This afternoon’s edition of Funeral Director Daily marks our 12th and final “Most Read Articles” of the month for 2025.

Funeral Director Daily wants to thank all of you who have contributed to our year — a year in which we saw email subscriptions and daily page view numbers continue to grow to new records for us.  Thanks!!!

We know that readers want a variety of information in this Death Care publication and today’s “Most Read” articles from November 15 to December 15 point that out. . . .There are Death Care related articles on aviation, documentaries, public companies, and acquisition news in this month’s Top 5. . . . .

In case you missed those articles, here they are again.

1. Cremation Air:  A new service to help funeral homes.
2. Another Death Care documentary series debuts tomorrow night. 
3. The public Death Care companies are in the news.
4. Does KFC have a template for Death Care?
5. Park Lawn purchases 8 funeral homes in greater Oklahoma City.

Happy Holidays!!!!

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

With the advent of increased private equity ownership in the Death Care business there are not a lot of public companies to draw information from that you can compare with your own funeral home.  Quite frankly, the only two public companies where I seem able to find “comparable information” with locally owned funeral firms are Service Corporation International (SCI) and Carriage Services.

Interestingly, in the past couple of weeks both of those companies and Death Care supplier Matthews International were all in the news for various reasons.  Here’s a short synopsis of why.

First of all, SCI was involved as a participant at the Bank of America Leverage Finance Conference.  They were represented there by Senior Vice-President and Treasurer Aaron Foley who took part in a question and answer period with Bank of America Securities Larry Bland.  You can read a full transcript of the Q & A here from Seeking Alpha.

There is a lot of information for people interested in Death Care business in the Q & A.  I’ll note three items I found somewhat interesting and pretty much on trend with what I’ve heard around the profession in the past year.

• Cemeteries have great opportunities going ahead.  There is a market for “Premium Memorialization”.  Here’s what SCI’s Aaron Foley said about that issue:  “Cemetery side has continue(d) to be strong as well. We — as I know that we’ll talk about later, have a dynamic within our pre-need cemetery sales that has large sale dynamics but a core consumer dynamic as well. . . . . . But those large sales make up about 10% to 15% of our total cemetery preneed sales. And we’ve got teams out there that are constantly driving and trying to grow that.”  (Editor’s Note:  SCI considers sales of $80,000 and over Large Sales”

• The Pull-Forward effect on pandemic deaths has probably caught up and we have reached normalcy for death rates.  Here’s what SCI’s Foley said about that in the Q&A:  “I think where we stand today, it seems that, that has all kind of normalized out. . . . . .As we began our 2025 planning, we came out of this expectation after having seen in ’22, a decline of volume of 6% in ’23, 4% in ’24, we were down 2.5%. We expected 2025 to be about flat to slightly down. . . . . So seeing all those trends together kind of gives me some heart to say, I feel like we’re kind of at this normalized trend now for volume.”

• Cremation Growth has started to moderate.  Here’s what SCI’s Foley said on that dynamic in the Q&A:  “And where we stand at this 58% or so type cremation mix, when we’ve looked at other kind of Western cultures where the cremation mix has seemed to stabilize, that’s around that 70% to 80% type range. And so as we get closer to that, you would expect that, that slope should start moderating. But then when you look at a lot of the cities and urban areas that we do operate in the top 10 or 15, there’s a good chunk of those that are already kind of at or near that 70% to 80% type range. And so we’re expecting less of a pressure from that (growth of cremation) front going forward.”

Matthews International has sold their Warehouse Automation Business for $230 million.  As you may know, Matthews International operates in different business segments, with the largest, by revenue, segment its Memorialization Segment.  That segment consists of its Matthews Aurora business, The Dodge Company business, and businesses in the cremation and cemetery categories.

According to this information from Globe Newswire, “The proceeds from the transaction, net of taxes and transaction costs, will be primarily used to significantly reduce outstanding debt, further strengthening the Company’s balance sheet and enhancing its capacity to pursue future strategic initiatives.” 

Again, according to the press release, “The Warehouse Automation business generated sales of $72 million for fiscal 2025.”

If you follow the public stocks it is hard not to notice that Carriage Services has been on a deliberate plan to modernize not only their businesses but also their business plan and strategic outlook going forward.  It appears that what they are doing is being noticed not only by those of us in the Death Care business world but those who rate credit as well.

