ConnectingDirectors.com - Funeral Industry News, Information, and Trends

Every day, federal, state and local governments stifle small businesses to privilege well-connected incumbent companies. It's a system of protectionism for influential insiders who don't want competition. Every locality has its share of business moguls who are cozy with politicians.

Together, they use the power of government to keep competition down and prices high.

Read more: FoxNews Says Government To Blame for High Funeral Prices?

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She was dead.

At least that's what the bank's security systems indicated. Sorry, a bank official said, we can't open an account for you. Rivers asked more questions but got only vague answers. An outside company indicated there was a problem with her Social Security number, she was told, but the bank wouldn't tell her the name of the firm.

"Needless to say, I was startled," said Rivers, 58, who lives in Jasper, Ala. And so began her digital murder mystery.

Read more: Government Information: 1000's Killed Incorrectly By Social Security Each Month

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Embalming has become a necessity - specially with several counter insurgency operations at border areas. And so when the Armed Forces Medical College at Pune decided to teach young pathologists and medical officers in field areas they came out with practical hands on training about the existing and newer techniques to preserve the cadaver. More than 50 field officers have been trained, says Lt Col Rajan Bhatnagar, Head of the Department of Anatomy, AFMC, Maj General G Ravindranath, Deputy Commandant of AFMC, points out that embalming has increased markedly in the armed forces due to the increased awareness among the relatives and availability of transportation facility offered by the government to carry mortal remains of the service personnel.

Read more: Armed Forces Medical College: Medical Officers Trained To Make Dead Look Good

Life Tributes by funeralOne gives you the ability to produce world-class memorialization products with the click of a mouse, and it's all done in-house, in-minutes!

Joey told to to take a look and share your thoughts with your members. He said if you hate it, tell them, if you love, tell them. He said hold nothing back, give them the truth. So I did take a look and I watched the new demo of Life Tributes. I went through all of the new features. I absolutely couldn't believe what I saw. The video DVD demo was amazing, and the new themes for the print material are beautiful.

I rarely give out testimonials for products. But I have to recommend that you check out the changes made to the software below and click on the link to watch a demo of the new video software. I guarantee you will be blown away. I can imagine using any other memorialization software.

Check it out below. I would love to hear what you all think

Read more: New Life Tributes Software From FuneralOne Blew Me Away

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A UK company called And Vinyly is offering people the chance to press their ashes in a vinyl recording of their own voice, their favorite tunes or their last will and testament. Minimalist audiophiles might want to go for the simple option of having no tunes or voice over, and simply pressing the ashes into the vinyl to result in pops and crackles.

The company was founded by Jason Leach, who co-founded the techno group and record label Subhead in the 1990s and has since founded a number of other labels, including House of Fix, Daftwerk and Death to Vinyl.

Read more: Have Your Ashes Pressed Into a Vinyl Record?

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By Marc LeVine, Director of Social Media, RiaEnjolie, Inc.

You and your family began your funeral home business with the best intentions in mind. There isn't a funeral home director with an ounce of integrity, who launches his or her new business deliberately intending to disappoint their customers. Nor, can any sane business person – in any type of endeavor - deny that there will be times when things will get a little bit out of hand resulting in less than stellar consumer reviews for them and their business. No matter how hard we try to please everyone we serve; we should still plan on having the kind of days that our "mama(s) said would be like this."

Read more: Businesses: Keep Nasty Complaints off the Web by Offering Great Customer Service

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With the war in Iraq said to be over as far as US combat troops are concerned, the number of casualties in Afghanistan is increasing rapidly. A number of photographs moved on the AP and Getty wire today including ones from the funerals of three soldiers killed last week. One of the three was an open-casket funeral.

We often are hesitant to run photos showing the deceased in the paper. I think editors here (and at other papers I've worked at) are overly sensitive to publishing these. If the family has invited us to attend and document the event and freely chooses to have its loved one on display then why would we, in the gatekeeper role, disregard their wishes?

Read more: Open Casket Funerals: Should The Photos Be Published?

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The first of the baby boomers are entering their mid-60s, and the death rate in the U.S. is expected to rise from 8.1 people per thousand in 2006, to 9.3 in the year 2020, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. The Baby Boomer generation includes 78 million Americans, and represents 29.4% of the total U.S. population, according to the U. S. Census Bureau.

"Boomers are not going to be happy with cookie cutter funerals" said Mark Davis, CEO of ValMark Memorial Group and founder of their newest division, Remembrance Centers of America. "They are demanding customized funeral arrangements, with personalized touches." As baby boomers grow older and find themselves having to plan funerals for loved ones and themselves, they are making funeral choices based on values that are different than previous generations. Boomers have never followed tradition, and planning their funerals is no exception. Baby Boomers see funerals as a valuable part of the grieving process and are seeking ways to make them meaningful, which begs the question: Which funeral homes are embracing the evolution in funeral customs and have adapted their offerings to meet the needs and desires of the Baby Boomers of America?

Read more: Funeral Homes Addressing the Needs of Baby Boomers