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Vol. 15 LII No. 3

June 2000

NATfOtsIAL cONCIETE BURiAL„ VAULT AssoGA -nor4

,MIMRIMW.COMMIUMArriumwmr

The whole gang gathered on deck for this commemorative group photo

Substance Abuse It IS in Your Shop!

In This Issue

President's Message 3

Legal Update 5

New Members 7

Convention Photos 8

Certified Plants 12

The statistics are startling. The threat to your business is ominous. In a three hour, edge-of-your-seat seminar, Robert Stutman outlined the serious substance abuse problem in this country and why manufacturers like NCBVA members should be alarmed and alert.

Seventeen percent of the U.S. workforce, or one of every six employees, has a substance abuse problem, according to Stutman who is considered the nation's expert on drugs in the workplace. He spoke at the pre-cruise NCBVA meeting at the Miami (Fla.) Airport Hilton.

Substance abuse is broken down into three categories: illegal drugs, alcohol (as it affects a person's ability to do his job),

and legal drugs (sharing and overmedicating).

The cost to businesses as a result of these abuses goes way beyond the numbers. Losses take the form of:

Absenteeism, Turnover, Production, Pilferage, Violence, Accidents, and Workers Comp claims.

"The average substance abusing employee costs you $5,200 per year, per employee," said Stutman, a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and now a special consultant on substance abuse for the CBS News division, including the CBS Evening News, 60 Minutes, CBS This Morning, and Face the Nation.

While the losses listed above can be substantial, they pale in comparison to the price your company will have to pay if one of your employees injures or kills someone else and you are taken to court.

How do you deal with the issue? A written policy that covers every imaginable scenerio and a drug testing program are crucial to protecting your company against potential litigation, says Stutman. "If you aren't drug testing, you don't have a program and you aren't dealing with the issue," he warned. A good drug test includes these factors:

A collection facility that meets Department of Transportation (DOT) standards, A lab that is NIDA certified,

Continued on page 14

Power Pak-ll

2 NCBVA BULLETIN June 2000

Lii CREMATION IS XPECTED

TO DOUBLE... Let IEE Show You How To Meet The Demand... Profitably!

Research Shows The Demand For Cremation Rapidly Increasing Within the next ten years cremation is expected to double. More and more companies are recognizing the grow-ing trend towards cremation, TEE can show you how to turn that demand into increased business and profit.

Investment Analysis This free analysis will indicate if a cre-matory is a profitable venture for you. We consider your individual circum-stances and evaluate vital information on costs, depreciation, tax savings and estimated profits.

The Power -Pak II Cremator The most cost efficient model of its size on the market, this system offers the quickest cremation time for its size, two hours or less, in-cluding preheat, while its cost per use remains the lowest in the industry. Other fea-tures include: a pollution monitor-ing system, a maintenance free stainless steel stack, fully automatic operation and, as with all our cremators, it's guaranteed to exceed all environmental requirements.

Purchase Any Cremator, And We l/ Include A Hydraulic Lift Table— Absolutely Free This device allows for one-man casket loading, as well as gen-eral lifting and transport. Its hydraulic pump handle and swivel casters offer maxi-mum convenience for easy positioning of heavy loads.

The ECP-200 Electric Cremains Processor Is Engineered To Reduce Volume To Less Than 200 Cubic Inches... We Guarantee It!

The ECP-200 is the most ad-

vanced processor on the

market, with a processing time of less than one minute. It's quiet, dust

proof, fully automatic and built for depend- able, long lasting performance. It's the perfect accessory to any crematory.

ECP-200

Setting Industry Standards IEE's technological advancements have been influencing the cremation industry for many years. Quality equipment, unsurpassed service before and after the sale and our "client first" policy— TEE keeps working for you.

I.D. Tags, Brush, Urn

Crematory Supplies We offer the wid-est variety of cre-

mation supplies avail-able, from I.D. Tags to Urns, and everything in-between. Call for your free catalogs.

Hydraulic Lift Table

In Canada Contact Richard Steele The Eckels Company • Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Phone 519-824-8020 • FAX 519-824-7161

INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT & ENGINEERING CO.

P.O. Box 547796 • Orlando, FL 32854-7796 In Florida (407) 886-5533 • FAX (407) 886-5990

Toll Free 1-800-327-2831

June 2000 NCBVA BULLETIN 3

National Concrete Burial Vault

Association, Inc.

900 Fox Valley Drive. Suite 204

Longwood, Florida 32779-2552

lutp://vkww.ncbva.org

(500) 538-1423 Fax: (407) 774-6751

Executive Director .rh on-la , A, M ona h an , CAL

Cortilied Association Management Company Longwood. FL

President Tim Brutsche

Brutsche Concrete Products Battle Creek, MI

President-Elect Jack So hart

Saginaw Wilbert Vault Corp. Saginaw, MI

Secretary /Treasurer Dan l i cks

I licks Industries Mulberry, FL

Immediate Past President Warren Chandler. Sr. Master Grave Service

Bogart, GA

Directors, District I Robert Ilardy

Hardy Doric, Inc. Chelmsford. MA

Kelly Pellicano Graffius Burial Vault Co.

