×‰?×B!˜×‘C’×˜š Íü ÍüÍ(u×‰œ”×‰	Ú 7cassandra://EnEZe9swFl9jrrRCUV7EH7o6kVnMguSYfiUCn7pvlL4Î ùÍ`ÍóÍ²×‰	Ú 7cassandra://MQ0ILnldKhymRElp_P7FD7N60xWoj-JU5aviWhZzmmsÍ_µÍ`ÍsÍà×‰	Ú 7cassandra://mAvM_r6NgyskROvIHRnDmmt1PFSTa64qNmXn4BodwAsÍ&5Í`ÌÆÍ ×‰	Ú 7cassandra://TsIKcqfBFZ8qr1IprdTOLiIFZCtyJD1LL3h3kISEQyQÍì¡ÍOèÍ Í]Íð×c~Ú8°ÎK(¼†×˜š   ÍüÍ(u×ˆœ×   àfrJ  ×ˆE×c~Ù8°ÎK(¼d×‰EÚNDecember 2022
INSIDER
CFSA
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Survey results are in: customer
loyalty has shifted from where
it was at in the past. Read CFSA
Executive Director, Tim Murphyâ€™s
opinion on how loyalties have
changed and where the future of
customer loyalty is heading.
PAGE 8
NFDA Recap: take an insider
peek at the CFSA booth and
happenings at the past
NFDA International
Convention & Expo!
PAGE 6
Save the Date! The 2023 CFSA
Annual Convention will be held
at the Conrad Indianapolis. See
more inside!
PAGE 7
A quarterly publication of the
Casket and Funeral Supply Association of America
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ºÍð×c~Ú8°ÎK(¼Ž—× ×c~Ú8°ÎK(¼‰ ÍÌý'9×‰HÚ %https://www.cfsaa.org/page/statisticsG××ÒÔÔÔrÒïïïÌ× ×c~Ú8°ÎK(¼Š ÍëÍØ09×‰HÚ Chttps://sba.thehartford.com/business-management/recession-proofing/G××ÒÔÔÔrÒïïïÌ× ×c~Ú8°ÎK(¼‹ Í…Íì29×‰HÚ Chttps://sba.thehartford.com/business-management/recession-proofing/G××ÒÔÔÔrÒïïïÌ× ×c~Ú8°ÎK(¼Œ Í(ÍçÌ¤9×‰HÚ <mailto:tmeyers%40cfsaa.org?subject=Advertising%20with%20CFSAG××ÒÔÔÔrÒïïïÌ× ×c~Ú8°ÎK(¼ ÍˆÍ°b9×‰HÚ ]https://www.cfsaa.org/news/624411/NFDA-Survey-Shows-Value-of-Attending-Funerals-In-Person.htmG××ÒÔÔÔrÒïïïÌ× ×c~Ú8°ÎK(¼– Í@ÍkÌ 9×H¸http://WilbertDirect.com××Ðˆ× ×c~Ú8°ÎK(¼’ Í(ÍëÌ¤9×H¸mailto:tmeyers@cfsaa.org××Ðˆ×‰EÚóMESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
I hope that this message finds our CFSA
family doing well! The NFDA convention in
Baltimore just concluded and it was great to
see several other CFSA members out on the
expo floor. From those members that I spoke
with, everyone seemed happy with the overall
attendance and the convention. Our very own
Tim Murphy was also there meeting with CFSA
members and recruiting some new members
as well.
All CFSA members have built their business
based upon the deep relationships that we have
with our customers. Whether you are a casket supplier or a supplier
to the funeral industry, I think we can all agree that the needs of our
customers are changing. Pricing and inflation have become the top
areas of concern for everyone. With inflation at historic highs, we are
all looking for ways to manage the increased costs of doing business.
Use the contacts you have with CFSA and perhaps others that you met
at NFDA to help your business grow and succeed.
