Homesteaders Honors Outstanding Employees

West Des Moines, Iowa — Homesteaders Life Company, a national leader in preneed funeral funding, recently  announced the winners of its annual Homesteaders Heroes program. The peer-nominated awards recognize  employees who demonstrate Homesteaders’ mission and make an impact on the success of the company and its customers.  

“This year, we were excited to have nearly 70 nominations submitted by employees in recognition of their  colleagues’ contributions to Homesteaders,” said Tonja Clark, Homesteaders SVP-Human Resources.  “Homesteaders Heroes is an opportunity for employees to nominate team members for living our core values. It is  a reflection of our culture that encourages teamwork and respect for what each of us bring to the table every day.”  

Homesteaders Heroes award winners were named in six categories: 

Rising Star Award – Ryan Goins, Senior VP-Finance & Accounting 

This award recognizes an employee who demonstrates eagerness to learn, commitment to Homesteaders and  engagement with the company and peers early in his or her career.  

“We had high expectations for Ryan in his new role at Homesteaders, and I’m happy to say he has not only met  those expectations, but so far has exceeded them,” noted one of his nominators. “What I admire most is his broad  skill set and base of knowledge that have direct application to the many new things we’re encountering here at  Homesteaders.” 

Innovation Award – Kyle Wiener, Manager, Application Delivery 

This award recognizes an employee for the successful implementation of a new or updated product, service or  program that results in a measurable improvement in the company’s performance, processes or brand strength. 

“The thing I admire most about Kyle is his determination,” remarked one of his nominators. “He is more than  willing to go out of his way to help a coworker or a client. And once he has his mind set on something, no amount  of hours or distractions will get in the way of him accomplishing his goals.” 

Outstanding Teamwork Award – Aimee Rodgers, Actuarial Associate 

This award recognizes an outstanding team member who has demonstrated enthusiasm, cooperation, problem solving skills, commitment to success and a consistently positive attitude. 

“Aimee is always willing to help out and is conscientious when involved with time-sensitive tasks,” shared one of  her nominators. “She treats internal and external customers with respect and is dedicated to addressing questions  and issues in a timely manner. Teammates know that Aimee can be counted on to provide honest and helpful  feedback.”

Inspiring Leadership Award – Tom Doruska, Senior VP-Chief Actuary 

This award recognizes an employee who has shown incredible leadership skills and can be described as inspiring,  decisive and visionary, yet humble and willing to give credit to others.  

“I appreciate Tom’s insights and continue to learn from him as he shares ideas and feedback,” explained one of  his nominators. “The success of our newer team members is very important to him, and he seeks projects that will  help them develop and grow.” 

Enduring Impact Award – Scott Zumbach, Director-Marketing Organizations 

This award recognizes an employee for a significant, long-term contribution or body of accomplishments to  Homesteaders that make a lasting impact on the company’s success. 

“Scott’s unwavering commitment to Homesteaders and our funeral home and marketing partners is nothing short  of extraordinary,” described one of his nominators. “Over the years, he has consistently gone above and beyond,  dedicating countless hours and boundless energy to these important relationships that have not only achieved  success in the short term, but have also laid the foundation for where we are today.” 

Unsung Hero Award – John Hale, Facilities Manager 

Making its debut for the 2024 Homesteaders Heroes awards, the new Unsung Hero award honors employees who  go above and beyond their job responsibilities, contributing significantly and often working behind the scenes. 

“What I most admire about John is his patience and his honesty,” one of his nominators said. “His job does  change every day, and he just seems to take it in stride.” 

The Homesteaders Heroes program is one of the ways the company recognizes employees for teamwork,  outstanding job performance and demonstrating their core values: be your best, serve boldly, be humble and care. Homesteaders was recently named a 2024 Top Iowa Workplace, marking the tenth consecutive year it has earned  this distinction. 

To learn more about Homesteaders’ workplace and career opportunities, visit homesteaderslife.com/careers. 

Homesteaders Life Company, a mutual company owned by its policy holders, is a national leader providing  products and services to help people design a better farewell. Visit homesteaderslife.com to learn more. 

Outstanding Speaker Added to Rosenacker Alaskan Seminar

Cincinnati, OH:  — Rosenacker & Associates (R&A) has announced an additional speaker for their continuing education seminar in Anchorage, Alaska.  The newly added speaker, Ms. Brigitte C. Morgan, is the Deputy Chief of Mortuary Affairs Operation Location Pacific, Joint Base Pearl Harbor – Hickam, Hawaii.  She also serves as an interim Mortuary Director for the Yokota Mortuary, Yokota Air Base, Japan, where her responsibilities include embalming, restoration, casketing, and returning fallen service members to their families.

In 2023, Morgan participated in Operation Eldridge Glacier, a recovery mission in Denali National Park, Alaska, for the U.S. Air Force C-119 that crashed in 1952.  In 2024, she will return for Operation Colony Glacier, the recovery mission for a 1952 crash of a U.S. Air Force C-124 Globemaster II.  Her presentation at the seminar will draw on her experience with these missions.

The 2024 Rosenacker Continuing Education Seminar, Alaska: A Funeral Frontier, will be hosted at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Anchorage from July 21 through July 23.  In addition to Morgan’s lecture, attendees will benefit from presentations that cover:

• Lessons learned while training and running the Iditarod in Alaska and how these lessons can be applied to everyday life in a funeral home
• A panel discussion on succession planning for funeral service which will also include answers to succession planning questions
• How to develop new and Advanced Planning Workshops that really wow families when looking into preplanning
• How to apply artificial intelligence (AI) in daily funeral home operations, enhancing memorial services as well as harnessing AI for generating engaging content, optimizing search engine visibility, and deploying interactive chatbots
• Informative talks on the Beaches of Normandy and Arlington National Cemetery

The seminar cost includes a Welcome reception on the opening night and a Happy Hour reception on the second night.  The seminar will feature an all-star line-up of speakers including Morgan, Frank Rosenacker, Sue Gilkey, Ann Rosenacker, Scott Janssen, Jack E. Lechner, Jr. CFSP, Kurt Rosenacker, Doug Hoog, and Curtis Funk.

A block of rooms has been negotiated at rates well below the hotel’s standard summer room rates for attendees and their guests.  As the number of rooms is limited due to capacity, attendees are encouraged to book their rooms as soon as possible. 

“Adding Brigitte Morgan and her talk really rounds out our seminar with an exceptional presentation,” commented Frank Rosenacker, founder and CEO of Rosenacker & Associates.  “In addition, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the number of attendees who have planned additional excursions with Megan’s Amazing Adventure while in Alaska for the seminar.”

The seminar has been submitted for approval of continuing education credits – with 12 credits currently pending. For more information on the Rosenacker Continuing Education Seminar 2024, please visit www.rosenackerconed.com or call (513) 923-5230.

About Rosenacker & Associates:  For more than twenty-five years, Rosenacker & Associates has been a national consulting firm that exclusively serves the funeral profession with a staff of licensed funeral directors, lawyers, certified public accountants, enrolled agents, tax experts, and business management executives.  R&A services include legal, succession planning, business plans/policy manuals, business appraisals/evaluations, sales of funeral businesses, regulatory laws regarding final disposition, taxes, cooperative efforts, and funeral professional liability issues.  More information at info@rosenackerconed.com.