According to this note, S&P Global has elevated the Carriage Services to a B+ credit rating from a B rating.  S&P Global notes this upgrade is reflective of continued operational improvement and an anticipation of lower leverage going forward.

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

In a new world order that includes cremation, alkaline hydrolysis, and natural organic reduction it is sometimes forgotten that over 1 million caskets are sold in the United States every year.  To that discussion we will bring you some news from a couple of casket companies today.

Batesville, long known for its casket products, is continuing their transition to a total solutions company for funeral homes.  To that end they are introducing their “Remembrance Store” which will be a co-branded turnkey e-commerce storefront designed to generate incremental revenue streams for funeral homes.

According to this recent press release from Batesville,  “families are increasingly turning to outside providers and often shopping online for urns, remembrance jewelry, keepsakes, and other memorial products, leaving funeral homes vulnerable to both lost revenue and relationships”.

According to that press release:

• 58% of pre-need and 64% of at-need families researched funeral products such as urns and jewelry online, highlighting a need for shoppable digital resources consumers can access prior to contacting the funeral home.

• 30% of families buy urns before contacting a funeral home.

• 38% of pre-need and 37% of at-need consumers purchased remembrance products through Amazon.

• 32% of pre-need and 36% of at-need families consider shopping online to be a more ideal place to purchase memorialization products vs. only 20% at funeral homes.

Batesville’s “Remembrance Store”  will give families who prefer to shop online the convenience of purchasing through their trusted funeral home, which would allow funeral homes to capture that online revenue that may be going to other sources at this time.

Private Label Caskets, operating out of Indianapolis, Indiana, recently posted the following notice to their website:

Another Announcement ––  While we didn’t see it as a press release on the Batesville website we did receive the following notice from Batesville on their Facebook page which appeared on our Facebook scroll on October 28:

“We’re honored that Private Label has chosen Batesville as their recommended domestic supplier for their customers.  In times of change, we believe strength comes from partnership — and we’re committed to making this transition seamless for every funeral home they serve.  At Batesville, we’re proud to honor the tradition that defines this profession while driving the transformation prepares it for the future.”

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) recently released this report which predicts that traditional burial in a casket will drop from today’s selection rate of 33.2% to approximately 13.0% –  a number that is lower than was originally thought —  by 2045.

We question what that might mean for casket companies in raw numbers.  Here’s some available statistics and some projected ideas that may give meaning to that answer.

In 2024, the United States reported approximately 3.1 million deaths with a 33.2% burial rate.  Extrapolating those numbers would mean that about 1,029,000 caskets were needed for those burials.

In 2050, projections tell us that the United States will grow to about 380 million people and the death rate per thousand people will grow from today’s level of about 9.06 deaths per 1,000 people to about 10.3 deaths per 1,000 people because of an “older average age”.  Projections tell us extrapolating those numbers would bring about a raw number death total of about 3.9 million residents.  At a 13.0% casket useage that would mean that about 507,000 caskets would be needed for those deaths.

Total US Population
1950 = 148 million, 2010 = 309 million, 2025 = 343 million

So, if those population, death rate, and disposition projections hold up over the next two decades you can see that only about 1/2 of the caskets used today will be needed in 2050.  If those numbers hold up there will probably be casket company consolidations and, as Batesville is doing, branching of the company into other segments.

U.S. Death Rate
1950=9.65/1000, 2010=8.00/1000, 2021=10.40/1000, 2021 represents a rise per pandemic

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

Morgan Stanley, a global financial services firm that provides a wide range of products and services, including investment banking, wealth management, consumer banking, and brokerage services, recently made this comment in an article, “Life insurance companies have rapidly evolved into influential players in the credit markets.  Their growing footprint is not merely a function of asset growth but reflects a strategic evolution in asset allocation strategy, driven by shifts in their product offering, regulatory frameworks, and the rise of alternative asset management.”

And while that comment was made with the traditional life and annuity companies in mind it probably holds true for those insurance companies in the Preneed sphere of insurance as well.  Lately, I’ve probably seen more information about preneed insurance companies’ lending businesses in industry trade journals and direct marketing than I have about those companies’ preneed insurance offerings.

Here’s a couple of pages from well-known preneed companies on their ability to help one finance their funeral home operations:

Here are some more comments from the article on insurers getting more and more into the credit business:

“The rise in interest rates by the Federal Reserve from near-zero levels to over 5% between 2022 and 2024 also helped life insurers, who could now offer significantly higher crediting rates on fixed annuities. This makes them attractive to retirees and the cohort approaching retirement and seeking tax-deferred growth and predictable retirement income.”