Reading, PA

Directors, District 2 Marty Begun

Eagle Burial Vault Detroit. Ml

Curt Zamec Wilbert Funeral Services. Inc.

Forest Park. IL.

Directors, District 3 Bob Donatelli

Baumgardner Products Co. Akron, OH

Darren Baxter Baxter Burial Vault Service

Cincinnati, Oft

Directors, District 4 Jeff Grayson

Superior Vault Co. Charlestoxvn, IN

Jack Swihart Saginaw Wilbert Vault Corp

Saginaw, MI

Director, District 5 LC. Clifton

Quality Burial Vault Co. flouston. TX

Linda Darby Sempsrott Greenwood Plastics

Phoenix. AZ

Legal Counsel J. Scott Calkins larrishurg. PA

President's Message BY TIM BRUTSCHE

New President at the Helm

On Watch for Uncharted Reefs

Another convention has come, and by the time you read this, gone. Now is a time to ask yourself, "Did your ship come in?" Or are you aimlessly adrift with no one

at the helm? - Rest assured, your association has an excellent crew, and we see fair weather and

smooth sailing ahead. Is this the forecast for your firm also? With Master Warren Chandler at the wheel last year, we laid a course for the future

success of this association. My task this year is to continue on this tack, avoiding the uncharted reefs that lay ahead.

We tried something different this year, a cruise meeting. Many attended and had a tremendous time, but some "mutinied" because we dared to try something different. I think we all need to try something "different" on occasion with our own businesses. For if we continue to sit "becalmed," always doing the same thing the same way, we will soon find our individual ships with decks awash, sinking.

We need to gather together with our fellow "skippers" and share information amongst ourselves. NCBVA needs not only to be an association of manufacturing members who enjoy each other's company in a social atmosphere, but also to continue to lead the industry as a form of "think tank" sharing ideas and innovation to propel this group through the new millennium.

This can only be accomplished if we work as a unified "crew," not only made up of individual firms, but also including suppliers and franchise groups alike.

I would like to introduce a theme for the association to look at through the year 2001. I call it "CREDIBILITY AND CONSISTENCY." It is a theme that is crucial to the success of all involved in this association—suppliers, franchise groups and individual members alike. One cannot exist without the other. For to be consistent, you and your firm, your products and personnel must be credible (accountable, flexible, responsible). Without credibility you will never be consistent.

"Come aboard" with me and the fine group of men and women on the board of direc-tors and give a "heave ho" to old stagnant ideas that belong in the "bilge."

Full speed ahead!

4 NCBVA BULLETIN

June 2000

VAULT QUEST 3000

The VAULT QUEST 3000 is the safest and most efficient vault handling machine

available today. With its unsurpassed maneuverability, along with the ease of a

one-man operation, the VAULT QUEST 3000 will help to make the most difficult

vault handling situation quick, easy, and safe.

The VAULT QUEST 3000 has been engineered to ensure the operator's safety and to

maximize vault burial efficiency. These safety features and product enhancements

will help to eliminate your worker's compensation claims and increase your

level of productivity.

Some of the VAULT QUEST 3000's standard features include a 13 hp Briggs &

Stratton engine, a 6000# hydraulic winch, 30" hydraulic leveling cylinders, power

tilting hydraulic cylinder and an electric powered remote controlled retractable I-

beam. These are just some of the dynamic features you will find on our standard

model.

The VAULT QUEST 3000 can be customized to fit your specific needs. Customer

service and satisfaction are our # 1 priority. Videos are available upon request.

CALL AND ORDER YOURS TODAY! MID VALLEY INDUSTRIES, INC.

1151 DELANGLADE ST., KAUKAUNA WI 54130 (920) 759-0314 FAX (920) 759-0318

June 2000 NCBVA BULLETIN 5

INDUSTRY CALENDAR

August 5-10 NFD & MA Convention and

Trade Show Orlando, FL

23-26

Cremation Association of North America Annual Convention The Westin Harbour Castle Toronto, Ontario, Canada

October 30-Oct. 5 National Selected Morticians

Disney's Yacht Club Resort Orlando, FL

9 - 11 National Funeral Directors Association Convention Baltimore Convention Center Baltimore, MD

31-31

Casket and Funeral Supply Association of America Fall Conference & Trade Show Adam's Mark Hotel Indianapolis, IN

November 19-20

Cremation Certification Program for Equipment Operators - CANA Orlando, FL

Veterans Receive Honors That Were Long Overdue

The cremated remains of 41 indigent veterans that had languished in a Philadelphia morgue—some for as long as four years—have finally been buried at Fort Indiantown Gap National in Pennsylvania in a small ceremony marked by grace and simplicity.

More than 50 Pennsylvania veterans from several organizations came to the service moved by news that the ashes of fellow veterans went unburied because of a communication breakdown between the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office and the city's Veterans Advisory Commission.

