Marlborough, MA – Frank Sessions, President of Graystone Associates, Inc., has announced that Bill McQueen, former President/CEO of Anderson-McQueen Family Tribute Centers based in St. Petersburg, FL, has become a partner in their funeral management consulting firm. “Bill is one of the leading minds in the death care profession. However, not only being recognized as a deep thinker of our profession, Bill’s track record exemplifies that he is an innovator and doer as well as a successful funeral home operator” said Sessions. “We are thrilled to add him to our team of professionals and welcome him as a partner in our firm!”
“Growing up in funeral service, it always has been a love of mine so I am excited to re-connect with the profession by becoming a partner in the leading management consulting and training firm in funeral service. Graystone’s client list reads like a Who’s Who in Funeral Service. Our profession has been good to my family through the generations. Now, with my various talents and work experience, I not only can help teach and mentor each quality family-owned funeral home that our Graystone team serves throughout the United States and Canada, but I view this as being given a much better and bigger platform to provide additional positive impact on the focus and future of our profession,” says McQueen.
Following his father’s untimely death, McQueen along with his siblings owned Anderson-McQueen Funeral Homes and served as its President/CEO from 1994 to 2010. During his leadership tenure, the firm grew both organically and through acquisitions from one funeral home to five funeral homes, two human crematories, a cemetery and a pet cremation division. Furthermore, he oversaw the successful implementation of several well-known innovations, including its Cremation Tribute Center, Pet Passages pet cremation services, Life Celebration reception centers, ALifeTribute FuneralCare discount funeral operations, and its various Family Tribute burial and cremation packages. McQueen also led the initial phases of the firm’s initiative to install and operate the first alkaline hydrolysis system in a funeral home.
McQueen is well-known and involved in the funeral profession on a national and international basis. He is a highly sought after presenter for various association and industry meetings in the United States, Canada and Asia. He served on the Board of Directors for the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) for 7 years and was their President in 2009-2010. He is recognized as a Certified Funeral Service Practitioner (CFSP) and has served as a spokesperson for the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA). Bill is certified as an expert by the Florida court system for cremation liability cases.
“Being a former funeral home owner, licensed funeral director, C.P.A. and attorney-at-law, Bill brings many unique perspectives and understandings to the business side of the funeral profession,” commented Sessions. “He has first-hand experience in growing a family funeral business, implementing change and improving its quality standards…all in one of the toughest U.S. markets. I know our clients…and the profession as a whole … will benefit from his knowledge and insights.”
Graystone Associates, Inc. is a management consulting and training firm specializing in the funeral and cemetery industries. Headquartered in Marlborough, MA, Graystone works with close to 100 independent market leaders in the United States and Canada.