Now is also the time to â€œsave the dateâ€ for the 2023 CFSA Annual
conference. We are looking forward to a new and improved format
this year. Based upon the feedback of our members and attendees,
we are going to focus more of our annual conference on educational
seminars that are tailored to the challenges we are facing in todayâ€™s
business environment. If you have specific topics that you would like
CFSA to focus on, please email them to Tim Murphy and we will do our
best to accommodate them in our schedule. We will also be offering
at least one off-site CFSA member Open House that all attendees are
welcomed to attend. I feel confident that the CFSA Board of Directors
is putting together an annual conference schedule that will be both
educational and entertaining!
Directors
Charles-Oliver Dumont
Victoriaville & Company
Lori Eanes
C & L Containers, Inc.
Julie Haney
Astral Industries, Inc.
Dwayne Heeter
Matthews Auroraâ„¢ Funeral Solutions
Leland Robinson
Southern Craft Manufacturing
Nicolas Lacasse
Cercueils Magog Caskets
Andy Lawrence
Tiedemann-Bevs Industries
Presson Thomson
Dixline Corporation
Scott Weisenbach
Sich Casket Company
Staff
Timothy J. Murphy, CAE
Executive Director
Justin Thacker
CFSA President, 2022-23
CFSA Mission Statement
The Casket & Funeral Supply Association of America, Inc., whose
members provide goods and services to death care professionals, shall
promote the well-being of funeral supply companies. The Association
will promote communication and fellowship within the industry while
providing services necessary to assist its members and to enhance
their business so that the public may continue to receive the full
benefit of memorialization.
CFSA Insider | Page 2
Emilie Perkins, CAE, CMP, CMM, PMP
Director of Meetings
Taylor Meyers
Senior Communications Coordinator
Emily Wrinkle
Senior Membership & Meetings Coordinator
Officers
Justin Thacker
Thacker Casket Manufacturing
President
Pat Duckers
Artco Casket Company
Vice President
Greg Beavers
Wise Products Inc.
Treasurer
Jeanette Hiemstra
Keith M. Merrick Co.
Past President
×‰	Ú 7cassandra://g4kjpNOU1TcL1_wFOK5qFQo8vy9yDF4NFZbD0wWN51gÍXÍ`ÍŒÍ ×c~Ù8°ÎK(¼k×‰EÚøASSOCIATION NEWS
News Briefs
2022 Q1 CDC Death Counts
The 2022 Q1 CDC report is now
posted on the CFSA site. Log into
your account here to view the
actual death counts by state.
Nine Steps to
Recession-Proof Your
Small Business
The Hartford â€“ No one knows for
certain whether weâ€™ll enter a
recession in the next year, but if
youâ€™re concerned about your small
business, youâ€™re not alone. Read
more.
New Member Database &
CFSA Website
CFSA is proud to announce a newly
enhanced website and member
database! This new interface will
provide current and potential
members a user-friendly experience
that will make accessing membership
benefits easier. Watch your email for
more information.
NFDA Survey Shows Value of
Attending Funerals In Person
In the second edition of its â€œValue of
a Funeralâ€ Consumer Study, NFDA
learned that people who attended a
funeral in person found the service
meaningful and healing compared to
those who attended a service
virtually. Read more.
Advertise with CFSA!
2023 advertising opportunities
are now available! CFSA offers
advertising opportunities in a
variety of publications disributed to
the entire membership. Get your
message in front of the owners and
decision makers of funeral supply
companies representing more
than 90% of the market in North
America!
Interested? Email Taylor Meyers at
tmeyers@cfsaa.org for more
information!
Wilbert Merchandising Manager, Mike Devaney states, â€œWe are excited about
the new expanded catalog. We are adding 80 new urns and mementos to our
line of over 300 cremation products. Our goal is to give our licensee network
and the funeral home customers they serve the best quality, diversity of choice
and value anywhere in the funeral industry.â€
Some of the new products include hand-turned artisan wood urns handcrafted
the old school way to the highest standards, exposing the beauty of the wood.
