Brookfield, Wis. – The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) is pleased to announce the names of the 164 funeral homes that have earned a 2012 Pursuit of Excellence Award. The Award is presented annually to firms that have demonstrated a commitment to raising the bar on funeral service excellence by adhering to strict ethical and professional standards and providing outstanding service to families and communities. A total of 166 firms submitted entries for consideration.

To earn an NFDA Pursuit of Excellence Award, a participating funeral home must meet or exceed business standards set forth by the program and demonstrate proficiency in key areas of funeral service, such as compliance with state and federal regulations; providing ongoing education and professional development opportunities for staff; offering outstanding programs and resources to bereaved families; maintaining an active level of involvement within the community; participating and actively serving in the funeral service profession; and promoting funeral home services through a variety of marketing, advertising and public relations programs. Participants are also required to adhere to a Pledge of Ethical Practices.

More information about the NFDA Pursuit of Excellence program can be found by visiting www.nfda.org/pursuitofexcellence.

Award recipients will be honored on October 8 at the All-Star Recognition Ceremony during the 2012 NFDA International Convention & Expo. The 2012 NFDA Convention will take place October 7-10 in Charlotte, N.C.

The names of the 2012 NFDA Pursuit of Excellence Award recipients can be found at the end of this news release.

In addition to receiving the 2012 NFDA Pursuit of Excellence Award, two funeral homes received the Best of the Best Award in recognition of their development and execution of an innovative program or service that had a positive impact on the families and communities they served this year. The 2011 Best of the Best honorees are:

·         Brandon G. Thompson Funeral Home, Hammond, La.

·         Fitzgerald Funeral Home & Crematory, Rockford , Ill.

Created to recognize long-standing participation in the Pursuit of Excellence program and a consistent display of service excellence, NFDA-member funeral homes are inducted into the Hall of Excellence upon receiving their 10th Pursuit of Excellence Award. The 2012 class of NFDA Hall of Excellence inductees includes 22 funeral homes:

·         A.H. Peters Funeral Home of Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.

·         Adair Funeral Home, Tucson, Ariz.

·         Bartolomeo & Perotto Funeral Home Inc., Rochester, N.Y.

·         Cozean Memorial Chapel & Crematory, Farmington, Mo.

·         Dwayne R. Spence Funeral Homes, Pickerington, Ohio

·         Eggers Funeral Home & Crematory, Chesnee, S.C.

·         Hanson-Runsvold Funeral Home, Fargo, N.D.

·         Henderson Funeral Home, Pekin, Ill.

·         Heritage Funeral Home & Crematory, Spokane, Wash.

·         Higgins-Reardon Funeral Homes, Youngstown, Ohio

·         Jones-Wynn Funeral Home & Crematory, Douglasville, Ga.

·         Jones-Wynn Funeral Home & Crematory, Villa Rica, Ga.

·         Joseph Vertin & Sons Funeral Home, Breckenridge, Minn.

·         Kerrville Funeral Home, Kerrville, Texas

·         Mattson Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Forest Lake, Minn.

·         Ochiltree Funeral Service & Aftercare, Winterset, Iowa

·         Preston-Hanley Funeral Homes & Crematory, L.L.C., Pekin, Ill.

·         Roller Funeral Home, Mountain Home, Mountain Home, Ark.

·         Routsong Funeral Home and Cremation Center, Kettering, Ohio

·         Schrader Funeral Home, Crematory & Family Center, Ballwin, Mo.

·         Whitaker Funeral Home, Inc., Newberry, S.C.

·         Wm. Sullivan & Son Funeral Home, Royal Oak, Mich.

·         A.H. Peters Funeral Home of Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.

·         A.J. Desmond & Sons Funeral Directors, Troy, Mich. *

·         A.S. Turner and Sons Funeral Home, Decatur, Ga.

·         Adair Funeral Home, Tucson, Ariz.

·         Anderson-Burris Funeral Home & Crematory, Enid, Okla.