“We think that these flows could persist given demographic trends,”

“On the back of these flows, U.S. life insurance companies have seen their general account assets under management expand by $1+ trillion since 2021, and this growth has outpaced the expansion of traditional credit markets.”

“Life insurers are also among the largest holders of public corporate bonds, with a ~30% share of the outstanding U.S. public corporate credit market.”

“While rate volatility could affect future annuity flows, life insurers are now key intermediaries in credit markets—reshaping capital flows, risk pricing, and financial intermediation.”

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  In the funeral home and cremation lending business, as in other businesses,  there is something to be said for “knowing your client”.  And even today not all banks, especially in rural communities, totally understand the funeral home business which is one reason the door has been opened  for these preneed companies to lend out insurance premiums received for funeral home based loans.

Most banks want “asset backed” loans and funeral homes don’t always hold the “assets” that many banks see as desirable.  Many funeral homes produce more cash-flow, and have financial needs on the basis of that cash-flow, than asset-based lending institutions are comfortable with.

That is one great reason to look for “industry knowledge” when seeking a loan to buy or expand a funeral home.  These preneed companies “Do” understand your business.  When I used financing to expand, build, or buy during my funeral home ownership career I used local banks — but it did take a while to educate my bankers on how my business works. . . . . Getting financing from these preneed companies eliminates that step for local funeral home owners.

My First knowledge of Insurance company lending  —  Back in 1991 I started a company in the sports travel and event business.  Part of what that company did was arrange for foreign competition-based trips for United States collegiate teams over the summer months.  I can remember in 1992 on one of those very first trips for a basketball team where one of the referees at a game in Osnabruck, West Germany (prior to the Berling Wall coming down), invited my wife and I to his home after a game.

His family had a beautiful home and he made the comment that they had received their mortgage loan from the insurance company which insured the home.  I thought that was highly unusual and he commented to me that insurance companies, and not banks, were the primary mortgage holders in West Germany.

Maybe, with the somewhat recent addition of insurance company-based lending,  the U.S.A. is just a little behind the times in some of those situations.  It’s not so far out of the realm of thinking that someday home mortgages could be financed by property insurer’s in America, too. . . . . and, automobiles being financed by auto insurers such as Liberty Mutual.

Warren Buffet has made no secret that his Berkshire Hathaway investments in insurance, such as Geico, try to make as much profit on the “float” time-period of investment of premium dollars coming it to the company before those same dollars are paid out in claims.  If insurance companies find safe, reliable, and higher yielding returns in the lending business rather than simple investing you will see more of this insurance-based lending happen.

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

(Un)Conference Bombshell: Cruger Announces Brad Green’s Appointment as COO of Foresight Companies

Following a phenomenal panel discussion on the state of funeral service finances at the fifth annual Disrupt Media Funeral (Un)Conference Tuesday, Chris Cruger, Chief Executive Officer of The Foresight Companies, announced that former Park Lawn Corporation CEO J. Bradley Green has joined Foresight’s executive team.

“I’m actually thrilled to announce that Brad Green has joined Foresight as our Chief Operating Officer,” Cruger shared with a record-breaking number of virtual (Un)Conference attendees.” Brad and I became really close friends, particularly over the transition of Park Lawn from public to private.”

Strong leadership and a smooth transition

As Park Lawn’s CEO, Green spearheaded the nearly $1 billion deal that successfully transitioned the company into private ownership by the Homesteaders Company, Homesteaders affiliate Viridian Acquisition Inc., and Birch Hill Equity Partners Management Inc. in August 2024. Cruger and Foresight assisted Homesteaders in the negotiations and worked alongside Green and others to manage the change. It was this partnership that convinced Green to consider joining Cruger at Foresight.

“We’ve been spending a lot of time together and he was able to spend some time around our team,” Cruger shared with (Un)Conference leader and Disrupt Media founder Ryan Thogmartin. “He loved what we were doing. Loved the culture and wanted to be a part of it and I couldn’t be more humbled to have him on board. I mean, you look at people out there, here’s the guy who doesn’t have to work, doesn’t have to do anything, but loves the profession, loves the people, loves what we do, and it’s really an exciting opportunity. [All I can say is] welcome, welcome.”

