Pierce Mortuary Colleges Announces Two New Board Members

BROADVIEW, IL, March 1, 2017 – Pierce Mortuary Colleges announces the appointment of two new members of its Board of Trustees.  Joining the Board are Jay D. Dodds and Timothy R. Borden.

Jay D. Dodds is a licensed funeral director with over thirty-three years of experience in the funeral and cemetery profession.  Jay is the founder, owner and President/COO of the Signature Group which owns and operates twenty funeral homes and ten cemeteries in five states.

Prior to founding Signature Group in 2011, Jay was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Carriage Services where he had seventeen years in various senior operations leadership and management roles.  A graduate of Dallas Institute of Funeral Service, Jay currently serves as an officer of the International Cemetery Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) as Vice President of External Affairs.  He also is a Trustee for the Funeral Service Foundation, the ICCFA Educational Foundation, and the Matthew’s Children’s Foundation.

Timothy R. Borden is a licensed funeral director and embalmer in Kentucky, Indiana and Michigan.  Tim is the founder, President and CEO of the Borden Mortuary Group, with locations in Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky, and Scottsburg, Indiana.  The Borden Mortuary Group, founded by Tim in 1995, is Kentucky’s largest volume mortuary service, providing embalming and cremation services as well as mortuary supplies for funeral professionals in the area.

Tim and his wife Patty also operate a pet cremation business in Louisville. A graduate of Mid-America College of Funeral Service, Tim is also a member of its Advisory Board.  He also is current president of the Board of The Cremation Association of North America (CANA) and past Chairman of the British Institute of Embalmers.

“We are pleased to welcome Jay and Tim to our Board of Trustees,” said Joe Suhor, Board Chairman. “They both bring depth and breadth of expertise in the funeral service industry and are passionate about the industry and education of future funeral professionals.”

The Board of Trustees thanked John Firestone and Michael Meierhoffer, whose terms expired, for their dedicated service on the Board.  John Firestone has been a guiding force on the Board as a trustee since 1967 and served as Board Chairman from 1998 to 2012.  Mike Meierhoffer has provided keen insight during his service on the Board since 2013.

The other members of the Board of Trustees are:

Joseph U. Suhor, III, Chairman of the Board & CEO of Wilbert Funeral Services Inc.
Dennis P. Welzenbach, President of Wilbert Funeral Services, Inc.
Bill W. Forsberg, Executive Director of North Carolina Funeral Directors Association
Ann Mesle, retired Circuit Court Judge on the Jackson County Circuit Court