Another product line Wilbert is proud to offer is a new exclusive glass line
named Infinity Collection by famed glass designer Karine Bouchard. Additional
products include affordable high quality, high eye appeal metal urns in brass
and enamel, inlaid Mother of Pearl, and hand painted aluminum. Lastly, beautiful
intricate colors and
patterns of marble
and onyx round out
the new urn line.
A new offering is a
Wilbert exclusive
design for MacKenzie
cultured marble urns.
Customers are now
able to order standard
cultured marble
urns in a unique design
featuring column
corners, softer molded
bevels, and a single,
continuous top on
companion urns, providing more space for engraving.
Wilbert cremation products are available to order through your local Wilbert
licensee or by going online to WilbertDirect.com.
Wilbert Funeral Services, Inc. Announces
New Cremation Choices Catalog Vol. 10
BROADVIEW, IL, SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 â€“ Wilbert Funeral Services, Inc.,
(WFSI) the leading provider of burial vaults and cremation-related products
and services in North America, is pleased to announce the launch of their new
Cremation Choices Catalog on October 1st.
CFSA Insider | Page 3
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ºÍð×c~Ú8°ÎK(¼“’× ×c~Ú8°ÎK(¼‘ Í:Í¿ÍR9×‰HÚ "https://www.nomispublications.com/G××ÒÔÔÔrÒïïïÌ× ×c~Ú8°ÎK(¼— 'Í\Í9×HÚ  http://www.nomispublications.com××Ðˆ×‰EÚlASSOCIATION NEWS
Vandor Corporation Celebrates its 50th
poration is celebrating 50 Years of Success in Indiana.
After having earlier moved to Richmond, Indiana a
Michigan casket manufacturing
company started by Bruce and Suzanne Elder changed
its name in 1972 to honor Bruceâ€™s parents Vance and
Doris Elder.
With nearly 60 patents issued so far with many more
forthcoming, and brands that include Reel Options,
Elderlite, and Starmark Funeral Products, Vandor has
grown to more than 200 team members working
together to create products that serve
Your Real Source.
Anywhere. Anytime.
funeral professionals as well as automotive, communications,
construction, and consumer product industries. The team
membersâ€™ dedication and affirmative attitude underpinning
Vandorâ€™s culture from the beginning remains
steadfast to this day.
A Golden Celebration
In celebration of its 50th year, Vandor hosted a companywide
congratulatory event on Saturday, September 17, 2022, at
the Starr Gennett building in Richmond Indiana. With over
300 past and present team members and their families attending,
local favorites Smileyâ€™s Pub Catering, Ulleryâ€™s Homemade
Ice Cream, and AVI Food Systems served lunch and
dessert to the celebration guests. The Northeastern High
School Cheer Team supported with activities for the children
including inflatables and face painting. Melissa Vance of
the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce honored Vandor
for its years committed to growth in the Richmond area. A
strong sense of friendship and gratitude for one another and
a recognition of past accomplishments was shared among
team members. Vandorâ€™s team is prepared and looking ahead
to its next fifty years!
www.nomispublications.com
Anniversary Year with
a Company Picnic Honoring Past and Current Employees
RICHMOND, IN. September 19, 2022 â€“ Vandor CorCFSA
Insider | Page 4
Find exactly what
youâ€™re looking for!
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CFSA AT NFDA INTERNATIONAL
CONVENTION AND EXPO
CFSA Executive Director, Tim Murphy, represented CFSA during the NFDA International Convention
and Expo this past October. While there, he met up with a lot of CFSA members and made
connections with potential members. Take a look at his time at the tradewshow below!
CFSA Executive Director, Tim Murphy, with Astral
Director of Distributor Sales, Julie Haney, in
front of the Astral booth.
Thacker Casket team in front of their booth
at NFDA. Thacker Casket has been a CFSA
member for 30 years.