Green announced in April 2025 that he was stepping away from Park Lawn after nearly seven years with the company. Green joined Park Lawn as President in May 2018 and assumed the CEO position in March 2020. He previously served as CEO with the Signature Group prior to the Park Lawn’s acquisition of the business. Park Lawn president and general counsel Jennifer Hay assumed the role of CEO in May 2025.

New digs for Foresight

In addition to the announcement of Green’s new role, Cruger shared that Foresight has moved its base operations from Phoenix, Arizona to Jupiter, Florida. As all of Foresight’s employees also relocated to the new Florida location, the Arizona office was permanently closed.

Since Cruger joined the Foresight team in 2019, he has helped 178 businesses transfer ownership — and according to the panel of funeral finance experts at the (Un)Conference, the merger-acquisition market is only going to grow in the coming months and years.

A bright future

During a lively and informative discussion, the five-member finance panel described an “extremely active environment” and a “lot of activity” of late. Joining Cruger on the panel were Jamie Meredith of C&J FInancial, Tim Bridgers of Global Atlantic, Jimmy Altmeyer of Altmeyer Funeral Homes and Treasured Memories, and Jake Johnson of Johnson Consulting Group. Thogmartin led the panel in talks about preneed programs, training, business intelligence, and the changing needs of families.

“There is a lot of a changing demographic, and more and more people are looking to get out of this space,” Cruger shared during the discussion. “I think that spells a lot more opportunity. Valuations are solid. I think there’s no better time to be in this space, if you’re willing to be a little more progressive.”

Batesville Named One of America’s Most Trustworthy Companies for Second Year in Newsweek Study

BATESVILLE, Ind., April 10, 2025 – Batesville, a leading provider of high-quality burial and cremation products and innovative technology solutions to deathcare professionals across North America, earned its second spot in Newsweek’s list of Most Trustworthy Companies in America for 2025. This prestigious award is presented by Newsweek and Statista Inc., the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider. Batesville achieved a top twenty ranking in the Consumer Goods category, alongside a variety of global brand leaders, moving up five positions from its first appearance in 2024.

“Trust is essential in building successful relationships – with our employees, with the deathcare professionals we are privileged to serve, and with families who purchase Batesville products to honor their loved ones,” said Chris Trainor, CEO of Batesville. “We are incredibly proud to be recognized as one of the Most Trustworthy Companies in America for the second year in a row.”

Newsweek’s Most Trustworthy Companies in America list is based on an independent study that measures trust across three pillars: consumer, investor and employee trust. All public and private companies headquartered in the U.S. with over $500 million in annual revenue were eligible for consideration. The list is built on an innovative methodology that includes survey input from approximately 25,000 U.S. residents, a review of more than 97,000 evaluations and analysis of 304,000 online mentions. The 700 companies with the highest scores have been recognized as the Most Trustworthy Companies in America for 2025.

Headquartered in southeastern Indiana, Batesville is proud to be an American manufacturer that has served funeral homes and families in the U.S. and Canada for nearly 120 years.

From its origin as a manufacturer of high-quality caskets, the company has continued to adapt and expand its capabilities to meet the needs of funeral consumers. Today, Batesville offers a comprehensive portfolio of burial and cremation products, innovative technology solutions for funeral homes, cemeteries and crematories, profit-enhancing merchandising tools, and an unparalleled collection of personalization and memorialization offerings. 

The company leverages research with its customers and end-consumers to create unique and compelling products that are aligned with the functional needs and personal preferences of today’s families. Over the last year, Batesville has introduced a distinguished line of military-inspired caskets to honor veterans, expanded its collection of Dimensions^® oversize caskets, added more than 150 new cremation urns, jewelry and keepsake items, including an exclusive line of ceramic urns by Rookwood^® Pottery, and delivered major technology enhancements for funeral homes, cemeteries and crematories. One of the most compelling is the new Family Choices^® physical and digital merchandising solution, which uses advanced technology and modern components to provide a better product selection experience for grieving families.

Batesville operates four award-winning manufacturing facilities in North America and has a high-velocity distribution system with over 90 regional and local service centers, allowing the company to deliver outstanding customer service. Batesville employs more than 3,000 dedicated and hard-working associates who are guided by five core values:  

• Individual Worth and Integrity
• Excellence in Execution
• Continuous Learning and Improvement
• Courage
• Customer Focus and Partnership

To learn more, visit Most Trustworthy Companies in America 2025 – Newsweek Rankings.

