News Shorts

Chesterfield Twp., MI- “Sending a gift to a funeral will never be the same,” says CEO and Founder, Lorraine Sawicki who has teamed up with two neighbors to create “Remember Me Stone Co.” “Remember Me Stones” are the first of their kind where the message from the deceased becomes the gift and a keepsake that will remain long after the service is over.

“In lieu of flowers,”… Believe it or not, 74% of people do not comply with “in lieu of flowers,” simply because they are directed by tradition or obligation. We tend to send flowers to a funeral no matter what the obituary reads. “It’s time for change,” says Andrea Hilgendorf, Director of Marketing and Founder, “Now you can send a meaningful gift not just for one, but one for everyone.” While creating “Remember Me Stones,” it was important for a gift to do three things: pay respect to the family, provide a keepsake for the survivors and pay tribute to the deceased.

“Remember Me Stone Co.” offers handcrafted stones, varying from 2 to 3 inches. The name of the deceased is beautifully handwritten on each individual stone with a phrase that best portrays his/her love for family, friends, occupation, sports, hobbies, etc. “The best part about creating this type of company,” says Angela Gearin, Executive Director of Operations and Founder, “was creating the over 150 phrases that can be applied to the stones.”

The phrases are available for our customers to choose from categories such as patriotic, humorous, and inspirational or you can simply create your own phrase. One family ordered stones with “Please don’t sell the Harley,” and another family chose, “Save the earth, it’s the only planet with beer.” Badge numbers and military rankings are quite popular.

Not only are “Remember Me Stones” affordable, they are available in several languages and can be shipped immediately.

“Remember your loved one when they are gone, but cherish their memory as you live on.”

For more information, visit www.remembermestones.com or call 1-888-767-8006.

Great Western Gearing Up For the Holidays

OGDEN, UT – October 27, 2009 – Great Western Insurance Company (GWIC) has been raising money for the past seven years to support the “Spirit of Giving Program” sponsored locally by the Your Community Connection (YCC) organization. Each week, GWIC employees are able to purchase “Jeans Coupons” for $2 allowing them to wear jeans to work on Fridays. Each Christmas the YCC provides GWIC with a list of families with children who are in need of everyday items. GWIC employees volunteer to shop for the families and the money raised from the Jeans Coupons is donated to the annual “shopping spree.” Great Western delivers the gift items along with wrapping paper, tape and bows to the YCC so the parents can personally wrap their child’s gifts.

The Friday Jeans Coupon campaign is so successful that each child receives two pairs of pants, three shirts, a pair of shoes, a winter coat, boots, and always an item from the child’s wish list. When GWIC first participated in the “Spirit of Giving Program” seven years ago, they were able to provide gifts for ten children; because of the generous support from the GWIC employees, they were able to provide Christmas for 56 children in 2008.

Great Western Insurance Company, founded by John E. Lindquist, is one of the industry leaders in pre-need funeral insurance. Great Western’s commitment to provide the highest quality products and services comes from the owner’s funeral director background. Being owned and operated by a funeral service family, five generations strong – Lindquist Mortuaries/Cemeteries in Utah – sets Great Western apart from other pre-need insurance companies.

Great Western Promotes Keirsten Gilbert to Marketing Administrative Assistant

Ogden UT—October 26, 2009—Great Western Insurance is proud to announce Keirsten Gilbert’s promotion to Marketing Administrative Assistant. Keirsten will be assisting the Marketing Manager, National Sales Manager as well as the Director of Client Relations. “Keirsten’s attention to detail, excellent customer service skills and knowledge of our operation makes her the perfect addition to Marketing,” commented Christian Dives, Marketing Manager. She has been involved in many different projects before coming aboard as the Administrative Assistant to the Marketing Department. Keirsten was hired in 2003 as administrative support for the company’s document management system.

Great Western Insurance Company, owned by John E. Lindquist, is an Ogden, Utah based company writing life insurance and annuities to fund pre-arranged (pre-need) funeral plans. It is licensed in 45 states and the District of Columbia.

2009 Sales Award Winners for Doric Products Inc.

In The Dead Beat Geographical Area

Top Cremation Product Sales Award

Concrete Vaults, Inc.—Newton, KS

Overall Greatest Percentage of Increase

Division II—C & M Precast—Kerrville, TX

Rookie of the Year

Division IV—Panhandle Vaults—Amarillo, TX

Phoenix Category

Greatest Number Sold—Division I—Concrete Vaults, Inc. – Newton, KS

Greatest Percentage of Increase—Division II — Jacson, Inc. -- Henderson, TX

Athenia Category

Greatest Number Sold—Division I—Concrete Vaults, Inc. -- Newton, KS

Lydian Category

Greatest Number Sold—Division III—West Plains Vault Co. --- Pomona, MO

Doric Products Inc. Installs New Board of Directors

Doric Products Inc. Recently hosted shareholders at the annual meeting held in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. The 2009-2010 Board of Directors were installed at the meeting. Current board members are Asa Brewster (Brewster Vaults, Millville, NJ), Michael Crummitt (Crummitt & Son Vault, Martins Ferry, Ohio), Charles Foskey (Wicomico Vault, Salisbury, Maryland), Gerald Hardy (Hardy Doric Inc., Chelmsford, Massachusetts), Hubert McQuestion (Lake Shore Burial Vault, Brookfield, Wisconsin), Adair Payment (Atlas Concrete Products, Orlando, Florida), Bobby Smith (Eagle Burial Vaults, Ruston, Louisiana), Steven Vincent ( J.P. Vincent and Son, Galena, Illinois) and Jim Wiens (Concrete Vaults Inc., Newton, Kansas).