CFSA Executive Director, Tim Murphy, with CFSA
board member and C&L Containers President,
Lori Eanes at the Order of the Golden Rule
booth.
CFSA President, Justin Thacker and CFSA
Executive Director, Tim Murphy presented the
Astral team with a certificate recognizing their
50th anniversary. From left to right is Mark
Evans, Astral Senior VP, Sales, Julie Haney, Astral
Director of Distributor Sales, and Don Robinson,
Astral President.
CFSA Insider | Page 6
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The 2023 CFSA Annual Conference is an
investment in your companyâ€™s future â€“ gaining
you access to thought leaders, allowing you to
collaborate on best practices, energize, and
develop leadership innovations. When we
gather in Indianapolis we honor our history
while networking with the future.
Spark Connections at the 2023
Annual Conference.
Learn more at
Spark Connections
cfsaa.org/page/AnnualConference
CFSA Insider | Page 7
the date
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BRAND LOYALTY MAY BE
FADING, BUT DOES IT MATTER?
Contribution by Tony Russo
This story originally was published in the Oct. 13, 2022 of Funeral Service Insider
This week, as part of our continuing analysis of
Kates-Boylston Publications Annual Casket Survey,
weâ€™re taking a look at brand loyalty.
The question, â€œOur basic approaches and attitudes
toward casket companies are (check all that apply)â€
seeks to get a sense of how funeral directors and
funeral home owners and managers see their range
of choice in the market, or so we thought. What we
may have discovered is that the same demographics
that effect the general publicâ€™s attitude could also be
reflected in funeral service itself.
The most notable change between 2015 and this
year was in response to the first option: â€œWe are
strongly loyal to our main/only casket supplier and
not inclined to switch.â€
In 2015, nearly 60% of respondents selected this
among the other answers, but since 2017 that number
has begun to decline, lingering in the 40s. There
was a notable blip as it returned to 50% in the wake
of the pandemic in 2020, but it fell back pretty quickly
to this yearâ€™s 40.5%
Timothy Murphy, CEO and executive director of the
Casket and Funeral Supply Association of America,
helped us dig into the numbers a little bit. In addition
to his administrative position, Murphy had a 12-year
career as an embalmer and funeral director in Ohio.
He since has relocated to Indianapolis, the heart of
the casket industry, where the CFSAA has its home
base.
â€œI always get accused by my funeral service friends.
â€˜You were in the golden age of funeral service from
the mid-80s to the mid-90s, where every call you got
was calling hours, church service, earth burial,â€™â€ they
told him. â€œâ€˜So, you were selling a vault, full service,
casket, the whole shooting match.â€™â€
He couldnâ€™t object. When Murphy was a funeral director
doing 220 calls per year, 95% of his calls were
traditional Catholic funerals, he said. There wasnâ€™t
a question of changing suppliers or making adjustments
for margin. The simple fact is that todayâ€™s
funeral directors face radically different challenges.
CFSA Insider | Page 8
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COVID affected the funeral industry in deep and
permanent ways. While it didnâ€™t increase the raw
percentages of cremation, the undeniable attraction
of direct cremation for many families is an area worth
of consideration. COVID required funeral homes to
adopt technology in a way they otherwise wouldnâ€™t
have, and it made people think about funerals and
end-of-life planning as they maybe hadnâ€™t for 100
years.
â€œEverybody was like, â€˜Hey, you canâ€™t have a funeral. You
canâ€™t have people gather, you canâ€™t do this.â€™ So, they
were doing direct disposals and then just trying to
plan a party for later,â€ Murphy said.
As it became clear that wasnâ€™t a trend that would
reverse, what Murphy calls the â€œmerchandise issueâ€
became a fact of life for funeral directors. Finding a
way to help families grieve and memorialize became
a more difficult problem. Still, he said, thatâ€™s more a
funeral director issue, it shouldnâ€™t affect loyalty to the
supplier.
