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President's Letter:
Help Me Fill the Pool
By William L. Wright, CCE
Bill Wright, ICFA president for 2002-2003, is a cemeterian and licensed funeral director.
He is vice president of Fairlawn Burial Park and Heritage Funeral Home in Hutchinson, Kansas, which are owned and operated by his family. He can be reached at heritage@msinter.net.
By the time you read this, the ICFA Annual Convention and Exposition in Orlando, Florida, will be behind us by about two months. By all accounts, the show was truly a resounding success. The program evaluation forms indicated attendees liked what they heard and appreciated the learning opportunity. The suppliers liked the fact that there were 392 paid attendees, but the most telling figure was that 91 percent of those attending were independents, the second-highest number ever. The end result for our exhibitors was more owners, more decision-makers -- more buying units. Congratulations to all who participated and worked hard to make the conference a success.
My first message, published in the May issue, mentioned the projects I will be working on. The keystone, in my mind, is increasing the number of volunteers. I strongly feel that whatever the association hopes to be and become depends on you, the member, feeling that you can contribute and that your ideas are worthwhile, not only for the benefit of the association but also for your own enrichment.
I really believe in what I am advocating. When I addressed the board of directors shortly after accepting the gavel as president, I said these words: "I personally never aspired to be president. I aspired to be a good husband, father and provider. I aspired to own my own business and, at age 40, I do. The reward I receive from my association work has been the work itself and simply being asked to do it."
There it is, folks: The work is extremely rewarding and important, and now I am asking you to do it.
I remember the first strategic planning meeting I attended. Past President Arlie Davenport, who has since become a valued friend, looked at me, a new face at the table. "Good, we have fresh meat," he said. My reply was, "You're damn right! U.S. prime." Well, friends, you have a place at my table. Are you U.S. prime? Give the association the opportunity to find out!
Needless to say, developing a "pool" of individuals who want to volunteer for committee work is paramount. I do not want to omit anyone who has the desire to serve, so please call or e-mail either me or the ICFA office and let us know you want to volunteer. I don't want to hear anyone say later, "I wanted to help out, but no one called me," so this is your "call." There will be additional reminders published in the ICFA e-newsletter, Wireless.
My hope is to develop an initial pool of members who will be assigned to a committee of interest to them. If the pool is large, not everyone will have a specific committee assignment right away, but the association needs a large pool of volunteers to draw from for help with specific projects throughout the year. With your help, we will accomplish this goal.
ON A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT NOTE, years ago a good friend of mine, Glen "Smokey" Stover, a 40-year veteran of cemetery sales and management, gave me a hint of things to come. Though I will be taking his comment to me out of context, it nonetheless is appropriate. Smokey told me, "There will be dragons out there." His words are true today, aren't they?
I have written and have, in the loudest voice possible, advocated that as business owners we must remain vigilant, always keeping an eye on our own operations and how we ethically manage them. We also have the responsibility to pay attention to how others operate. Because of some recent industry scandals, we are feeling the hot breath of the dragons. What can we do about it?
First, in my opinion, we should not play the blame game. There is enough rhetoric coming from folks whose only purpose in life is to see to it that you and I go the way of the dinosaurs. We should know better; besides, it does nothing to further the debate, nor does it provide any semblance of a solution, so let's stop it!
Second, now more than ever, we must look to the ICFA for guidance. The problems are national in scope, and your individual business is not, so it makes perfect sense to seek advice from your national association. I suggest that you get a copy of the ICFA's 27 Model Guidelines for State Laws & Regulations and give them to your state association legislative chairperson or lobbyist. Then, when you hear rumblings in your state government, that person can deliver them to the right person at the state level. If I am not mistaken, we still have a representative form of government, so go out there and represent yourself, for goodness' sake!
And, there is a third thing you can do. Since the recent problems are getting national attention, not only from the media but also from Congress, wouldn't you agree that now more than ever is the time to donate as never before to the ICFA Government and Legal Fund? Every dollar donated goes into a restricted fund, not the association's general fund. The fund's only purpose is to offset expenses incurred by staff and others who advocate your interests at both the state and national levels.
The fund has a reserve, which has remained intact during the past several years of normal government and legal activity. But can anyone deny the fact that these are not normal times? We must ensure we have the resources to maintain a higher level of activity, if necessary. As your president, I am asking ICFA members who have not yet contributed to the fund to do so this year. And to the many who have given consistently to the fund, I am asking both the independent and publicly held companies to consider making a larger donation than you would normally to ensure that the fund has the resources necessary to fight the battles that are surely on the horizon.
I'M SORRY, BUT I'M SWITCHING TOPICS ONCE AGAIN! This summer, the ICFA is sponsoring two major educational opportunities, ICFA University and the Small Cemetery and Funeral Management Conference. The university will once again be located in Memphis, Tennessee, July 19-24, and "The Small" will be in Greeley, Colorado, August 22-24.
Through the years, your association has responded in positive ways to address all our needs, regardless of the type of operation we happen to work in. To me, this is a comforting fact, and to the best of my knowledge, the ICFA is the only national funeral and cemetery association that provides its members with such a wide variety of learning opportunities. Regardless of your operation, you owe it to yourself to attend at least one of the educational offerings the ICFA makes available.
I'M ALMOST TO THE END. (I can already hear a collective sigh of relief.) My thoughts are certainly my own, and you can choose to agree with me or not -- in fact, I personally like a debate. But one thing you can count on is that I will always be an ambassador for the ICFA.
I will not waver in the goals I have outlined. I want to create a "large tent" in which every member has a voice and is encouraged to participate. And I believe the ICFA and the Music License Coalition are more honest brokers in the effort to allow every funeral home owner, regardless of membership in any association, the same opportunity to save money. (You must speak out and get others to do likewise.)
Have a good summer; I hope your Memorial Day celebrations were a success!
Copyright ICFA 2002
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