NYSAC Cemetery Conference

This Wednesday, I sucked it up and took a day off of work. In my experience, most teachers hate taking the day off. It means writing detailed lesson plans and praying that your students don't do something horrid. As a result, you get a group of workaholics who hate missing a day of school, much like hover parents who don't want to miss a thing.

Anyway, Regional Cemetery Conference - Thinking of death as a business...

Scary thought, really. I've always thought of cemeteries as these everlasting residences for those who have passed on. Sometimes, sadly, older stones and internees have been forgotten and neglected. The problem lies with the fact that our society doesn't talk about death. We don't talk about what happens after a loved on has passed on. Let me tell you, it gets busy.

First, a depressing fact. One of the speakers, David Penepent from SUNY CANTON, pointed out that most Funeral Home Directors are Baby Boomers. As we've seen with the looming Social Security crisis - you know that most of these guys will be on their way out. This will result in a shortage of individuals who facilitate post death traditions and care. In addition, there aren't enough people studying and becoming Directors. 

A side note: Should one invest in coffins now before the Baby Boomers really start to pass away? Maybe pay off my college debt?

Another depressing fact and realization; cemeteries need to plan for FOREVER.  Now, I volunteer for a small cemetery in rural New York. Not the city, but Upstate. We've got a little over 500 grave sites and have more lots available. Most of our board are all elderly and young enough to be on the tail end of the Baby Boomers. I'm the youngest one there. So how to plan for forever. a) we need more young blood, b) we need to plan financially for forever (which seems practically impossible). However, it was noted that almost all cemeteries are severely underfunded. We all need to charge more. 

It was also mentioned that we should stop devaluing or undervaluing what centenarians do. We're professionals!

So, from this conferencing of the minds I've learned a lot. Here are just a few things to remember...

Tips:

• Advertise
• Get involved in the community
• Make meaningful relationships with your local funeral homes
• Get things out there (newspaper, etc)
• Change is GOOD
• Think of inventive ways to get people into your cemetery
• Documentation is key.
• There are ways to "space save"
• Make the cemetery look "alive". Sometimes people think they're abandoned!

Also, the doughnuts were amazing - certainly satisfied my sweet tooth