For one thing, distributors play a massive role in
funeral home sales. CFSAA has members from every
industry that sells to funeral homes. In addition to
casket manufacturers, there are embalming fluid producers,
hearse companies and stationery companies. If
it gets sold to a funeral home, itâ€™s represented in the
CFSAA.
While many of the biggest casket manufacturers have
boots-on-the-ground salespeople, not every brand
representative works for the brand. In many cases,
Murphy said, said, funeral homes might not even know
theyâ€™re dealing with a distributor.
â€œI think the first thing that really entered my head
was thereâ€™s a lot of different balls in the air on this
one,â€ Murphy said. â€œThere are factors that are affecting
this coming from a whole lot of different angles
and places, and I didnâ€™t really realize this until I started
posing this question to funeral directors.â€
He checked in with some of his members and even
took the opportunity and brought it up among four
funeral director friends over a couple of beers .
â€œI said, â€˜Hey guys, as long as weâ€™re here and as long
as the beer is flowing, letâ€™s talk about this,â€ he said.
â€œAnd I got some answers that I didnâ€™t expect.â€
Murphy said the fourth was the youngest and least
experienced of the group. He didnâ€™t have a hard line
opinion on his companyâ€™s choices, but brand loyalty
wasnâ€™t something he thought about much.
â€œâ€˜I like the people that our firm buys from, but I am
open to any and all suggestions, and Iâ€™m really open to
any and all price quotes,â€™â€ he told Murphy.
Four Perspectives on Loyalty
Murphyâ€™s funeral director friends were three men
and a woman with a range of experience in the industry.
Their responses may provide some insight into
what the casket industry faces over the next several
decades:
The first was a 40-year-old first-generation funeral
home owner. He had been in the business less than a
decade and his answer was direct.
â€œHe said, â€˜I buy everything from China and Iâ€™m not
loyal to anybody,â€™â€ Murphy told me.
The second guy owned a multi-location funeral home.
Murphy said he was a sixth- or seventh-generation
owner and recounted his story:
â€œHe said, â€˜My dad was fiercely loyal to his vault supplier
and to his casket supplier, the other suppliers,
maybe not so much. But the main ingredients, the
casket and the vault, those are the people that we are
really loyal to. My dad was so loyal he would never,
ever think about changing suppliers,â€™â€ Murphy said.
The son, however, had no compunction about shopping
price. When Murphy asked him why he simply
said, â€œBecause Dad wasnâ€™t chasing margin and I am.
Iâ€™m going for price, and Iâ€™m going to go wherever that
price is.â€
The third funeral director works for a larger funeral
home company, one big enough to be able to negotiate
price with certain lines. She told Murphy that
price was a factor for her as well and that buying
local, in her experience, didnâ€™t have the cache people
seemed to think it has.
â€œQuite frankly, the consumer doesnâ€™t care,â€ she said.
â€œOnly once in my career, which is about 13 or 14
years, did a family ever ask if the casket was made in
Indiana. Theyâ€™re looking at this exterior, and theyâ€™re
looking at the beautiful wood, and theyâ€™re looking at
the nice interior, and if it has a â€˜MADE IN CHINAâ€™
stamp on the bottom of it, they donâ€™t care.â€
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A Question of Demographics
While Murphy is the first to say that five friends chatting
about work isnâ€™t going to produce scientific results, the
anecdotal evidence is appealing. If the number of funeral
directors who practice brand loyalty is in decline, it
could be related to funeral directors retiring.
Funeral directors who have been at it 20 years or fewer
are almost in a different business than, say, Murphy and
the directors who were working in the 80s and 90s.
