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

Arlington National Cemetery is trying to account for $12 million — about a quarter of its current annual budget — that was allocated to the cemetery between 2004 and 2010 but apparently was never spent.

Congressional leaders and federal investigators who have been probing the cemetery’s operations said at a Senate hearing Wednesday that there was no documentation detailing where the funds are or how such a large amount of taxpayer money could have gone missing.

“It’s not clear if it was returned, if it was spent or where it is,” Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said after the hearing, which she chaired. “I don’t think there is any indication of people walking out with it. I think this is incompetence . . . gross incompetence.”

Read more: Arlington Cemetery Trying to Account for Missing $12 Million

There will be a time, many times actually, when a friend, co-worker or casual acquaintance will face the death of a loved one.

There will be mourning. There may be a visitation or memorial service, perhaps reflecting religious, family, cultural and regional traditions.

And you will wonder whether to attend one of these social gatherings — or you should — whether the deceased is a cousin you haven’t seen in five years or a co-worker’s parent whom you’ve never met.

Read more: Mourning 101 - How to Pay Your Respects

This is probably the most heated I have ever been in a video, but it is all passion. I am tired of funeral homes being told all they need for their social media marketing is custom pages. Social media marketing without a strategy is NOT going to produce the ROI (return on investment) you are looking for. Creating custom Facebook and Twitter pages is important, but that alone is not going to help your funeral home dominate your market place.

Why? Because without a social media marketing strategy your funeral home is just aimlessly posting without any coherent direction. A social media marketing strategy allows you to be cost effective because your strategy will be based off insights and needs of your customers.

Watch this video. It’s Important.

Read more: Don't Get Snowballed ... Your Social Media Marketing Needs a Strategy

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This post originally appeared on AlanCreedy.org

When asked what it was that made him so exceptional a hockey player, Wayne Gretzky is said to have responded, “I see my job a little different from most other hockey players.” Pressed for details, he said, “my job is to skate to where the puck is going to be.”

The question that all of us are thinking is where the funeral service puck will be in five and ten years from now, so we can be there. And if that ability to correctly anticipate the future will be the most important factor in determining whether, when we retire, our careers will be classified as exceptional as was Gretzky’s, or merely non-descript, how do we acquire the skill to foresee the future?

From my view, the pucks of the funeral service future will be numerous and each one will have to be considered separately. Accordingly, in order for any of us to be classed as exceptional, there will be more than one puck to anticipate. There are a number of examples; this list contains just a few of them.

Read more: EXPERT OPINION: How to Be Exceptional in the "New Normal"

DEERFIELD, ILL. — January 24, 2012 — Selected Independent Funeral Homes, the world’s largest and oldest association of independently owned funeral homes, has launched a resource for people who are grieving to connect and hear from experts. Why We Gather connects people in a number of ways, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Each offers unique opportunities for those who grieve to experience a sense of gathering and to share and learn from one another any time of the day or night.

“Grief is a universal emotion that we all have experienced,” said Thomas Belford, President of John A. Gentleman Mortuaries of Omaha, Neb., and President of Selected Independent Funeral Homes. “By offering those in mourning an easy—to—use, highly accessible place to share experiences, along with expert insight on grief, we hope this community provides comfort during what, to many, is a significant life event.”

Read more: Selected Independent Funeral Homes Announces Launch of 'Why We Gather'

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Have you ever thought about (if possible) which celebrities you would choose to be pallbearers for your funeral? I guess that is probably not a normal thought many of us have, in fact this is the first time I have ever thought about it! But as it turns out many celebrities are pallbearers for each other. Mysendoff.com has created a really cool infographic that shows what celebs have been pallbearers for other celebs.

Read more: Celebrity Pallbearers - Who Carried Who's Casket? [Infographic]

The Miller-Meteor Cadillac hearse that carried former U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s casket after he was assassinated in 1963 was auctioned at a Scottsdale, Arizona auction this weekend for $160,000.

Stephen Tebo, a real estate developer from Colorado, bought the hearse that carried the former President, along with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy, from a Dallas hospital to the airport.

Tebo, who purchased the car from the auction company Barrett-Jackson, will keep the vehicle as part of his extensive rare vehicle collection, featuring over 400 automobiles including a custom Rolls-Royce limousine once owned by John Lennon.

Read more: JFK Hearse: Cadillac That Carried Kennedy's Body after Assassination Auctioned

Death and taxes might be the two certainties of life. And when it comes to investing, taxes are unavoidable as well.

But investors do have a choice when it comes to death and whether or not it belongs in their portfolio.

Some might speculate the so-called death-care industry might be doing well given the aging population. But to find out if death stocks might warm over your portfolio, we can create a custom stock index we’ll call the death-dex. This index tracks how well six large publicly traded funeral- and death-related stocks have done in the near and long term.

Read more: How Are "Death Stocks," Like Funeral Homes, Doing?

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Leader of centuries old family run firm recognized with award geared toward young professionals

DEERFIELD, ILL. — Selected Independent Funeral Homes has named Claire Austin of Hertfordshire, England, the 2012 recipient of its prestigious NextGen Professional of the Year Award. Austin was honored at a ceremony during the opening night reception of the group’s annual seminar, taking place January 22—26 at the Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort in Las Cabos, Baja California Sur, Mexico. The award carries with it, in addition to recognition in front of the recipient’s peers, a $500 cash prize and a physical award. The award is designed to specifically spotlight career achievements, community and organization involvement and awards/achievements of funeral professionals under the age of 50.

Read more: Selected Independent Funeral Homes Honors Austin as First International Recipient of Prestigious NextGen Award

Originally published in the January 2012 issue of ICCFA Magazine

Their calendars are marked with notes and Xs labeling all the plans they have had to reschedule. They dread the sound of a ringing telephone. Their DVD players always contain a movie paused in the middle. This life is not for everyone. Yet, for the thousands of people who married into the funeral home business, it is the only life they know.

Funeral directors play a key role in how society honors life and ritualizes death. They must remain available to families 24/7. They must dress formally and maintain a composed demeanor anytime they leave home. They must be both sensitive and fastidious; a steady hand in public and a shoulder to cry on behind closed doors.

But behind these hardworking and empathetic professionals are the often overlooked wives and husbands who provide the support, reassurance and understanding to help their spouses serve families from their community.

Read more: For Better Or Worse: Being A Funeral Director's Spouse Is ... Different

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Coffins in the shape of a Lion and a car are displayed at the South bank Centre on January 20, 2012 in London, England. A collection of bespoke coffins by ‘Crazy Coffins’ in Nottingham and the famous ‘Pa Joe’ workshop in Ghana are currently on display at the South Bank centre, who are currently running a festival celebrating life and death.

Read more: Unusual Coffin Show Opens In London

On the heels of Batesville announcing 100 job cuts, another Indiana based casket company, Genesis Casket, announces they are now in full production. What does this mean for Batesville?

INDIANAPOLIS, IN — Casket manufacturer Genesis Casket Company has begun production at its plant in Indianapolis — less than twelve months from the date it first announced that it would locate in the Hoosier state. Genesis joins a number of other companies which have located in Indiana in the past year.

“Other companies are shifting production outside the country. We’re proud to say our metal caskets are manufactured right here in Indianapolis,” said Tony Colson, president and chief executive officer of Genesis. “We’re benefiting from the highly skilled, dedicated and engaged workforce that typifies the Hoosier work ethic and is readily available in Indianapolis.”

Read more: Genesis Casket Company Now in Full Production