Atlanta, GA – June 6, 2012 –The Eternal Reefs alternative to ash scattering benefits the environment, offers a permanent marker, helps families honor their loved one and provides funeral directors a way to reconnect with former clients who chose cremation but may still seek an alternative to the traditional urn. The company offers commissions to funeral directors for referrals and has announced its fall 2012 and spring 2013 schedule which includes projects in the Carolinas, Maryland, Florida, New Jersey and Texas, locations conducive not only to memorial activities, but to family vacation destinations.

“The largest group we ever had gather was 45 who came to Sarasota from all over the U.S. to memorialize their beloved mom,” George Frankel, Eternal Reefs CEO, said. “With the geographic diversity of families these days, it’s not uncommon for large groups of our families to gather for an Eternal Reefs celebration. Our locations tend to be popular ocean vacation spots where people can gather now and in future years to both honor their loved one and spend time with family members in a seaside vacation.”

Eternal Reefs is rebuilding the ocean’s diminishing natural reef systems by placing eco-friendly reef balls containing cremains on the ocean floor. The weekend-long process involves families as much as they want in memorial activities that can include mixing cremains into the concrete; placing handprints, written notes and other memorabilia into the damp mixture; participating in memorial activities which can include military honors; and boarding the boat to watch as the reef balls are lowered to the ocean floor. Families are given GPS coordinates of their loved one’s memorial and often visit the location, boating to and diving on the reef to enjoy the new marine habitat that is their loved one’s final resting place.

Upcoming Eternal Reefs placements (including tentative 2013 dates) are:

• Galveston, TX (October 26 – October 29, 2012)
• Sarasota, FL (October 19 – October 22, 2012)
• Pensacola, FL (November 2 – November 5, 2012)
• Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, FL (February 8 – February 12, 2013)
• Sarasota, FL (February 15 – February 18, 2013)
• Myrtle Beach, SC/Southport, NC (April 5 – April 8, 2013)
• Chesapeake Bay, MD (April 12 – April 15, 2013)
• Ocean City, NJ (April 19 – April 22, 2013)
• Ocean City, MD (April 26 – April 29, 2013)
• Virginia Beach, VA (May 3 – May 6, 2013)

Reef balls are huge, hollow, structures that look like giant wiffle balls that attract aquatic wildlife and quickly foster new marine growth, replenishing the world’s diminishing natural reef systems. An Eternal Reefs “memorial reef” is specially engineered to last forever and to withstand hurricanes and other natural disasters. Reef balls vary in size from 600 pounds (2’ high x 3’ wide) to 4000 pounds (4’ high x 6’ wide). With every Memorial Reef, the executor of the estate receives two memorial certificates that identify the longitude and latitude of the memorials, which are marked with bronze plaques. Private placements are also offered by Eternal Reefs.

About Eternal Reefs Inc.

Eternal Reefs, Inc. is an Atlanta-based company that provides a creative, environmentally-enhancing way to memorialize the cremated remains of a loved one. The company incorporates cremated remains into a concrete mixture used to cast artificial reef formations. The artificial reefs are dedicated as permanent memorials while also bolstering natural coastal reef formations. Since 1998, the company has placed more than 1,500 Memorial Reefs in 20 locations off the coasts of Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey, Texas and Virginia, substantially increasing the ocean’s diminishing reef systems. Memorial reefs can only go in properly permitted locations by the US Government. Contact Eternal Reefs Inc. at: www.eternalreefs.com