â€œI believe that if that was controlled for in a poll, we
would see that right along generational lines,â€ Murphy
said. â€œNothing is absolute, but I certainly believe it would
be a trend, and it would be a strong one.â€
If demographics are a trending
factor, itâ€™s worth looking at
a non-trend, which was best
represented by responses to
the final option on the chart
about whether the internet is
an imminent threat to casket
sales. For most of the last seven
years of the survey, the response
to â€œWe believe we will lose a
significant number of sales to
internet retail, third parties and
casket stores in the next 24
months,â€ has vacillated between
4% and 6% (it was 6.3% in 2022).
In 2016 it touched 9%.
This relative stasis didnâ€™t surprise
Murphy. Even though Costco
is still in the casket business
and there are plenty of online
retailers, he said he believes that
most funeral directors are rightly
skeptical that they will ever
account for a significant number
of sales.
â€œ
â€œI think that if we factored in online sales or casket
stores, as it were, even if they were brick and mortar, I
think that sliver of the pie would be really little. I donâ€™t
know that it would even reach 5%,â€ Murphy said.
According to the last eight years of casket survey data,
fewer than 10% of respondents bought most of their
caskets from companies other than the largest six,
Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions, Batesville, Thansker
Caskets, Astral, Sich and Private Label. Of those, nearly
all named local or regional brands.
There are factors that are
affecting this coming from a
whole lot of different angles
and places, and I didnâ€™t
really realize this until I
started posing this question
to funeral directors.
The Call to Action
If indeed loyalty is fading as the result of demographic
changes and/or funeral directors becoming a little more
margin-focused, Murphy doesnâ€™t see it as a net-negative
for casket manufacturers. In fact,
because he deals so closely with
many of the casket salespeople,
both corporate and distributors,
he isnâ€™t sure they rely on brand
loyalty. More to the point, he
doubts that these professionals
count on loyalty when it comes
to making sales.
If the fact that loyalty seems to
be fading as a decision-maker
influences them at all, he said,
it will only be to make them
that much more responsive to
customers.
-Timothy Murphy, CEO and
executive director of the
Casket and Funeral Supply
Association of America
â€œThey will say, â€˜You know what?
To me thatâ€™s just like another
competitor opened up down
the road and Iâ€™ve got to be
better, then Iâ€™m going to tell my
bosses we have to be price sensitive,
and we have to be quality
sensitive, and we canâ€™t compromise
on anything,â€™â€ Murphy
said. â€œâ€˜But weâ€™re going to have
â€œThere are people that have online stores. I know some
of them (I know of them, I donâ€™t know the people personally),
but I asked my distributor members who are
kind of like data hounds,â€ he said.
Murphyâ€™s distributor members told him that internet
sales werenâ€™t on their radar because even though they
may have lower prices, they arenâ€™t in a position to influence
a familyâ€™s buying decisions. While families definitely
shop online for funeral homes and direct cremation,
thatâ€™s primarily where their searches end, particularly
at-need.
CFSA Insider | Page 10
to really get the product out in front of the people and
show them how good we are.â€™
â€œI really think whatâ€™s going to happen with the manufacturers
and the salesforces thereof is theyâ€™re just going to
go and beat it a little harder just to make sure that they
hold onto their market share.â€
â€œ
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Private Equity Continues Move into Death Care
Contribution by Tom Anderson
This story originally was published on October 5 on Funeral Director Daily
Itâ€™s not surprising to see why in a world of 73 million
baby boomers and a large group of funeral home owners
planning to retire in the next five years that private
equity businesses see an opportunity in Death Care,
specifically in owning funeral homes.
This article from Fortune entitled â€œDeath is anything but
a dying business as private equity cashes in on the $23
billion funeral home industryâ€ has prompted a lot of
discussion, and some angst, among funeral home professionals.
The
article points out that in the late 1980s and the early
1990s the funeral home industry went through a lot
of consolidation and that is happening once again. Part
of the driver of that phenomena is those baby boomer
funeral directors â€” many who own funeral homes and
are planning their retirement and exit with no upcoming
generation to succeed the family tradition.
