want some ideas for improving your operation? Sign up for the swap! To participate: 1. You must agree to allow an employee to devote 2-3 days (including travel time) to the exchange. 2. You must agree to welcome someone from another cemetery, show the person around your operation and answer questions about how you do things. 3. Within a week of returning from the exchange, the participant must submit a written report to their employer and to Smitty & Fife listing at least five solid ideas for your cemetery to try. Sign up by sending an e-mail to Tom Smith tsmith@springgrove.org with the subject line "Cemetery swap" and the following information in the body of the e-mail: 1. Your name, job title and phone number. 2. Name of your cemetery. 3. City and state where your cemetery is located. 4. Size of your cemetery (acres). 5. Number of services your cemetery handles annually. 6. Choose one: a. Willing to fly somewhere for swap. b. Swap location must be within driving distance of my cemetery. Avoid the fines. Sign up now for your 2006 Music License Have you signed up for your 2006 Music License? Businesses that do not have a current music license are in violation of music copyright laws, which can cost you thousands of dollars in fines for each song that is infringed. All businesses are required to be licensed where music is performed, either live, played by recording or by the receipt of radio transmissions. Sign up today for your 2006 music license. The ICFA offers music licensing from ASCAP, BMI and SESAC for 2006 for a price of just $220. For additional information on music licensing (including an FAQ page), and to obtain your 2006 music license, visit www.icfa.org/music; or call 1-800-645-7700. CLASSIFIED ADS Computer Software Do you know where all your information is? Are you tired of the same old options out there? Are you looking for more from your computer system? MACCSTM, from FPA Software, is the complete mortuary and cemetery solution, providing all the functionality and features needed to effectively manage and operate a memorial park and mortuary today. From pre-need sales prospecting all the way through interment (and everything in between!), MACCSTM provides an easy to use, flexible, and completely integrated system for a memorial park and mortuary providing funeral services. Consistent with our approach of providing a completely integrated solution, the MACCSTM Mapping module provides GIS mapping capabilities integrated in real-time with information in the MACCSTM cemetery property database. Mortuary case management, service tracking, cemetery property management, integrated mapping, accounts receivable, pre-need trusts, serialized casket inventory, complete reporting and forms management - MACCS has it all. Please feel free to contact us at 818-501-3390 or visit our website at www.fpasoftware.com/maccs to learn more about MACCSTM. Sales Director "This is a unique opportunity for significant income and long term career potential..." Our firm recently completed a comprehensive Master Plan for a large, historic cemetery in Illinois. The plan includes a new veterans garden, columbaria, mausoleum complex, estate lots and more. We are seeking an individual to develop and manage the sales team that will introduce the new plan to the community. Must be experienced in all phases of cemetery sales and have demonstrated team building skills. Fax or email your resume in confidence to: W. R. Toson, President, 262.367.9992 fax, billt@tributeinc.com email. Reach Thousands of Cemeteries and Funeral Homes With Your Classified Ad!
And more ... The ICFA Store allows members to purchase the latest ICFA resources and training products online. Some products are available for immediate direct download, including the newly released Wirthlin Report on consumer attitudes and article packages on cremation, cemetery and funeral home valuations and trust funds. The ICFA News Page takes you to sources throughout the world for industry news and updates. It brings you the most comprehensive selection of funeral service and cemetery news available anywhere, along with frequently updated general news items related to national and world events. The News Page reports the news before anyone else and is one of the most visited page on the ICFA Web site. Stop in each day and you'll see why. The Network is an online e-mail service that offers ICFA members an easy, free way to share questions and answers to everyday on-the-job challenges. Recent discussions have examined issues such as working with the Muslim community, distance between burial sites, direct mail marketing, the growing popularity of geocaching at cemeteries, recruiting staff and more. Ideal for smaller companies with smaller budgets. Join today! The ICFA Internet Expo is the largest online exposition in the cemetery and funeral service industry. Cemetery and funeral home owners and operators will find 300+ providers in more than 100 product and service categories. Exhibit space is provided as a free, exclusive benefit to all ICFA supplier and professional members. Check it out today! Need a labor relations and employment law attorney? Check out ICFA's HR Law Benefit program offering members no-cost telephone legal consultations, paid for by the ICFA via an exclusive retainer agreement. ICFA members now also have access to an attorney for tax-related questions regarding trust earnings, care fund allocations, capital gains, investments and more. The ICFA has retained Leslie Schneider, CPA, a tax attorney with Ivins, Phillips & Barker in Washington, D.C., for telephone consultations for up to 20 minutes with no obligation. To take advantage of this member benefit, call Schneider at 202.393.7600. The ICFA and Applied Merchant Systems of Chicago, Illinois, currently offer members a Credit Card Processing Program with a special low discount rate of 1.75 percent, with no per transaction processing fee. This new benefit makes it less expensive for cemeteries, funeral homes, memorial designers and related businesses to accommodate customers who wish to pay via credit card. For more information, call 1-800-675-6573. The ICFA Insurance Program, administered by Driver Alliant, allows members to purchase commercial property and casualty insurance -- including general liability, commercial property, automobile liability and physical damage, umbrella liability, professional liability, workers compensation, employee benefits and more -- at rates they probably would not be able to afford on their own. To advertise in the ICFA Wireless: The ICFA accepts limited advertising in the ICFA Wireless newsletter, a bi-weekly newsletter e-mailed to all ICFA members that are current on their dues and have provided a current e-mail address. For rates and to place your insertion, contact Kim Ferguson at kferguson@icfa.org or 1.800.645.7700. To unsubscribe from the ICFA Wireless: Send an e-mail with "unsubscribe" in the subject line to: wireless@icfa.org. Please include your name and company name in the body of the e-mail. International Cemetery and Funeral Association 107 Carpenter Drive, Suite 100 Sterling, VA 20164 1.800.645.7700 703.391.8400 Fax: 703.391.8416 www.icfa.org Copyright 2006 International Cemetery and Funeral Association. |
