Wreaths Across America Announces Theme for 2022

Each year, millions of Americans come together to REMEMBER the fallen, HONOR those that serve and their families, and TEACH the next generation about the value of freedom. This gathering of volunteers and patriots takes place in local and national cemeteries in all 50 states – most recently at more than 3,100 participating locations – as part of National Wreaths Across America Day. Each year, a new theme is chosen to help volunteers and supporters focus …

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Body Broker Bill Introduced in the Senate

Consensual Donation and Research Integrity Act would protect the dignity of donors and offer peace of mind to families. With the introduction of the Consensual Donation and Research Integrity Act (CDRI Act) (S. 4929) yesterday by Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), the Senate today took a significant step toward bringing meaningful change to the largely unregulated process of whole body donation. Donating a loved one’s body for medical research upon their death …

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Advocacy Update: September 13 Stakeholder Meeting Recap

Yesterday, September 13th, was the kick off of stake holder meeting discussions surrounding the Arizona State Board of Funeral Directors & Embalmers and a regulation model. This first meeting’s intent was to hear from the private sector, meaning funeral professionals, as well as other interested parties concerning regulation in the state of Arizona. We are thankful to those who came to represent our profession today, Donna Backhaus Program Director at CGCC Mortuary Science Program; Al …

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“Take 5” for Yourself: NFDA Offers Free Online Self-Care Series for Funeral Service Professionals

Funeral service is a high-touch, high-stress career that, unfortunately, comes with a high-degree of compassion fatigue and burnout. To help members of the funeral service profession understand when on-the-job stress might be impacting them and steps they can take to better cope with and preserve their emotional well-being, the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) has introduced the free Take 5 self-care series. “Effectively managing that stress is so very important because, when we take care …

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Data Shows COVID-19 Impact on Funeral Service is Significant

NFDA 2022 Cremation and Burial Report Shows Nearly Half of Members Now Offer Online Cremation Burial Arrangements with the Cremation Rate Across the Nation Expected to Exceed 50% by 2035   Brookfield, Wis.– The long-lasting repercussions of the COVID-19 are only just now being fully understood as data from the last two years becomes more widely accessible. Data from the 2022 Cremation and Burial Report, released by the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA), shows that …

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2022 AFCCA 12th Annual Conference Recap

Another conference has come and gone! This year’s theme was to “Tell Your Story” where attendees, speakers and supplier/service partners were encouraged to share how they entered into the death care profession and why they are passionate to continue. These stories are incredibly powerful, and it enlightened so many of us to hear from people we have known and worked with for so long. During the opening ceremonies, we welcomed the Phoenix Fire Department Honor …

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HB2123 Next Steps

The association has been very actively involved this past legislative session on HB2123. Originally there was no continuation bill meaning that there would not have been a board as of June 30. The bill that was introduced and then passed will give us the opportunity to meet with legislators to work over the summer and into next legislative session on what the future of the board looks like. We and the members are of course …

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May 20 Advocacy Update: Capitol Consulting Legislative Update

Day 131 – We are happy to report that on Wednesday, HB2123: FUNERALS; REGULATION; CONTINUATION, unanimously passed the full Senate by a vote of 25-0-5. The bill is now being transmitted to the House for concurrence. Once the House concurs with the amendments, it will then receive a final vote in the House. We will continue to meet with House members to explain the importance of the bill. As for Rep. Michelle Udall’s (LD-25) HB2024: …

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May 13 Advocacy Update: Capitol Consulting Legislative Update

Day 124 – Continuing a trend of the past few weeks, both chambers adjourned early this week. After calendaring only two bills, the House adjourned for the week on Monday, with the Senate following suit on Tuesday after calendaring four bills. This is primarily the result of stalled budget negotiations which seem to have made little progress over the past month. Late last week, the Governor signed a bill placing additional checks and balances on the Executive’s emergency powers. Introduced …

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May 6 Advocacy Update: Capitol Consulting Legislative Update

This update is provided by Courtney Gilstrap LeVinus Capitol Consulting, LLC Courtney@azcapitolconsulting.com Day 117 – Another very slow week at the Capitol.  In fact, in what seems to be a trend lately, the Senate adjourned for the week on Wednesday after only calendaring nine bills.  All of this is due to a budget impasse within the majority party.  Because of this slowdown, both AZFCCA priority bills are in limbo like many other bills in the Senate.  Making …

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