Those family funeral homes have been successful over
the years and many have increased in value enough that
it is difficult for funeral directors entering the profession
to afford the purchase price that others may be willing
to pay. Thatâ€™s another reason that the known consolidators
and start-ups funded with private equity money are
coming to the table for ownership.
There is, however, among some in the profession and
some in the consumer sector that believe that larger,
acquisition ownership companies, driven by private
equity and public ownership are not good for the future
of death care. Their basic argument is that instead of
consolidating assets and working to lower price via
economies of scale, that these operators will reduce
competition and increase the price to consumers.
Itâ€™s easy to understand that the consolidators argue back
that claim.
Funeral Director Daily take: I think the Fortune article
is really good and you should read it. As a former funeral
home owner and one who sold his funeral home to a
regional operation, I do think, however, that the situation
of succession is much more nuanced and much more
complicated than just being about selling, raising prices,
and going on oneâ€™s way.
Our family funeral home was founded in 1872, and is
celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. I was the
4th generation in my family to assume the position of
manager/funeral director/ operator of the funeral home
after my fatherâ€™s death. I was, and still am, very proud of
our familyâ€™s heritage in helping families in my community
during the loss of their loved ones and helping them
move from grief to remembrance.
Itâ€™s a heritage that I
felt privileged to have been able to help with.
That being said, the desire to retire and have less responsibilities
found its way to me. There were other
things in life I was interested in doing and there was no
way to do them while still being employed at the funeral
home full time. Our two sons, with whom we never applied
any pressure to â€œfollow the family footstepsâ€ were
about college aged and we knew that they had other life
desires that didnâ€™t include owning a funeral home.
And, like others in the business, we had been successful
and grew the operation which had increased its value.
We talked with employees about succession but at the
end of the day they were either uninterested in owning
or would not be able to raise the amount of capital,
even at a discounted sales price, that we thought fair.
We took our funeral home to market and I wanted
an owner who understood the day to day struggles of
funeral directors. We found that in a CEO of a regional
company that had many of the same values as I
did about funeral service. Thatâ€™s not to say that there
are not bumps in the road moving forward â€” itâ€™s very
CFSA Insider | Page 12
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different operating a funeral home from the outside
than it is being there day to day, everyday, like an owner
operator.
It was difficult for me to give up ownership of the
family business. I feel tremendous allegiance to my
great-grandfather, grandfather, and father who served
before I did. I had plenty of talks with them at the
cemetery during the time we were contemplating the
sale of the business. However, I also know that my
great-grandfather came across the Atlantic Ocean to
America in 1872 not knowing what it would bring to
him and his young bride. He was skilled in the cabinet
trade and that led to building coffins. . . . .and we grew
from there. And, Iâ€™m pretty sure he would rest easy if
he knew the business he started provided business opportunities
for his descendants spanning parts of three
centuries.
Iâ€™m happy, my boys are happy in their careers and our
funeral home continues to serve families in our community
with compassion. Thatâ€™s a win for all of us.
Yes. . . the consolidators, whether on a regional or
national scale, will continue to grow as there are more
owners who find themselves in the situation that I
found myself in. They do, however, have to make a
profit to keep providing that service. My hope is that
they operate their businesses with compassion for the
families they serve while offering opportunities for
their employees for advancement in a way that many
family-owned funeral homes never can.
Industry Calendar
Listed below are dates of selected state and national events
important to the deathcare industry. If you have additions
to suggest,please send them to info@cfsaa.org.
The most up-to-date calendar information can always be
found at CFSAA.org.
January 30-February 1, 2023: South Carolina Funeral
Directors Association Mid-Winter Conference & Expo
February 8-10, 2023: CANAâ€™s 2023 Cremation
Symposium
FAMICâ€™s consumer education campaign,
Have the Talk of a Lifetime, has started
conversation among families and friends
- people in your community - about
their lives and how they want to be
remembered after they die.