The problem came to light after one vet's family members inquired about whether he had received a proper burial. The Medical Examiner's Office identified the remains of 62 men thought to be veterans still sitting in the morgue. The 41 buried Friday were verified as honorably discharged veterans.

Court Bases Decision On NCBVA's Definitions BY J. SCOTT CALKINS, ESQ. NCBVA Counsel

In my 44 years of legally representing the concrete burial vault industry. I have finally discovered a court decision in which the judge names the National Concrete Burial Vault Association (NCBVA) and relies on its definitions of a liner and a vault as one of the controlling reasons for holding a cemetery liable for fraudulently not honoring pre-arrangement contracts.

Last year, in the Court of Appeals of the state of Washington, the Blue Mountain Memorial Gardens exhausted its appellate remedies after the state cem-etery board found the cemetery guilty of substituting grave liners for vaults to fulfill prearranged contracts that specified "internment vault" without the knowl-edge or consent of the families.

New owners of the cemetery in 1991 provided grave liners instead of burial vaults for as many as 71 decedents who had prearrangement con-tracts for burial vaults. Unless the families asked, they were not told about the substitu-tion. If asked, cemetery employees explained that the new "commercially manufactured" grave liners were an improvement over the old cemetery manufactured vault. If the fami-lies wanted a "commercial" vault, it would cost an additional $300.

A son filed a complaint with the Cemetery Board when he discovered his mother was buried in a liner even though she had purchased a contract which included an "internment vault."

The cemetery contended throughout the appellate process that the terms were then and are today essentially meaningless. "Vault," "liner," or "grave box" are merely marketing terms according to the cemetery. The cemetery pointed to the absence of a definition of' the word "vault" either in the statute or the contract. The statute lumps together vaults and liners as "outer burial containers." In addition the cemetery contended that there is com-plete disagreement between industry experts as to the definition of a "vault," even today.

The State Cemetery Board and the Court of Appeals agreed that the industry does differentiate between a vault and a liner. The Court relied upon NCBVA's definition as a nationally recognized standard. The court stated as follows: "Since 1990, the National Concrete Burial Vault Association has defined liner and vault. A liner is a burial receptacle placed in the ground in a cemetery, designed and built to support the weight of the earth above it and to prevent the grave from collapsing. A vault performs all the functions of the concrete grave liner and, in addition, is lined and sealed. It is designed and constructed to increase the overall tensile strength of the finished unit and to reduce the risk of the intrusion of exterior elements."

Relying on NCBVA's definition and other relevant factors, the Court concluded that the cemetery was guilty of substituting liners for vaults and upheld the Cemetery Board's order to suspend the Cemetery's license (authority to operate) for 24 months, subject to stay if the cemetery pays a $15,000 fine and replaces the offending liners with vaults for those families who wanted vaults.

This decision, although somewhat insignificant in scope, raises the obvious question for future court decisions regarding our industry and the probability of reliance on NCBVA's standards, certifications, definitions, etc. Would a court rely on the NCBVA certification and standards program in finding that an inferior vault was not made in accordance with NCBVA standards and possibly not even manufactured in a NCBVA certified facility'? That may sound unrealistic now but who knows where future courts will ascertain some type of standard to measure the manufacture of concrete burial vaults. For that matter. what about cemeteries which want to prevent inferior vaults from being utilized for internment'?

(From left) Warren Chandler, Tim Brutsche, Dan Hicks, Jack Swihart

6 NCBVA BULLETIN

June 2000

New Officers Installed at Annual Meeting In a unanimous decision at NCBVA's Annual Meeting, June 11, 2000 in Miami, Fla.,

the following slate of officers was elected: Tim Brutsche, Brutsche Concrete Products, Battle Creek, Mich., President; Jack Swihart, Saginaw Wilbert Vault Corp., Saginaw, Mich., Vice President; Dan Hicks, Hicks Industries, Miami, Fla., Secretary/Treasurer.

Elected to serve new five year terms as direc-tors: Kelly Pellicano, Graffius Burial Vault Co., Sinking Springs, Pa., District 1; Marty Began, Eagle Burial Vault, Detroit, Mich., and Curt Zamec, Wilbert Funeral Services, Inc. Forest Park, IL, Dis-trict 2; Darren Baxter, Baxter Burial Vault Service, Cincinnati, OH., District 3; Linda Darby Sempsrott, Greenwood Plastics, Phoenix, Az., District 5.

Other members serving on the Board are Warren Chandler, Master Grave Service, Bogart, Ga, Past President; Bob Donatelli, Baumgardner Products Co., Akron, Oh., District 3; Graham MacLeod, Detroit Wilbert Vault Co., Detroit, Mich., District 4; Jeff Grayson, Superior Vault Co., Charlestown, Ind., District 4 and J.C. Clifton, Qual-ity Burial Vault, Houston, Tx., District 5.

PURE. ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY. ECONOMICAL Another innovative product from PUREASPHALT.