·         Arlington Memorial Chapels, Inc., Manila, Philippines

·         Arnett & Steele Funeral Home & Cremation Center, Pineville, Ky. *

·         Arrington Funeral Directors, Jackson, Tenn.

·         Aspen Mortuaries, Lakewood, Colo. *

·         Baird Funeral Home, Troy, Ohio *

·         Ballard-Durand Funeral & Cremation Services, White Plains, N.Y.

·         Bartolomeo & Perotto Funeral Home Inc., Rochester, NY

·         Bass Funeral Home, Inc., Gordonsville, Tenn. **

·         Bates Family Funeral Home, De Kalb, Texas **

·         Bayliff & Son Funeral Home, Inc., Cridersville, Ohio

·         Boles Funeral Homes & Crematory, Inc., Southern Pines, N.C. **

·         Bowen-Donaldson Home for Funerals, Tifton, Ga.

·         The Branch Funeral Home, Smithtown, N.Y.

·         Brandon G. Thompson Funeral Home, Hammond, La.

·         Bring Funeral Home, Tucson, Ariz. **

·         Brunswick Memorial Home, East Brunswick, N.J. **

·         Burritt Hill Funeral Home, New Britain, Conn.

·         Caldwell & Cowan Funeral Home, Covington, Ga.

·         Cannon Cleveland Funeral Directors, McDonough, Ga.

·         Carlson Funeral Services, Inc., Rhinelander, Wis.

·         Carmon Funeral Homes, Windsor, Conn. *

·         Carpenter’s Funeral Home, Inc., Cherryville, N.C.

·         Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral and Cremation Service, Alliance, Ohio *

·         Cobb Funeral Home, Blytheville, Ark.

·         Coston Funeral Homes, Inc., Pittsburgh, Penn.

·         Cottonwood Memorial Mortuary, Holladay, Utah

·         Cozean Memorial Chapel & Crematory, Farmington, Mo.

·         Cozine Memorial Group, Wichita, Kan.

·         Crowe’s Funeral Homes, Inc., Jamaica, N.Y. **

·         D. O. McComb and Sons Funeral Home, Fort Wayne, Ind.

·         David C. Brown Funeral Home, Belleville, Mich *

·         Davis Funeral Home, LLC, Nashua, N.H. *

·         Deiters Funeral Home and Crematory, Washington, Ill.

·         Deseret Memorial Mortuary, Salt Lake City, Utah

·         D’Esopo East Hartford Memorial Chapel, East Hartford, Conn. *

·         D’Esopo Funeral Chapel, Wethersfield, Conn. *

·         Dobratz-Hantge Chapel, Hutchinson, Minn *

·         Doyen-Abels Funeral Home, Wellsburg, Iowa

·         Duncan-Graves Funeral Home, Presque Isle, Maine **

·         Dwayne R. Spence Funeral Homes, Pickerington, Ohio

·         E. Blake Collins Funeral Home, Wilkes Barre, Penn.

·         Eggers Funeral Home & Crematory, Chesnee, S.C.

·         Erlewein Mortuary, Greenfield, Ind.

·         Evergreen Mortuary, Cemetery and Crematory, Tucson, Ariz. *

·         Fellows, Helfenbein & Newnam Funeral Home, P.A., Easton, Md. *

·         Fitzgerald Funeral Home & Crematory, Rockford, Ill.

·         Forest Lawn Funeral Home, Hendersonville, N.C. **

·         Freitag-Reeves and Baskerville Funeral Home, Wilmington, Ill.

·         French Funeral Home, Brazil, Ind. *

·         French Funerals and Cremations, Albuquerque, N.M. *

·         Gamble Funeral Service, Inc., Savannah, Ga.

·         Gardinier Funeral Home, Inc., Franklin, Penn.

·         Geisen-Carlisle Funeral & Cremation Services, Michigan City, Ind. **

·         Glende-Nilson Funeral Home, Fergus Falls, Minn.

·         Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes, Lansing, Mich. *

·         Gunderson Funeral & Cremation Care, Madison, Wis. *

·         Hansen-Lendman Funeral Home, Kenosha, Wis.