The new board held a meeting to vote officers into position for the 2009-2010 year. Those elected were: President, Steve Vincent; Vice President of Finance and Treasurer, Jim Wiens; Vice President of Manufacturing, Mike Curmmitt; and Secretary, Gerald Hardy. The Executive Committee will again consist of Crummitt, McQuestion, Vincent and Wiens.

Following elections, Board President Vincent commented, “I appreciate the continued vote of confidence and support shown by the shareholders and directors.” other members of the board echoed his comment and noted the consistency of membership allows projects to continue without interruption.

New to the Doric Board of Directors is Charles “Chuck” Foskey. Undoubtedly, the name will sound familiar to you. Chuck was voted into the seat that was left vacant when his father, Charlie, passed away this summer. He has been with the family vault business since it began in 1975 and was also involved with Wicomico Memorial Park Cemetery until it was sold in 1998.

Chuck currently serves as President of Wicomico Vault and also makes time to participate in a variety of organizations. Among them are the Delmarva Funeral Service Association, Greater Salisbury Chamber, and the National Concrete Burial Vault Association. He also serves as a Master Mason with Centennial Lodge #221 A.F. & A.M. and is active in the Thomas J. Shryock commanders of Knights Templar and the Maryland chapter of Ducks Unlimited.

Chuck is also proud of his work as a volunteer firefighter with the Salisbury fire Department for 26 years. He has served in a number of leadership roles within the department and is currently the Assistant Chief as well as corporate president. Chuck looks forward to his involvement with Doric and Classic Metal Vaults and continuing, “the highest quality standards” in the industry.

The Doric leadership requires all Doric licensed manufacturing plants undergo an independent inspection by a field inspector of the National Concrete burial Vault Association (NCBVA). This requirement ensures that consumers receive quality products that meet or exceed industry standards. If you would like contact information for the Doric location in hour area, please visit our website at www.doric-vaults.com or call us at 800-457-0671.

Doric Board Members: Front row (l-r): Chuck Foskey, Adair Payment, Bobby Smith, Gerald Hardy. Back row: Mike Crummitt, Asa Brewster, Steve Vincent, Jim Wiens, and Hubert McQuestion

Global Mortuary Affairs, LLC

Launches New Service!

Dallas, Texas (1 December 2009) - David Patterson, Owner/Operations Director of Global Mortuary Affairs, LLC, is pleased to announce that effective immediately, Global Mortuary Affairs will provide a new Pick-Up and Delivery Service to all Dallas/Ft. Worth Airports. This new Door-to-Door service is the easiest and most cost-effective way to meet the TSA Shipping Standards and includes the following key features:

¨ Advantage of dropping—off or picking up the remains 24 hours a day without the hassle of the airport.

¨ Transportation to or from your funeral home.

¨ TSA Certified Cargo Screening Facility to Insure your family received the remains in a timely fashion.

¨ Flight Arrangements

¨ Consulate Work for International Shipping

¨ 10 Day Invoice on Prepaid Airfare—to qualifying customers.

¨ Known Shippers on every Major Airlines.

¨ Shipping Supplies, such as Combo Units, Airtrays, Transfer Cases.

David Patterson truly believes that any size funeral home will benefit from this service. Global Mortuary Affairs has developed the easiest and most cost-effective way to meet the TSA Shipping Standards. Once you place the initial call to Global Mortuary Affairs the rest of your worries are over. Global Mortuary Affairs will set the domestic or internal flight, screen the remains to TSA specifications, place the remains in the shipping container, shelter the remains until such time as the airlines will accept it, and deliver the remains to the airlines. If you are to receive remains, Global Mortuary Affairs will transfer the remains to our facility, shelter the remains until such time as your firm arrives or makes arrangements for Global Mortuary Affairs to transport the remains to your door step.

Global Mortuary Affairs would be pleased to have the opportunity to assist you with any of your shipping needs. Please feel free to call Global Mortuary Affairs, LLC direct at 877.216.2708 or 972.216.2700.

Global Mortuary Affairs, LLC was founded in November, 2006, and provides removals, embalming, cremation, shipping services (Domestic & International), airline transport, overland transport, pathology services, and donor services to funeral homes only. David Patterson and Global Mortuary Affairs, LLC received their TSA Certified Cargo Screening Facility Certification Number in November of 2009, and ranks at this time as the only mortuary/funeral establishment in Texas to meet these requirements. Additional information about Global Mortuary Affairs can be found at http://www,globalmortuaryaffairs.com.

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