NO.351 WATER BASE PAINT

OSHA and EPA approved

Compatibility with other paints for easy top coats

2 to 3 times the yield of other latex paints

Easily sprayed or roller applied

Freeze-thaw-stable and extended shelf life

Cleans up with soap and water when wet

more information on Water Base Paint, Textured Asphalt Coatings or Bronzing Liquids,

contact the professionals at Pure Asphalt Company at 773.247.7030

PURE ASPHALT COMPANY MANUFACTURER OF SPECIALTY COATINGS SINCE 1927

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

NCBVA Welcomes Newest Members James B. Austin J.B. AUSTIN, INC. P.O. Box 868 Dover, NH 03821-0868 Ph: (603) 742-6135

Wade Earnshaw Vice President/Owner SUPERIOR VAULT COMPANY 12735 La Plata Rd. (P.O. Box 10) Bryantown, MD 20617 Ph: (301) 274-3772 Fax: (301) 274-4759

Lane R. Larkin, Jr. Manager ROCKY MOUNTAIN MONUMENT & VAULT 10600 S. 1700 East Sandy, UT 84092 Ph: (801) 571-2831 Fax: (801) 553-2456

Timothy Santeiu Secretary/Treasurer SANTEIU VAULTS, INC. 12700 Fairlane Livonia, MI 48150 Ph: (734) 422-6700 Fax: (734) 422-6790

Dennis E. Schultz President DORIC VAULT OF W.N.Y., INC. 561 Pavement Rd. Lancaster, NY 14086 Ph: (716) 681-1776 Fax: (716) 681-4932

Kenneth Tomlinson President/Owner THE EVERLASTING VAULT CO., INC. 10700 Liberty Rd. Randallstown, MD 21133 Ph: (410) 922-4040 Fax: (410) 922-4075

June 2000

NCBVA BULLETIN

7

Another Retail Outlet Opens In California

Funeral Merchandise® opened its second store in June in Sacramento, CA, selling funeral related products, reportedly at a savings of up to 75 percent. A company press release says, " Consumers can now buy caskets, urns, and all other funeral related products direct without middlemen at a fraction of the cost charged by mortuaries.

Each Funeral Merchandise store is equipped with up-to-date price lists from every local mortuary. Funeral Merchandise has condensed these General Price Lists for easy review by consumers and they have called it the "Sacramento's Mortuary Casket & Service Fee Comparison Chart."

Clients can also order caskets online from across the country. Funeral Merchandise then delivers the requested casket of choice overnight to the mortuary of their choice nationally.

Lease-Purchase Plan Now Available

The VAULT-MASTER has variable speed hydraulic drive, hydraulically raised and lowered front steering axle, roll-back CraneWay beam with adjustable support legs, and an 9,000 lb. hydraulic vault lifting hoist. Will handle straight or cross grave settings.

The Crane-Way beam is a 5" I-Beam and is 14' long with heavy-duty, adjustable support legs. The beam is carried on large flat rollers with heavy duty bearings. There is a hand crank system to roll beam back and forth. The vault lifting winch is swivel-mounted to the beam trolley. This prevents trolley wheel binding due to sideways shifts of the load. Hand operated back winch at the rear of the Crane-Way beam allows safe loading of a vault from a truck or trailer bed onto the Vault Handling Trailer.

Rear hydraulic leveling jacks enable easy leveling of the whole machine on almost any terrain. They make off-loading a vault from a truck bed easier and safer. We have a long list of options and will do custom options. For more information contact. Don Long Long Machine Co. 519 N. Main Ave. Maiden, NC 28650 (Ph) 828-428-2648 (Fax) 828-428-8608