·         Hanson-Runsvold Funeral Home, Fargo, N.D.

·         Henderson Funeral Home, Pekin, Ill.

·         Heritage Funeral Home & Crematory, Spokane, Wash.

·         Heritage Funeral Home Ltd., Nipawin, Saskatchewan, Canada

·         Higgins-Reardon Funeral Homes, Youngstown, Ohio

·         Holman-Howe Funeral Home, Lebanon, Mo.

·         Hooper-Huddleston & Horner Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Cookeville, Tenn.

·         Howard K. Hill Funeral Services, New Haven, Conn.

·         Huff Funeral Home & Cremation Services Inc., Franklin, Penn. **

·         Hughes-Hantge Funeral Chapel, Hector, Minn.

·         J. A. Larin & Fils Inc. Maisons Funéraires et Crématorium, Salaberry-De-Valleyfield, Quebec, Canada **

·         James Funeral Home, Huntersville, N.C. **

·         Jones & Son Funeral Home, Richton, Miss.

·         Jones-Wynn Funeral Home & Crematory, Douglasville, Ga.

·         Jones-Wynn Funeral Home & Crematory, Villa Rica, Ga.

·         Joseph Vertin & Sons Funeral Home, Breckenridge, Minn.

·         Kapinos-Mazur Funeral Home and Cremation With Confidence by Kapinos-Mazur, Ludlow, Mass.

·         Kerrville Funeral Home, Kerrville, Texas

·         Kilpatrick Funeral Homes, West Monroe, La.

·         Lakeside Memorial Funeral Home, Inc., Hamburg, N.Y. **

·         Lancaster-Morgan Funeral Home, Caribou, Maine

·         Lentz Funeral Home, Algona, Iowa

·         Lippert-Olson Funeral Home, Sheboygan, Wis.

·         Lord & Stephens Funeral Home, Athens, Ga. **

·         Lynch & Sons Funeral Directors – Clawson, Clawson, Mich. *

·         Lynch & Sons Funeral Directors Brighton & Milford, Milford, Mich. *

·         Mangano Funeral Home, Inc., Deer Park, N.Y. **

·         Marrocco Memorial Chapel, Clifton, N.J.

·         Martin Funeral, Cremation & Tribute Services, Mount Morris, Mich. *

·         Martin Funeral Home – Fairgrove, Fairgrove, Mich. *

·         Martin Funeral Home – Vassar, Vassar, Mich. *

·         Mattson Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Forest Lake, Minn.

·         McLean Funeral Directors, Belmont, N.C. **

·         Memorial Funeral Home – San Juan, San Juan, Texas *

·         Memorial Funeral Home – Edinburg, Edinburg, Texas

·         Milward Funeral Directors, Lexington, Ky.

·         Moloney Funeral Home, Central Islip, N.Y. *

·         Moore’s Home for Funerals, Wayne, N.J. **

·         Morman Funeral Home, Wakeman, Ohio

·         Murray Memorial Mortuary, Salt Lake City, Utah

·         Myers Mortuary, Ogden, Utah *

·         Myers Mortuary of Brigham City, Brigham City, Utah *

·         Myers Mortuary of Layton, Layton, Utah *

·         Myers Roy Mortuary, Roy, Utah *

·         Newington Memorial Funeral Home, Newington, Conn. *

·         O’Brien Straatmann Redinger Funeral Home, Kearney, Neb. **

·         Ochiltree Funeral Service & Aftercare, Winterset, Iowa

·         O’Connell Family Funeral Homes & Cremation Services, Inc., Hudson, Wis.

·         O’Guinn Family Funeral Homes, Clio, Mich. *

·         Old Bridge Funeral Home, Old Bridge, N.J. **

·         Panebaker Funeral Home, Inc., Hanover, Penn.

·         Patrick T. Lanigan Funeral Home, Inc., East Pittsburgh, Penn. *

·         Paul McBride Funeral Chapel, Norwood, Minn.