ABOUT BATESVILLE SERVICES, LLC

Batesville (www.Batesville.com) is a recognized leader in the deathcare industry in North America, offering a comprehensive portfolio of burial and cremation products, innovative technology solutions and an unparalleled array of personalization and memorialization offerings. For more than a century, Batesville has supported deathcare professionals in helping families honor the lives of those they love.^® A history of manufacturing excellence, product innovation, superior customer service, and reliable delivery helped Batesville become – and remain – a market leader. 

There was a day when someone that used the fictional Jones Funeral Home in Anytown, USA, knew that it was the Jones family that had the ownership and pride in that business.  They knew if there was anything in their small community that pertained to Death Care business, the Jones family would know about it.

Over the years, like so many other business’, that has changed.  The fictional Jones Funeral Home may be owned by a regional or national consolidator. . . . I’m not saying that is good, bad, or otherwise. . . .it is just the way it is.

It’s interesting, however, that that change of ownership does not just happen in the local funeral homes, but it happens in the national and sometimes global world of Death Care, too.  Just since I’ve been publishing Funeral Director Daily we’ve seen formerly public companies StoneMor, Batesville, InvoCare, Dignity plc, Assurant Preneed, Park Lawn Corporation, and more change ownership. . . . . and those mentioned are only the companies that dealt in the public stock ownership realm.

Those companies, or segments of companies such as Batesville as a segment of Hillenbrand Industries, have all ended up in private company ownership at this time.  That’s been a loss for me because when they were public companies I could look at their quarterly and annual earnings on a somewhat comparative nature with my company and see where my funeral home stood — on such items as revenue per case, preneed sales, or cremations vs. interments.

Going from public company to private company is not so unusual.  Here is an article I found titled, “10 of the most famous public companies that went private”.  You’ll recognize some of the names X (Twitter), Heinz, Burger King, Dell Computer, Hilton, and Panera Bread to name six of them.

It happens the other way too —  Companies “go public” to raise funds to build their companies and they also “go public” when acquired by an existing public company.  For instance, the fictional Jones Funeral Home was a “private” company until they get acquired by a “public” company such as Service Corporation International or Carriage Services.  They then become part of a “public” company — where stock ownership can be bought and sold on the open market.

Here’s a couple of Death Care companies that, to my knowledge, are now parts of public companies:

Global Atlantic Preneed —  Global Atlantic Preneed is a segment company of KKR & Company (KKR).  According to Seeking Alpha KKR is described as such:

“KKR & Co. Inc. is a private equity and real estate investment firm specializing in direct and fund of fund investments. It specializes in acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, management buyouts, credit special situations, growth equity, mature, mezzanine, distressed, turnaround, lower middle market, and middle market investments. . . . . The firm typically holds its investment for a period of five to seven years and more and exits through initial public offerings, secondary offerings, and sales to strategic buyers.”

Interestingly enough, Global Atlantic Preneed has its origins in the Forethought Funeral Insurance brand.  It was purchased by Global Atlantic in 2014 and had originally started as part of Hillenbrand Industries, also the original parent company of Baesville.

Related Article — “KKR completes acquisition of remaining 37% of Global Atlantic”.  January 2, 2024

Wilbert, Inc. — Wilbert, Inc. is a segment company of Warren Buffet led Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A. BRK.B).  According to Seeking Alpha Berkshire Hathaway is described as such:

“Berkshire Hathaway Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the insurance, freight rail transportation, and utility businesses worldwide. The company provides property, casualty, life, accident, and health insurance and reinsurance; operates railroad systems in North America; generates, transmits. . . . .Berkshire Hathaway Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.”

Related Articles —

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  Over my business history I’ve been involved as an owner or board member of acquisitions and divestitures in the funeral business, health care, banking, and insurance businesses.  What I’ve come to find is that it is not necessarily who owns the business as to how the business succeeds, but the leadership, culture, and long-term strategies that come with that ownership that can make a business thrive or fail.

Planning, and especially long-term planning that can be re-directed when needed, is essential.  Buying a business for buying’s sake or selling for selling’s sake makes little sense unless you can show how the transaction will play into the best interests of the long-term plans of the organization, or in the case of family funeral homes, the family.

