Bob Arrington Honored with the Funeral Service Foundation Distinguished Service Award

Scholarship established to honor distinguished funeral director 

Brookfield, WI — The Funeral Service Foundation is proud to announce Bob Arrington as the 2025 recipient of its prestigious Distinguished Service Award, honoring his decades of exemplary leadership, service, and dedication to advancing the Foundation’s mission and strengthening the funeral service profession.

A visionary leader and compassionate professional, Arrington has left an indelible mark on funeral service. His remarkable career began at seven years old in Milan, Tennessee, and has spanned more than five decades of service, entrepreneurship and leadership. In 1995, he founded Arrington Funeral Directors in Jackson, Tennessee, and went on to innovate within the profession through ventures like Corporate Funeral Providers and ObituaryShare.com.

A tireless advocate for the profession, Arrington played important roles at the Tennessee Funeral Directors Association and the National Funeral Directors Association, serving as its 2015-16 President, holding multiple officer roles, and contributing to numerous committees and task forces for more than two decades.

Bob’s contributions to the Funeral Service Foundation have been equally profound. From 2013 to 2023, he served as a Foundation Trustee, including as Chair of the Board from 2017 to 2019. During his tenure, the Foundation’s endowment more than doubled – from $5 million to more than $11 million – while nearly $5 million in grants were awarded to programs and initiatives that support grieving communities.

His leadership was instrumental in the development and rollout of several key Foundation initiatives, including:

• Youth & Funerals, a vital resource encouraging youth preparedness and involvement in memorialization.
• When a Child Dies and Grieving Alone & Together, both of which remain widely used by funeral homes and healthcare organizations.
• Public education efforts such as FAMIC’s Have the Talk of a Lifetime consumer outreach campaign and the ZMET research study, Breaking the Consumer Code.
• Journey to Serve, veteran’s recruitment initiative in partnership with the ICCFA Educational Foundation

Beyond his service, Arrington and his wife Judy Arrington are charter members of the Guardian’s Fund, the Foundation’s planned giving society, demonstrating a deep personal commitment to the future of funeral service.

“Bob Arrington exemplifies what it means to serve with heart, purpose and vision,” said John Heald, Foundation Chair. “His leadership has not only shaped our Foundation but also uplifted countless professionals and families across the country. It is our honor to recognize his enduring legacy with the Distinguished Service Award.”

The Distinguished Service Award is presented to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the success and growth of the Funeral Service Foundation through acts of service or volunteer leadership.

The award will be presented on October 27 during the Funeral Service Foundation Donor Reception at the NFDA International Convention & Expo (October 26 through 29 in Chicago, Illinois).

In recognition of his lifelong contributions, the Foundation is raising funds to establish an academic scholarship in Bob Arrington’s name. Known for his dedication to helping others, from championing fundraising initiatives to serving as the longtime auctioneer for academic scholarships at Foundation events, this special occasion marks a heartfelt moment where the profession can express its gratitude to a remarkable leader.

Gifts and pledges to support the scholarship may be made at FuneralServiceFoundation.org/Donate-Now-Bob-Arrington.

ABOUT THE FUNERAL SERVICE FOUNDATION – FuneralServiceFoundation.org
Since 1945, the Funeral Service Foundation has served as the philanthropic voice of the funeral profession and has identified as the charitable arm of the National Funeral Directors Association since 1997. Donors and volunteer leaders profession-wide support the Foundation in its mission of lifting up grieving communities by investing in people and programs that strengthen funeral service.

Anthem Partners Honored with Award at Trend ReCON 2025

[Dallas, TX] – Anthem Partners, a premier operator of funeral homes and cemeteries across North America, is proud to announce it has been named the recipient of the “Leader in All-in-One Technology” award by Tribute Technology. The award was presented at Tribute Technology’s Trend ReCON 2025, a two-day conference dedicated to helping funeral professionals thrive in a rapidly evolving industry.

This prestigious award recognizes organizations that are setting a new benchmark for how technology can transform every aspect of funeral service—from operations and staff empowerment to family experience and community engagement.

“We’re honored to receive this recognition from Tribute Technology, as it reflects our commitment to redefining how we support families,” said Chad Jackson, Executive Vice President of Operations, Anthem Partners. “For us, technology is not just a tool—it’s a catalyst for empowering our teams and reimagining the way funeral homes operate.”