EDOMON1 METALLIqp,k , MEN T CO 1•NC*,

board Bon voyage

FOR TA CORPORATION

(J-,111.)PD.kal

8

NCBVA BULLETIN

June 2000

Millennium Year Convention and Cruise

June 2000

NCBVA BULLETIN 9

Miami and The Majesty of The Seas

LAKESHORE BURIAL VAULT CO., INC

12780 W. Lisbon Rd. Brookfield, WI 53005 414/781-6262 Fax: 414/781-6280

DORIC Ill lull ®

NCIBVA MEMBER SINCE 1929

CENTER-RITE VAULT MESH 2 X 2 1 /2 xl 6ga. GAL. 28" X 300' ROLL

12.5 ga. TANK MESH many other sizes and gauges also available

1/4" DEFORMED PENCIL ROD for VAULT LIDS

EDGE-RITE SYNTHETIC FIBER

STEEL FIBER

All available from

D & C Supply Company, Inc. 335 Washington Ave. Bridgeville, PA 15017

Phone: 1-800-234-5781 or 412-221-1191

Fax: 412-221-9206

14001 ',001

4,110fir ,11 Prt

Crescent Bronze Powder Co., Inc. QUALITY • SERVICE

SELECTION • SINCE 1922

Featuring

VAULT MASTER

New Improved Water Base Formula

METALLICS WHITE AND BLACK

WE OFFER SAME-DAY SERVICE

ALSO • Glitter

Metallic Powders and Pastes Bronzing Liquids - Spray Cans

CALL OR WRITE TODAY FOR OUR NEW METALLIC VAULT COLOR CARD

SAMPLES FURNISHED UPON REQUEST

Crescent Bronze Powder Co. Inc. 1-800-445-6810

3400 N. Avondale Chicago, IL 60618-5432 Fax: (773) 539-1131

10

NCBVA BULLETIN

June 2000

PlanFuneral.Com Launches Nationwide Planning Web Site

PlanFuneral.com launched in June the first Web site that gives consumers the ability to comparison shop funeral homes for products and services over the Internet. After completing a brief online survey, consumers can anonymously comparison shop as many funeral homes as they choose for the best price on selected funeral products and services. PlanFuneral has been designed with the help of professionals in the funeral industry to develop a quality online experience for someone making arrangements. PlanFuneral's goal is to become consumers' first stop when they are faced with the task of making funeral arrangements.

PlanFuneral was developed to address the need consumers have for a tool to conveniently become informed and obtain pricing information from funeral homes quickly and conveniently. Robert Monahan, PlanFuneral's Vice-President, says, "PlanFuneral's Service Provider Network is open to all funeral homes, cemeteries, and monument retailers. We offer all service providers the opportunity to benefit from national marketing exposure and access to the growing number of customers shopping for funeral goods and services over the Internet."

The service is free to consumers. The funeral homes pay a referral fee.

Hire for Attitude, Train for Skill One of the biggest mistakes often made in an interview is

overlooking basic qualities. Many interviewers focus only on past experience and overlook essential traits for success, such as:

Good judgment • Integrity/honesty Sense of humor • Respect Loyalty • Work Ethic Positive Attitude • Dependability Intelligence • Maturity

These are the golden commodities so difficult to find in one package! Remember, if you hire candidates with these traits, you can train them to do anything! Given a choice, always select the candidate with the better attitude and these qualities over the candidate with more knowledge.

Did you know? 60 percent of top executives believe a sense of humor

directly correlates with workplace success!

THE LOGAN VAULT HANDLER By Axis Corporation

June 2000 NCBVA BULLETIN II

PROVIDING SERVICE AND REALIBILTY FOR OVER 40 YEARS

THE LOGAN VAULT HANDLERS ARE MANUFACTURED WITH ONLY NEW BRAND NAME PARTS—NOT USED OR RE-MANUFACTURED. This gives you

better dependability and longer life of your Handler. OUR NEW 3/4 TON AXLE is manufactured narrower than the standard 3/4 ton truck axle to allow for more maneuverability in the Cemetery.

The Logan Vault Handler can handle both straight and cross grave settings. The Logan is equipped with hydraulic variable speed Forward and Reverse, also a High and Low range

gearbox STANDARD.

STRENGTH IS NOT IN THE STEEL ALONE IN A VAULT HANDLER; IT IS IN THE DESIGN The Logan was designed to withstand the stress of a heavy load and yet light enough not to tear up turf in the

Cemetery. The Logan was designed over 40 years ago and has seen many improvements in maneuverability and efficiency. The Logan Vault Handler is designed to give you optimum power using reliable parts and

durable construction. It has been tested, beaten, used and abused for over 40 years. The Logan always was and still is the benchmark of Vault Handling equipment, And that is why we are the

Standard of the Industry AXIS CORPORATION P.O Box 668 BELLEFONTAINE OHIO 43311 1-800-422-AXIS(2947)

FAX 1-937-592-5230 salesOaxiscorporation.com www.axiscorooration.com BUY DIRECT FROM THE MANUFACTURE

12

NCBVA BULLETIN

June 2000

NCBVA proudly recognizes the following companies which have a current

standing in the Plant Certification

•Z`) Program

Abel Vault & Monument Co. Pekin. IL

American Concrete Industries Bangor, ME

American Vault Co. Cleveland, OH

American Vault & Concrete Products

Detroit, MI American Wilbert Vault Corp.

Forest Park. IL Arrow Vault Co., Inc.

Lafayette. IN Atlas Concrete Products, Inc.

Orlando, FL Automatic Wilbert Vault

Tacoma, WA Baumgardner Products Co.

Akron, 01-1 Baxter Burial Vault

Cincinnati, OH Baxter Vault Co.

Baxter Springs, KS Beck Vault Co.

Rome, NY Brewster Vaults & Monuments

Millville, NJ Brown-Wilbert, Inc.

Fargo, ND Brown-Wilbert, Inc.

Morris. MN Bruns Norwalk Vault Co.

Saint Louis, MO Brutsche Concrete Products

Battle Creek, MI Brutsche Concrete Products

Benton Harbor, MI Buckeye Vault Service

Mansfield, OH Buck Simmons Vault Srvcs. Inc.

Roanoke. VA Bush Concrete Products, Inc.

Muskegon, MI C & M Precast

Kerrville, TX Calumet Wilbert Vault Co. Inc.

Gary, IN Carolina-Doric, Inc.

Florence. SC Central Burial Vaults, Inc.