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

We received an e-mail last week that announced “Pinnacle Funeral Service and Rollings Funeral Service are proud to announce that Nancy Weil has joined the team as Director of Community Outreach. . . . .Nancy’s career includes serving as the Membership Director for the Order of the Golden Rule (OGR) for the past six years, where she worked closely with funeral homes across the country to promote excellence in service. She is a Certified Grief Management Specialist, Grief Services Provider, and Funeral Celebrant, facilitating virtual grief support groups and providing training to help funeral professionals better serve their communities.”

The announcement also said this about the companies, “Rollings and Pinnacle Funeral Service groups partnered early last year so they could both provide better support for their locations and provide more opportunities for their team members.”  And, you will notice that if you look at the current websites for both companies that Mr. Tony Kumming is listed as the President of both firms.

There is nothing unusual about that arrangement in business, but on a bigger scale, I think it shows that what might have been known in our business as regional consolidators or operating funeral home companies are beginning to scale for more growth. . . . and, I don’t think Rollings and/or Pinnacle are unique in that situation.

We’ve recently written about what Funeral Director Daily sees growing in our business.  That is, anecdotally, we seem to see more announcements about acquisitions of family owned funeral homes in the media than we have seen before.   With the larger publicly-owned funeral home companies we usually receive an e-mail press release about any acquisition, but in the smaller and non-public company arena those acquisitions are usually kept as silent as possible.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

That also is not unusual. . . public companies need to let their shareholders know of the growth whereas smaller private operators try to cause as few waves with potential consumers about a change in ownership in local trade areas.  However, that quiet is balanced with a former owner wanting his friends and neighbors to know of the ownership change. . . . thus, local announcements in local newspapers that Funeral Director Daily scours for this information.

In my opinion, seeing these annoucements more frequently is more proof of what most of us believe is coming to the profession.  That is less family ownership over time as new generations of funeral home descendents choose to enter other lines of work.

A positive aspect of all of these companies seemingly ramping up for acquisitions is that sellers of funeral businesses have more and more options of whom they may want to trust their businesses to in the future.  In addition to the national and regional companies we have listed below, most local funeral home owners know of going-concern businesses in their vicinity that may also want to acquire certain funeral homes. . . . . . At the end of the day for those funeral home owners planning on dis-engaging from the business this seems to give them more options in choice, and possible price.

While not an exhaustive group, here are some of the North American non-public fuenral/cremation/cemetery company operators that we know of:

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

Mastermind Event in Philadelphia To Help Funeral Service Companies Reach New Heights

Join Your Peers on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025 

When you come to Mastermind, you’ll walk away with a full toolkit of strategies to build market share, boost the value of your business and connect with families in a more meaningful way than ever before.

Visit www.MastermindFuneral.com to learn more about the event – or just click on the events tab on FuneralVision.com.

The event, which is hosted by FuneralVision.com, will be held Thursday, Sept. 11, at the Live! Casino & Hotel in Philadelphia and has been approved by the Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice for 5.5 hours of continuing education. Applications for CEUs in numerous states are underway.

“Our robust programming and networking opportunities will help funeral professionals learn from each other and outpace competitors,” said Thomas Parmalee, founder of FuneralVision.com. “Be sure to reserve your seat soon – they’re going to fill up fast.”

The experts speaking at Mastermind will cover a variety of topics, including how to enhance your preneed program, glean insights from consumer research, build trust with families and navigate business transitions. Discover how to:

• Identify key customer touchpoints to increase engagement and trust.
• Use data-driven insights to improve services, offerings and customer experience.
• Tailor services to align with generational differences in funeral planning.
• Develop communication strategies that foster long-term relationships.
• Establish a clear and actionable succession plan to ensure continuity and success.
• Address legal, financial and emotional aspects of transitioning ownership.
• Utilize digital marketing tools such as social media, SEO and Google Ads to reach new customers.
• Implement reputation management strategies to build online credibility.

These takeaways will help attendees walk away with actionable insights they can apply directly to enhance their funeral home or crematory business.

Speakers include:

Danielle Burmeister, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Homesteaders Life Company, a national leader in secure, reliable preneed funding, will deliver a presentation titled “Competing on Service in a Price-Sensitive Market.”