·         Pray Funeral Home, Charlotte, Mich. *

·         Preston-Hanley Funeral Homes & Crematory, L.L.C., Pekin, Ill.

·         Proko Funeral Home, Kenosha, Wis. *

·         Radney Funeral Home, Alexander City, Ala. **

·         Redwood Memorial Mortuary & Cemetery, Salt Lake City, Utah

·         Reeves Funeral Homes, Ltd., Coal City, Ill.

·         Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Traverse City, Mich. *

·         Robertaccio Funeral Home Inc.,             Patchogue, N.Y. *

·         Roland Funeral Service, Atlantic, Iowa

·         Roller Funeral Home, Mountain Home, Ark.

·         Roller-Ballard Funeral Home, Benton, Ark.

·         Roller-Chenal Funeral Home, Little Rock, Ark.

·         Roller-Crouch Funeral Home, Batesville, Ark.

·         Roller-Daniel Funeral Home, Searcy, Ark.

·         Roller-McNutt Funeral Home, Conway, Ark.

·         Rose Mortuary Inc., Knoxville, Tenn.

·         Routsong Funeral Home and Cremation Center, Kettering, Ohio

·         Sanderson Funeral Home, Carthage, Tenn. *

·         Savage Funeral Service, Binghamton, N.Y.

·         Savolskis-Wasik-Glenn Funeral Home, Inc., Munhall, Penn. **

·         Schoeneberger Funeral Home, Perham, Minn.

·         Schrader Funeral Home, Crematory & Family Center, Ballwin, Mo.

·         Sharer-Stirling-Skivolocke Funeral Home, Alliance, Ohio

·         Shaughnessey Banks Funeral Home, Fairfield, Conn.

·         Shuler Funeral Home, Hendersonville, N.C.

·         Smith Family Mortuary, Derby, Kan.

·         Spencer Family Funeral Home, Athens, Mich. *

·         St. Peter Memorial Chapels, Quezon City, Philippines **

·         Staab Polk Memorial Home/Cremation Services of Central Illinois, Chatham, Ill. *

·         Strode Funeral Home, Stillwater, Okla. *

·         Tetrick Funeral Home, Elizabethton, Tenn.

·         Thomas McAfee Funeral Home Downtown Chapel, Greenville, S.C.

·         Thomas McAfee Funeral Home Northwest Chapel, Greenville, S.C.

·         Tom M. Wages Funeral Service, LLC – Snellville, Snellville, Ga.

·         Tom M. Wages Funeral Service, LCC – Lawrenceville Chapel, Lawrenceville, Ga.

·         Twiford Funeral Homes, LLC, Elizabeth City, N.C. *

·         Waid Funeral Home, Merrill, Wis.

·         Waitt Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Morganville, N.J.

·         Waller Funeral Home, Oxford, Miss. *

·         Wappner Funeral Directors and Crematory, Mansfield, Ohio *

·         Weeks’ Enumclaw Funeral Home, Enumclaw, Wash.

·         Weeks’ Funeral Home, Buckley, Wash.

·         West Funeral Homes, Inc., West Fargo, N.D.

·         Whitaker Funeral Home, Inc., Newberry, S.C.

·         Wieting Family Funeral Home, Chilton, Wis. **

·         Wm. Sullivan & Son Funeral Home, Royal Oak, Mich.

·         Wm. Sullivan & Son Funeral Home – Utica, Utica, Mich.

·         Wonderly Horvath Hanes Funeral Home & Crematory, Fremont, Ohio

·         Worlein Funeral Home, Austin, Minn.

NFDA is the world’s leading and largest funeral service association, serving 18,500 individual members who represent nearly 10,000 funeral homes in the United States and 43 countries around the world. NFDA is the trusted leader, beacon for ethics and the strongest advocate for the profession. NFDA is the association of choice because it offers funeral professionals comprehensive educational resources, tools to manage successful businesses, guidance to become pillars in their communities and the expertise to foster future generations of funeral professionals. NFDA is headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., and has an office in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.nfda.org.