|
INDUSTRY NEWS ICFA Conducts Capitol Hill Advocacy Visits to Offer Assistance February 15 and 16 marked the first ICFA Capitol Hill Advocacy Visits to members of Congress in Washington, D.C. The project was organized by President Ray Frew who, among other things, arranged a luncheon for the ICFA team in the U.S. House of Representatives Congressional Dining Room, hosted by Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-CA). Thanks to the efforts of the participants, ICFA staff and members met with four representatives, one senator and four chiefs of staff of other members of Congress. In particular, the ICFA team met with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) chief of staff, and with Sen. Dianne Feinstein's (D-CA) legislative assistant. ICFA members stressed that the association is geared to assist constituents with either questions or problems concerning the cemetery and funeral service profession, and everyone they met with expressed appreciation for the ICFA's willingness to help. The series of meetings occurred at a busy time on Capitol Hill just prior to a 10-day Congressional recess. Weather-wise, the visits also lucked out because only three days earlier, more than a foot of snow fell on the Washington area. By the time of the ICFA visits, temperatures were in the 60s. A full review of the Congressional meetings will be covered during the Government and Legal Affairs session at the ICFA Annual Convention & Exposition, March 13-16, at The Venetian Resort, Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Highlights of the Capitol Hill visits can be downloaded at www.icfa.org/pdf/capitol_hill.pdf. (Please note that file is 1.8 MB and may take some time to download.) ICFA NEWS Register Online for Advanced Seminar on Quality Funeral Care Funeral home owners, managers and staff can now register online for Todd Van Beck's Advanced Seminar on Quality Funeral Care. Simply visit www.icfa.org/vanbeck_06.htm and follow the instructions to complete your registration. The Advanced Seminar in Quality Funeral Care, a certificate program led by funeral director Todd Van Beck, shows funeral home owners, managers and employees how to apply the principles of quality funeral service at their firm to result in better service to families, strengthened relationships with families and higher visibility in the community. The seminars will be held throughout the year at the following locations:
Don't Wait—Register Now for the Annual Convention & Exposition It is not too late to register for the ICFA's 2006 Convention & Exposition, March 13-16 in Las Vegas, Nevada, but don't wait too long! With two weeks to go until Convention week, registration numbers already exceed those from previous years, making this Convention one of the largest in ICFA's history. More than 500 of your colleagues have already signed up, and the Exposition Hall is almost sold out. Don't miss out on the most comprehensive Convention in the profession, covering all areas of funeral service, cemetery management, cremation and preneed sales. The ICFA Convention & Exposition has something to offer everyone in all areas of the cemetery and funeral profession. This year's session includes more than 30 breakout sessions so you can choose the topics that are most important to you. Here is a small sample of what you can look forward to:
ICFA Announces 2006 ICFAU Scholarship Winners The ICFA Women's Forum has selected the 2006 ICFA University (ICFAU) scholarship award winners. Congratulations to:
Scholarship benefits are provided by generous donors who support continuing education within the cemetery and funeral service profession. This year's sponsors are:
2006 ICFA University Program Now Online The 2006 session of ICFAU will be held July 21-26 at the University of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee. ICFAU is a five-day intensive academic program designed for cemetery and funeral service professionals and offering five colleges: Cemetery Administration & Management, Cremation Services, Funeral Home Management, Land Management & Grounds Operations and Sales & Marketing. With a college campus setting, it encourages extensive networking and idea sharing among students and faculty. Programs will be mailed out to ICFA members in a few weeks and can now be viewed online at www.icfa.org/icfau06.htm; or call the ICFA at 1.800.645.7700 for more information. OSHA Training CDs For Cemeteries, Funeral Homes, Crematories Now Available The International Cemetery and Funeral Association now offers a series of 10 OSHA compliance training CDs to enable business owners to present a consistent message on important safety topics and satisfy their OSHA training requirements. The CDs also make it easy to document training efforts through user-friendly forms, quizzes and employee handouts. Each module comes complete with an audio-visual presentation on CD-ROM, a user's guide, instructor notes, student handouts, a quiz and completion certificates. Each module costs $80 for ICFA members and $95 for non-members and can be purchased by calling the ICFA at 1.800.645.7700. Modules included are:
The OSHA Training CDs were developed for the ICFA by TechneTrain Inc. The ICFA also offers an OSHA Compliance Manual through TechneTrain. The cost for the manual is $145 for ICFA members and $175 for non members. For additional information on the CDs or the manual and to place an order, call the ICFA at 1.800.645.7700. CLASSIFIED ADS Sales Director Does a cemetery with 2.5 million visitors annually sound like your kind of sales opportunity? We certainly agree and are currently seeking an individual to develop and manage a sales team for this exceptional property. This historic cemetery in central Illinois has recently completed a comprehensive master plan involving the development of a mausoleum complex, veterans garden and columbarium, private estates and more. Our objective is to develop a professional sales team to introduce these new programs to the community. If you are versed in all phases of cemetery sales, have a proven track record of accomplishment, and are seeking a genuine, long-term career opportunity, send your resume in confidence to: W. R. Toson, President, 262.367.9992 fax, billt@tributeinc.com email. Service Corporation International—Chicagoland Market SCI offers you much more than a job and far more than a paycheck. We know what matters in your life and in the lives of the many people whose needs we meet every day. As the largest provider of funeral and cemetery services in North America, SCI is where you want to be within our industry. We are seeking within our growing market:
Cemetery For Sale Large 30 acre cemetery in metropolitan Atlanta, GA. Yearly interment average of 155 burials. Beautifully maintained by professional landscape firm. Highly focused on pre-need. Undeveloped property still remaining. Owner ready to sell. Contact Idtmw@aol.com or call 866-269-0681. Sales Manager Large, progressive cemeteries in Wisconsin seeking Sales Managers to take teams to the next level of sales as well as help us grow our entire company to a new level. Positions available in Milwaukee or Green Bay, Wisconsin; each with a wide variety of unique market options. Must be able to display strong leadership and public speaking skills as well as prove previous sales success. Our sales managers are expected to contribute to the sales volume of the team as well represent our family owned and operated facilities in a highly professional manner. Send resume to Christine Toson Hentges at christieh@tributeinc.com. See locations at www.pinelawn.net and www.forthoward.net. 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. Reach Thousands of Cemeteries and Funeral Homes With Your Classified Ad!
And more ... The 2006 Music Licenses are available for just $220, no additional fees. Covers ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. Any U.S. funeral home, cemetery or related business is eligible for membership as a Music License Member. Join today! 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. |