Aaron Butler, Director-Field Development at Domani Preneed and a decade-long deathcare professional and multi-million-dollar preneed producer specializing in digital transformation for funeral homes, will deliver a presentation titled “Content Creation Boot Camp for Funeral Professionals: Building Trust and Growing Your Business”

Chris Cruger, the CEO of Foresight, a premier consulting firm specializing in the funeral and cemetery profession, will deliver a presentation titled “Succession Is Not Just a TV Show—It’s Preserving Your Legacy.”

Welton Hong, founder and CEO of Ring Ring Marketing and the secret weapon behind some of the deathcare profession’s highest volume firms, will deliver a presentation titled “What Will and Will Not Work in 2026 For Getting More Cases.”

Mitch Smith, Vice President of eFuneral, a breakout digital solutions company that helps funeral homes maximize market share through optimized online sales, will deliver a presentation titled “The Future of Preneed Funeral Planning: Insights into Consumer Trends & Technology Innovation.”

Reserve Your Seat Early and Save Money – Plus, Enjoy a Ballgame or Two!

Located in Philadelphia, the Live Casino & Hotel – Philadelphia is a 4-minute walk from Citizens Bank Park, and the Phillies are scheduled to play the Mets right after the Mastermind cocktail hour ends – so you can continue your networking at the ballgame. Plus, there is another home game scheduled for Sept. 11 immediately after the conference ends!

Register for Mastermind before June 19 and pay only $229, which includes a cocktail hour the evening prior to the event, a light breakfast and lunch. After the early-bird expires, everyone pays $349.

Reserve your hotel room at the special Mastermind rate.

Mastermind would not be possible without our generous sponsors, including our exclusive Diamond Sponsor, Foresight; our Platinum sponsors, Homesteaders Life Company, eFuneral and Domani Preneed; our Gold sponsors, Carriage Services, Ring Ring Marketing and Nomis Publications; and our silver sponsor, Pollen.

Don’t miss your chance to join your peers and move your business forward by signing up for Mastermind. 

Don’t forget: Visit www.MastermindFuneral.com to learn more about the event – or just click on the events tab on FuneralVision.com.

As I routinely check my inbox it has became apparent that the suppliers to the cremation industry have moved to a belief that “environmentally friendly” or “natural” products will be an ever-increasing choice of American consumers.  In the last week I’ve received press releases from casket companies introducing new product offerings that are positioned for that type of eco-consumer market.

It’s probably no coincidence that these innovative products are being introduced right before the 2024 International Cemetery, Cremation, and Funeral Association (ICCFA) Convention and Exposition next week in Tampa, Florida.

Starmark has introduced the “Brentwood” ceremonial casket that they mention will join The Arbor™, The Natural™, and The Terra™  green burial and cremation options in their innovative “Nature’s Way® ” product line.  According to Starmark, the Nature’s Way®  product line “offers environmentally friendly green burial and cremation options for funeral homes and families”. 

Here’s what their press release says about this unit, “The solid pine Brentwood ceremonial casket offers Starmark’s “Built to Last” construction and features a replaceable head panel, adjustable bed system, gas spring lid support, and J-Channel quick-install interior system. The exterior styling features a natural finish with a water-based clear coat and simple wood handles. The interior of the casket offers a natural cotton fabric-lined head panel to highlight the Nature’s Way®  “green” appeal”.

The press release continues, “The combination of the Brentwood ceremonial casket and the Nature’s Way® rental casket insert provides funeral homes and families with an environmentally friendly green burial and cremation option”.

To see the new Brentwood ceremonial casket and other product offerings from Starmark

Batesville has also introduced new products which include the Fairview^™ Rental Casket and the Sureview^™ Rental Insert.  Here’s what they say about those products:

“Fairview^™ Rental Casket: Inspired by popular casket designs, the Fairview is the first rental product with Batesville’s exclusive LifeView^® personalization panel, allowing families to display treasured photos or mementos. It features hardwood construction, a light pecan finish with wood embossed bars and a fold-down end for easy loading/unloading”.

“Sureview^™ Rental Insert: More than just a new design, the Sureview^™  has six-layer reinforced corrugated cardboard construction for added strength and structural integrity with a leak-resistant tray for added peace of mind”.

In addition to those products, Batesville’s press release lists other new items to their product line including  “. . .new investments in the Dimensions^® by Batesville oversize product line. . . Generations™ sustainable products, and the addition of more than 80 new cremation urns, keepsakes and contemporary jewelry items that are on trend for today’s generation”.

You can see Batesville’s plans for the 2024 ICCFA Convention, including their educational seminars, by clicking here.

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