|
INDUSTRY NEWS FTC Staff Anticipates Making Funeral Rule Recommendations by "Late Summer 2006" Cynics might point out that the Federal Trade Commission staff has claimed since late 1999 that it has always been six months away from sending its recommendations on revisions to the Funeral Rule to the Commissioners for approval. The FTC recently published its semiannual regulatory agenda wherein the Funeral Rule was identified as "likely to have some impact on small entities." This most recent agenda states, "Staff is evaluating the comments and anticipates forwarding a recommendation to the Commission by late summer 2006." The comments referred to by staff were those submitted by the ICFA and many other interested parties in 1999 during the most recent rulemaking review of the Rule. A brief history of the proceedings was stated in the regulatory agenda: "The Commission responded to requests to address emerging issues in the funeral industry by beginning a review of the rule in 1998 rather than in 1999 as originally planned under its 10-year schedule for reviewing all Commission rules and guides. The Commission published a notice soliciting public comment in May 1999. Commission staff conducted a public workshop conference on November 18, 1999, to discuss and explore openly issues raised in written comments." Among the issues raised during the period of active review seven years ago were amending the Funeral Rule to cover all sellers of funeral goods or services, restricting or prohibiting the non-declinable professional service fee, and repealing the Rule. Members will be kept informed of any developments. U.S. Census Bureau Finds Small Firms Create More Jobs Than Large Firms The U.S. Small Business Administration funded a study by the Census Bureau tracking the start of new companies, firm closures, and job creation by firm size for 2002 to 2003. Earlier this month, the data was updated to provide the following information: during the time frame reviewed, 612,296 firms were created and 540,648 were closed. Firms with fewer than 20 employees added 1.6 million net new jobs, and firms with 20 to 499 employees added 400,000 net new jobs. The largest firms, those with 500 or more employees, lost one million net jobs from 2002 to 2003. For more information, check the Small Business Administration web page at www.sba.gov. ICFA NEWS Now Online: Fall Management Conference Schedule The program schedule is now available online for ICFA's Fall Management Conference, October 4-7, at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Important: Hotels sell out quickly the week of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta! Make your reservations early by calling the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa at 1.800.233.1234. Geared for CEOs and executives in the cemetery and funeral service profession, the program addresses important topics in management, technology, sales and more. This year's format takes the best elements of previous conferences and combines them to give you a wider variety of sessions, including both general sessions and smaller breakout sessions. The breakout sessions will be repeated on each of the three days, allowing you to attend all of them. Sessions include:
Additional planned activities include a spouse/guest tour in Santa Fe and an early morning bus trip to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, open to all attendees and their families. For dates and times, check out the schedule online at www.icfa.org/fall06.htm. More detailed information about the conference sessions, registration and pricing will be posted online next week. Programs and registration forms will be mailed out in the next few weeks. For more information, call the ICFA at 1.800.645.7700. Hotel Deadline for Portland, Oregon: June 2 The hotel reservation deadline has been extended until June 2 for Todd Van Beck's Advanced Seminar in Quality Funeral Care in Portland, Oregon, June 23-25, at the Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel. You must make reservations by this date to receive ICFA's discounted group rate of just $99 per night. To reserve your room, call 800.325.3535. Funeral Director Todd Van Beck will provide you with a set of goals based on the work of Dr. Edwards Deming, as well as the tools necessary to achieve these goals. Attendees of the first two meetings in Chicago and Atlanta raved about the program's value and its effectiveness in providing them with the direction and the knowledge to improve their management style and exceed families' expectations. Both Seminars received 100 percent "excellent" ratings for the overall seminar on post-conference evaluation forms. It is not too late to register for the three remaining seminars, including:
For those attending the Portland, Oregon Seminar, call the Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel hotel at 800.325.3535 by June 2 to book your room. Remember to mention you are with the ICFA to receive the discounted rate! ICFA University Housing Deadline: May 31 You have one week to register for housing for the 2006 ICFA University, July 21-26 at the University of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee. If you have not returned your registration form, please do so before the end of May to ensure the housing placement of your choice. After May 31, students will be assigned to rooms on a first-come, first-served basis. ICFAU is a five-day intensive academic program offering cemetery and funeral service professionals more than 24 hours of classroom learning time and exceptional networking opportunities through on-campus housing and dining. ICFAU offers students a comprehensive program and the selection of five schools covering every area of the cemetery and funeral service profession: Cemetery Administration & Management, Cremation Services, Funeral Home Management, Land Management & Grounds Operations and Sales & Marketing. Complete programs and registration forms are available on the ICFA Web site at http://www.icfa.org/icfau06.htm or by calling 1.800.645.7700. ICFA's Mentoring Program has something to offer everyone The ICFA Women's Forum is still accepting applications for both mentors and mentees who wish to participate in a newly developed mentoring program. The program is designed to provide support for young professionals in the cemetery and funeral service profession and a network for them to develop and thrive in their careers. Both mentors and mentees can benefit from a mentoring relationship. Mentees will receive:
The ICFA is now accepting applications for both mentors and mentees. The program is open to all individuals employed by ICFA-member cemeteries, funeral homes and related businesses. For more information about the ICFA mentoring program click on this link: www.icfa.org/pdf/article_1.06.pdf To download an application form for mentors, click here: www.icfa.org/pdf/mentor.pdf. To download an application form for mentees, click here: www.icfa.org/pdf/mentee.pdf. Application forms can be faxed to 703.391.8416. If you have questions or would like more information, email Danielle at dskinner@icfa.org; or call 1.800.645.7700. Call for Presentations—2007 Wide World of Sales Conference As preparations begin for the ICFA's 2007 Wide World of Sales Conference, January 17-19 at Treasure Island in Las Vegas, Nevada, the ICFA Sales & Marketing Committee invites ICFA members and attendees who wish to speak at this event to submit proposals for presentations. The Wide World of Sales Conference draws 400+ sales managers and counselors, as well as company owners, suppliers, insurance agents and others. The committee is looking for practical, "how to" presentations related to preneed sales, at-need sales, family service, marketing and sales team management. Interested candidates should submit their proposed presentation to ICFA headquarters no later than June 30. Instructions for preparing your proposal are available by downloading them at http://www.icfa.org/docs/call_for_presentations.doc or by calling the ICFA at 1.800.645.7700. CLASSIFIED ADS Territory Representative Two regions are now open in upper Midwest for individuals to serve our existing client base and open new markets. Tribute's precast concrete products are well known in the Industry. Technical knowledge is not required, but professional sales skills are. Minimal overnight travel. Excellent compensation, benefits and incentive package. Email resume to timh@tributeinc.com. 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 ... For a limited time, ICFA members can purchase the McQuaig Job Survey, the McQuaig Word Survey and the McQuaig Self-Development Survey for just $100 per assessment, a savings of up to 50 percent off the regular price. The member discount offer expires December 31, 2006. Companies assessing more than 100 candidates per year are eligible for additional discounts. For additional information, visit http://www.icfa.org/pdf/mcquaig2.pdf and http://www.icfa.org/pdf/mcquaig.pdf. For questions and to sign up for the program, contact Michael Gravelle at The McQuaig Institute at 1.800.387.5455, ext. 361, or mgravelle@mcquaig.com. Join today! 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. |