Tribute Technology is known for providing innovative solutions that make end-of-life celebrations more memorable, meaningful, and effortless. Their all-in-one platform empowers funeral professionals with seamless tools for personalization, operational efficiency, and online engagement—helping providers like Anthem Partners deliver both exceptional service and sustainable growth.

“Anthem Partners is raising the bar for what’s possible in funeral service,” added Courtney Gould Miller, President of Commercial Markets at Tribute Technology. “By embracing innovative, integrated technology, they’re not only increasing operational efficiency—they’re delivering a more personalized, transparent, and connected experience for families. Anthem isn’t just keeping up with industry change—they’re leading it.”

“Our focus has always been on making it easier and more meaningful for families to create services that truly honor their loved ones,” said Will Andrews, President, Anthem Partners – US. “This award is a testament to our team’s passion and expertise in delivering best-in-class digital solutions that result in improved operational efficiencies and increased family satisfaction.”

About Anthem Partners:   Anthem Partners is a privately-held operator of cemeteries and funeral homes.  Founded by industry professionals and backed by long-term, patient investors, they are actively seeking opportunities to grow with like-minded professionals and firms who share their vision. The founding principles of Anthem are respecting the unique history of the family businesses and acknowledging the lives lived in the communities they serve.  To learn more, visit www.anthempartners.com.

About Tribute Technology: Tribute Technology is dedicated to empowering funeral professionals with best-in-class technology solutions. Serving over 9,000 end-of-life providers worldwide, Tribute Technology’s innovative software and services—including website platforms, marketing solutions, management software, online planning, memorial keepsakes, and payment processing—help funeral professionals save time and focus on supporting families.  To learn more, visit www.tributetech.com.

 

Henry Brooks Adams, a descendent of the Adams political family that spawned two early American presidents once said of teachers, “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops”.

 

Teachers influences never stop.  And, with all the other departments that enroll many more students it is rare that a college recognizes a teacher in the Mortuary Science realm as one of those teachers of such influence.

 

However, come this Wednesday, the State University of New York at Canton (SUNY-Canton) will honor Professor Emeritus Barry W. Walch as the Honors Convocation namesake.  SUNY-Canton Provost Peggy A. De Cooke said this about Professor Walch in a recent press release, “Professor Walch is an immensely skilled educator who was passionate about his teaching and has a unique ability to engage and involve students.”

 

You can see an article about this honor for Professor Waltch here.

 

According to that article, “Professor Walch helped advance the Mortuary Science associate degree and helped develop the Funeral Services Administration bachelor’s degree program (and)  retired in 2021 following a 32-year career at the college. Generations of students launched their careers under Walch’s tutelage. . “

 

Professor Walch made the following comments in the article, “I am thrilled to be selected to share some of my thoughts and experiences about the benefits of higher education.  In the three years since I left classroom instruction, I have come to see the bigger picture of the places our graduates are able to go. It is gratifying to see how they have used their educational boost to advance in substantial, widely varied, and valuable ways.”

 

Funeral Director Daily take:  After my parents’ influence, no one has influenced my life more than some of the teachers I had in grade school, high school, and college.  I consider myself so fortunate growing up in a small community where I ended up having life-long relationships with many of the teachers that helped set my educational and moral compass in the right direction.

 

As a funeral director I was called by many of them to offer my services at the death of spouses or other family members and those funerals became very personal for me.

 

Over my business years, many of my teachers became the best advocates for our funeral home also.  One of my favorite teachers was my 5th grade teacher – Mr. Leroy Ras.  After not seeing Mr. Ras for a long period of time, he surprised me when he was one of the first in my community to call and congratulate me on becoming a board member of the University of Minnesota.  He happened to be an alumni of the University of Minnesota system.

 

I also got to know Mr. Ras’ wife, Trudy.  Trudy worked at the local bank where we brought pre-arrangements financed through Certificates of Deposits (before Preneed Insurance was legal in Minnesota).  Unfortunately, Trudy died after a struggle with cancer.

 

Mr. Ras, whom I still respect and love dearly, did have a great sense of humor.  He looked across the arrangement table and said to me, “Tommy, if I had known you were going to take care of my wife when she died, I would have made sure you got A’s instead of C’s!”  It was one of those comments that broke the ice for the entire family and allowed them to make the funeral arrangements in a sense of celebration rather than mourning.

 

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