Oklahoma City. OK

Central Burial Vaults, Inc. Tulsa. OK

Century Vault Co., Inc. Taunton, MA

Clinton Wilbert Vaults, Inc.

Clinton, IA Cooper Wilbert Vault Co.

Barrington, NJ Costello Vaults

Smith Falls, Ontario, Canada Crummitt & Son Vault Corp.

Martins Ferry, OH D.G. Robertson, Inc.

Williston, VT Dardanelle Vault & Monument

Dardanelle, AR Deihl Vault & Precast Co.

Orangeville. PA Delaware Valley Vault Co., Inc.

Chester, PA Detroit Wilbert Vault Corp.

Detroit. MI Doody Burial Vaults, Inc.

Winchendon. MA Doric Huntington Vault Co.

Huntingburg, IN Doric of Central Arkansas

Little Rock, AR Doric of Kansas Vault, Inc.

Iola, KS Doric of Nashville, Inc.

Nashville, TN Doric of Northeast Arkansas

Jonesboro, AR Doric of South Texas

Elsa, TX Doric of Texas, Inc.

Houston, TX Doric Concrete Vaults, Inc.

Newton, KS Doric Manufacturing Co.

Boaz, AL Doric Mississippi, Inc.

Jackson, MS Doric-South, Inc.

Demopolis, AL Doric Vault of Eastern NY, Inc.

Hudson, NY Doric Vault Co. of S. Illinois

Marion. IL Eagle Burial Vault Co. of LA

Ruston. LA

Esterly Burial Vault Co. West Reading, PA

Evans Eagle Vaults, Inc. Leola, PA

Everlasting Vault Co. Randallstown, MD

Florida Wilbert, Inc. Jacksonville, FL

Fond Du Lac Wilbert Vault Fond Du Lac, WI

Forsyth Bros. Fithian, IL

Forsyth Bros. Concrete Prod. Terre Haute, IN

Gettysburg Burial Vault Co. Gettysburg, PA

Grable Vault Co. Logansport, IN

Gray Bros., Inc. Kansas City, KS

Gross Vault & Monument Thomasville, GA

Hairfield Vault Co. Hickory. NC

Hardy Doric, Inc. Chelmsford, MA

Ham n Vault Service Massillon, OH

Harris Precast, Inc. La Porte. IN

Heilman — Wirtz, Inc. Cedar Hill, TX

Hicks Industries, Inc. Mulberry, FL

Hydraulic Dolly, Inc. Altoona, PA

J.P. Vincent & Son, Inc. Galena, IL

Jacson, Inc. Henderson, TX

Jefferson Concrete Corp. Watertown, NY

Josten Wilbert Vault Co. Sioux Falls, SD

L-D Vault Service Chattanooga, TN

Lakeshore Burial Vault Co. Brookfield, WI

Lavaca Vault Co. Lavaca, AK

Ludlow Burial Vault Co. Ludlow, MA

Lycoming Burial Vault Co. Inc. Montoursville, PA

Marion Vault Works Marion, IN

Markham Burial Vault Services Richmond, VA

Markham-Carter Vault Service Smithfield, VA

Master Grave Service Athens, GA

Memphis Burial Vault Co. Memphis, TN

Mercer Vault Company Fredericksburg, VA

Milan Burial Vault, Inc. Milan, MI

Milwaukee Wilbert Vault Co. Milwaukee, WI

Minnick Services Corp. Fort Wayne. IN

Neher Burial Vault Co. Springfield, OH

Nor-Don Vault Co. Inc. Strafford. MO

North Central Mich. Vault Srvc. Cadillac, MI

Norwalk Vault Co. Johnstown, PA

Odon Vault Company, Inc. Odon, IN

Omaha Wilbert Vault, Inc. Omaha, NE

Ostwalt Vault Co. Concord. NC

Palm Vault Co. Ada, OK

Peoria Vault Co. Peoria. IL

Perfection Vault Woodson. IL

Phenix Vault Phenix City, AL

Pioneer Vault, Inc. Doylestown. PA

Pope Concrete Products Waycross, GA

Poplar Bluff Doric Vaults, Inc. Poplar Bluff. MO

Precast Concrete Products, Inc. Blissfield. MI

Quality Burial Vault Co. Houston. TX

continued ...

For information on NCB VA's exclusive Plant Inspection and Certification Program, please contact NCB VAHeadquarters at 1-800-538-1423

or use application form on adjacent page.

,r4.),

1ALITY tc's A. i (53 Nr MIMI II zIi,uI v.

1•1 • 1 OM IU 1•• asm•a ma N•II•1•••• •••11V/ • ■ •■

Saginaw Wilbert Vault Corp. Saginaw. MI

Shenandoah Valley Vaults. Inc. Dayton. VA

Shore Vault & Precast Co. Fxmore. VA

Simerly Concrete Products, Inc. Bristol, TN

Simerly Vaults, Inc. Knoxville, TN

Southern Ohio Vault Co. Portsmouth, 014

Southern Vault Service Blakely, GA

Spoerr Precast Concrete Sandusky, OH

Sterling Unlimited, Inc. Woodsboro. MD

Sunnycrest, Inc. Auburn, NY

Superior Burial Vaults, Inc. Salt Lake City, UT

Superior Vault Co. Bryantown, MD

Superior Vault Co. Charlestown, IN

Superior Vault Co. DBA Individual Mausoleum Co.