Visit FAMIC.org to learn more about
the program and access a variety of
tools you can easily incorporate into
your business today.
Click HERE for
the newest CST
Companyâ€™s Bulletin of
Collections
CFSA Insider | Page 13
I also believe that while the regional or national consolidators
have a leg-up on acquiring the heritage firms
that go to market, there is a tremendous opportunity
for young funeral directors in the niche side of the
profession. Itâ€™s not always about finding the cash to buy
the current operator out. It may be about operating a
cremation only business, or an alkaline hydrolysis only
business, or a green funeral home. In my opinion there
is the same opportunity in the new ways of human disposition
that built the cremation only operators back in
the 1970â€™s. Quite frankly, like the cremation operations
in the 1970â€™s, I believe that this time period may offer
generational potential in what are now niche death
care businesses.
I also believe that in a lot of communities scrapping the
necessary amount needed to do that from family and
friends may in the end. . . twenty or thirty years down
the road. . . be a much more prosperous venture than
getting a huge loan or bringing in an equity partner to
buy out the big guy in town who is doing business in
the traditional way. . . . And this may be especially true if
it turns out to be that private equity and the big players
raise the death-care costs to consumers.
The opportunities are still out there in this profession.
Those that search them out and work hard will probably
find them.
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SCOTT WEISENBACH
SICH CASKET COMPANY
NATIONAL SALES DIRECTOR
How did you get started
in the funeral industry?
I was born and raised in
Batesville, Indiana; therefore, I
guess it was inevitable that at
some point I would become
involved in funeral service.
What is the most rewarding part of your
occupation?
I have found that the most satisfying aspect of my
career is the professional and personal relationships
I have developed with the people in funeral service;
especially the individuals that comprise the Sich distributor
network.
Is there a specific moment or experience in
your career that encapsulates your passion for
what you do?
Not one specific moment, but rather every time someone
contacts me with a question or requests my assistance.
When this happens, I feel humbled and blessed
that our relationship is such that they have reached out
to me. I see this as trust, confidence, and most of all,
the basis of a strong relationship.
Who or what inspires you?
Sich Casketâ€™s owner and my boss, Sirius Chan. Sirius
began in an industry he knew nothing about although,
with research, a vision, and passion, he took a risk and
in 2004 sold his first casket. I am blessed that Sirius
had another vision in September 2018 to bring me
aboard and invest in the continued strength of Sich
Casket. Interestingly, Sirius calls me Sichâ€™s Wonderbra
â€“ since I provide such great support to our distributor
network. I am truly honored and inspired that he believes
so greatly in my abilities and the value I provide
to our distributor partners.
How long have you been a member of CFSA?
I have been a member for three years and I am proud
to serve on the Board of Directors for CFSA.
How has being a CFSA member impacted your
experience in the funeral supply industry?
Seeing first-hand how competitors put their differences
aside on behalf of a much bigger picture, which is
working side by side to make CFSA and our industry
much stronger by sharing ideas and business practices
that benefit both the people we serve and the families
our accounts serve.
Favorite moment with CFSA?
My favorite moment takes place at the CFSA Annual
Conference and Trade Show. The event provides me
the opportunity to be with many of our distributors
and share a meal at the Sich Distributor Dinner - as I
consider each Sich distributor a personal friend.
How do you spend your time outside of work?
Is there anything in particular that you enjoy
doing?
I enjoy sharing time with my wife, Jill, and our four children.
I am blessed that my family enjoys my passion for
running marathons, hiking in the mountains, and traveling.
I believe that you can find something good and
unique if you are willing to travel and explore.
What are some important/notable trends that
you have noticed in the funeral supply industry?
One of the biggest trends I have seen on the supply
side is that funeral home owners now look to their
sales representatives to bring value during a sales
call. The days of the sales rep showing up and flipping
pictures are long gone. Funeral homes are looking for
partnerships â€“ not just products - from their suppliers.
CFSA Insider | Page 14
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