Aurora, IN Superior Vault Company LTD

Mississauga, Ontario, Canada Swan's Concrete Products

Westbrook, ME Tucker Vault Co.

Farmington, MO Turner Vault Company

Toledo, OH Washington Wilbert Vault Works Inc.

Laurel, MD Warga Concrete Products Inc.

Fort Wayne, IN Watts Vault & Monument Co.

Montezuma, IA Wayne Burial Vault Co., Inc. Indianapolis. IN

Welte Vault Co. Danbury, IA

West Plains Vault & Mfg. Co. Pomona, MO

Wicomico Vault Co., Inc. Salisbury, MD

Wieser Precast Stewartville, MN

Williams Vault Company Emporia, VA

Willmar Precast Co. Willmar, MN

Winnipeg Burial Vaults Ltd. Winnipeg, Canada

June 2000

NCBVA BULLETIN

13

National Concrete Burial Vault Association, Inc.

Member Application for Plant Inspection

Name of Plant

Plant Mailing Address

Plant Street Address

Plant Telephone

Fax Phone Number

Owner's Name

Evening Telephone

Plant Manager/Contact Person

Evening Phone

Types of Outer Burial Receptacles Produced 0 Top Seals 0 Air Domes 0 Sectionals Other

Please return this application with full payment to:

The National Concrete Burial Vault Association, Inc. 900 Fox Valley Drive, Suite #204 Longwood, FL 32779-2552 (800) 538-1423 Fax (407) 774-6751

As an NCBVA member in good standing, the total of your Plant Certification Inspection will be $750. Full payment should be enclosed with your application.

14 NCBVA BULLETIN Rine 2000

Companies Pay the Price For Ego, Attitudes, and Deceit BY JACK SWIHART District 4 Director

How can egos, attitudes and deceit impact a business? Let's look at how these traits have affected some funeral service corporations. Looking

back to November 1997, the following consolidators had strong stock values: SCI—$36.40; Stewart—$43.50; Loewen—$24.60; EC1—$21.25; and Carriage—$19.50. At that point in time it looked like consolidators would continue to become stronger and command greater market share. Fast forward to the beginning of the new millennium. The numbers have changed dramatically: SC1—$4.19; Loewen—$0.56; Stewart—$4.31; Carriage—

$8.44; ECI had been acquired by SCI. How could that happen? Keep in mind that some years earlier Loewen lost a lawsuit by a

group they had purchased and failed to honor a portion of the purchase agreement concerning pre-need contracts. It was alleged Loewen felt it could ignore the agreement with this small' firm. Did egos get in the way of good business judgment? Loewen lost the lawsuit and ended up having to pay around $200 million dollars. That will get shareholders' attention real quick!

September 1998, SCI announced the purchase of Ed. Remember, SCI was buying properties in mass numbers and to avoid monopoly situations, they were selling some properties to Ed. Also, in September, Loewen's Larry Miller, Executive Vice President of Operations, left and 150 employees either moved or were laid off. Loewen's stock had dropped to $11.50. Looking ahead to November 1998, the SCl/ECI merger is moving forward with the closing set for December. Analysts predict SCI's stock to reach $57.00 after the closing. At Loewen, Ray Loewen has resigned as chairman and CEO under pressure from the shareholders. Stock fell as low as $7.00. As 1998 draws to a close, it seems acquisitions by the consolidators will continue unabated.

Happy New Year 1999—maybe not for everyone. Analyst's reports indicate that during the last quarter of 1998 Loewen's volume declined by 4.3%. By February, more unhappy times. Industry reports indicate four law firms have introduced class action suits against Leowen Group alleging the company "misrepresented or failed to disclose material information" regarding operations, financial condition and its failure to successfully integrate components it had acquired. Meanwhile, at SCI, due to fourth quarter earnings decline and failure to inform shareholders, SCI also faces multiple lawsuits. Many shareholders who received their stock in exchange for shares of ECI due to SCI's acquisition

of ECI. Prior to its January 21st disclosure, SCI sold $600 million worth of notes, and completed the ECI merger using $576 million worth of its allegedly inflated stock as currency. Upon SCI's announcement that it's fourth-quarter earnings would be well below expected levels, it's stock declined by 43% in a single day to $15.50 down from a high of $47.10. Shortly following this, Chief Operating Officer L. William Heiligbrodt resigned and many high level managers were shuffled.

By May 1999, rumors of bankruptcy at Loewen abounded. Lawsuits against SCI continue because of massive declines in shareholder value. Most suits on behalf of ECI shareholders, whose equity had declined by more than half since the merger with SCI. The news in June is even grimmer. Loewen files for bankruptcy protection. SCI's first quarter net sales fell 9.4%, but analysts predict SCI is headed for recovery.

November brings even worse news. SCI announced lower than expected earnings in the third quarter of 1999 and stock values fell to $7.82. Loewen sees it's stock fall below $1.00. All of this bad news created by the two largest consolidators is creating stock value problems for all consolidators as Wall Street loses confidence in all funeral service consolidators.

What can be learned from all this? If we fail to control our egos and attitudes, bad things could happen to our businesses. The best advice is to be humble, honest, and do not sacrifice your integrity or your business' integrity for the love of the almighty dollar.

Continued from page 1

EMIT and CGMS tests.

Results are received and reviewed by a Medical Review Officer (MR0).

If you are spending the majority of your drug-testing dollars on pre-employment testing. you may be wasteing your money, says Sunman. While it's a valuable tool Im deterrence. it is the least efficient form of testing. Test every other person and achieve the same value at half the cost, he advises. Spend what you saved on random, probation period testing. If you are going to do it, "Do it smart." advises Stutman.

Another important piece of advice: if you only conduct a drug test in a post accident situation, you are ignoring the biggest piece of the problem: alcohol accounts for over 60 percent of substance abuse related accidents. Always do an alcohol test and a drug test in a post accident situation.

The drugs of choice are changing rapidly. Heroin use is up, cocaine use is down and most employers don't even know the names of the new drugs or the fact that substance abusers can now "beat" a drug test with adulterants and dilutents—the new words for the millennium. Does your policy have clear-cut rules involving the use of these new substances? Many labs do not even test for adulterants and (Ailments. You could have employees regularly cheating on drug tests without ever having an idea of realistically gauging your employment drug problem.

In 1990 Stutman established Robert Stutman & Associates, Inc. (RSA), a management consulting firm which designed and implemented comprehensive and practical substance abuse prevention programs. It was later acquired by Employee Information Services and is now a division of El. El provides drug testing, background screening, occupational health. consulting, training and legal services to businesses of all sizes. For more information on how they can help you set up a Drug-Free Workplace policy visit their Web site at Imp:// www.employeeinfo.com .

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une 2000

NCBVA BULLETIN

15

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0 APAIIINOP'st00 WIDE SALES AND

National Concrete Burial Vault Association, Inc. 900 Fox Valley Drive, Suite 204, Longwood, FL 32779-2552

FIRST CLASS Address Correction Requested

[1- [D LLS Hi [ TEV\irS AND R[O TH

NSM Considers New Name Members of National Selected Morticians are considering a referendum to change the association's name to Selected Independent Funeral Homes to more accurately reflect the group's identity. It had been suggested by some that the term 'mortician" is out-dated and carries a negative connotation for many people. Also, the NSM is an interna-tional, rather than national association. If approved, a new logo will be developed and implementation of the new identity will occur throughout 2001. A brand identity consulting firm was retained to conduct the evaluation and offer guidance. A primary goal was to be certain that consumers could quickly distinguish NSM firms (indepen-dents) from others in the marketplace, most notably the funeral service firms owned by the publicly traded consolidators.

OGR Names New Executive Director Donald P. Hagemann has been appointed executive director and chief executive of-ficer of the International Order of the Golden Rule. Prior to his appointment, he has served as chief financial officer since 1996.

Expo Discontinued DeathCare World Expo will no longer be presented by the International Order of the Golden Rule. Unable to maintain the suc-cess it achieved at its first event in Las Ve-gas, the Expo will be replaced by a Suppli-ers Showcase at the group's 2001 Annual Conference in Nashville, Tenn. The Show-case will be a somewhat expanded form of the showcase suppliers have had the oppor-tunity to present at the last couple of OGR conventions.

York Appoints CEO Thomas J. Crawford has been appointed president and chief executive officer of The York Group, Inc. Crawford has extensive experience in the funeral products industry. He spent 18 years with Hillenbrand Indus-tries and for 14 fourteen years was with the Batesville Casket Company.

The Neptune Society Announces Major Online Initiative The Neptune Society, Inc, the first crema-tion company to sell pre-need contracts online, has announced a major online mar-

keting initiative to reach its targeted demo-graphic of seniors and baby boomers, two of the net's fastest-growing segments. The company has retained the head of a leading Internet marketing firm to manage, imple-ment and enhance Neptune's online mar-keting activities.

To the Moon, Alice! Celestis Inc., which launched cremated bits of "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry and LSD guru Timothy Leary into the heav-ens more than three years ago, is now tak-ing reservations to bury the dearly departed on the moon as early as next year. A com-mercial rocket launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base or Cape Canaveral will in-clude a payload of lipstick-size capsules containing cremated remains of about 200 people. The four-day, 240,000 -mile flight to the moon ahd then collision with its sur-face will run $12,500 per person. Each cap-sule contains about 7 ounces of ash and is inscribed with the name of the deceased and an epitaph. "We are trying to open the space frontier for everyone," said co-founder, Charlie Chafer from company headquarters in Houston, Tx.