Happy Anniversary Heritage Funeral Home

To celebrate the one year anniversary at their new facility, Heritage Funeral Home invited Reflections into the Columbia, TN community. They have created a beautiful and state of the art funeral home, crematorium and cemetery. Despite some rainy weather we had a nice turn out and lots of folks got a chance to visit our exhibit see what the funeral home has to offer.
As you can see the staff really tries to offer the best for their families. With flexible options for the service and viewing this is some of the most extensive facilities we have visited.
We had a number of home school groups come through, providing a little field trip without having to go far from home. They had lots of great questions

Teaming Up With Frigid Fuild in Nashville

Matt and John Smith from Frigid Fluid are no strangers to Reflections, and Matt has joined us at numerous events to share his industry expertise and information about Frigid Fluid. John A. Gupton College hosted us and in conjunction with a presentation from him . Before the students left for fall break they were able to sit in on a lecture from the Smith's about advanced embalming and preparation techniques. Many local funeral directors where able to come in for the talk. It was a joy to visit with students and staff at the college.

Unfortunately I don't have photos to share with you from this event but we hope to repeat it soon.

Murfreesboro Funeral Home

We were not there for the Grand Opening of the Murfreesboro Funeral Home but what a grand place it is. The beautiful building and its wonderful staff made us feel so welcome in the community. As a new facility in the area, hosting Reflections gives a funeral home the opportunity to open its doors and invite in guests. Since many people only visit a facility for services, these events can be a great way to meet staff and see what the building offers.

Kates Boylston Hosts Business Plan Conference

After the pace of Ribfest is was nice to join one of our sponsors, Kates Boylston, at their 4th Annual Funeral Service Business Plan Conference in Clearwater, FL. For two very sunny days we welcomed attendees and community members. Sitting almost on the beach a number of vacationers and locals came to explore Reflections.

The conference featured many of the industries leading lecturers and covered topics that keep directors thinking creatively. There is a need to be able to meet the expectations and wishes of clients today, conferences like these allow professionals to share ideas and experience. Like any industry there is a always need for innovation.

We thank Kates Bloylston for their continued support.

RibFest Breaks the Record

It's a tough task visiting Florida in November but I guess we have to do it. We were greeted with 70 degree days and more sunshine then I have seen all year. The Anderson McQueen Funeral Home invited us to join them for the Annual St. Petersburg Ribfest. The day before setting up for that event we brought Reflections to their St. Petersburg facility to say thank you to special guests and supporters. The lovely evening was hosted with refreshments and the entire staff.




The Anderson McQueen Funeral Homes are the premier facilities in the bay region, serving thousands of families a year and providing the only pet crematorium in the area.

That was just the begining of our fun week. Being around a close group of employees and community members was a treat, but greeting a record 5774 guests was amazing. Ribfest welcomes near 50,000 visitors each year. Each day featured a concert lineup that featured old favorites and new popular acts. There were over a dozen vendors from across the USA and world featuring award winning BBQ and ribs. The festival takes place right in a beautiful downtown waterfront park. We even saw dolphins patroling the shore line the morning of our set up!

Our guests varied from family groups to car enthusiasts to those who were there to chow down and listen to their favorite band. I think everyone was able to enjoy the sun, the music, and of course the food. I know we did.

Atlanta's Veterans Day Parade

Definitely a change of pace for Reflections was taking part in the 28th annual Atlanta Veterans' Day Parade. It was kind of exciting to rush around and get placed in line for an event so close to our hearts. At the end of the parade route we stopped and set up the exhibit to share with the attendees and the community.

Flora Funeral Service Shines in Virgina

The community of Rocky Mount welcomed Reflections this past week, it was quite a drive but worth it. Winding roads and beautiful fall colors lead us to a wonderful small community that is surrounded by farmland and nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Our host Flora Funeral Service is seated on Main Street in this close knit town. When an opportunity presented itself to open up shop in Rocky Mount founder Lee Flora knew he found a home. Flora's wonderful staff joined us to welcome guests and open up the host refreshments.

Our day started with an interview from the Roanoke Times and the Franklin Times, which opened the doors to a steady stream of visitors. Parking right on Main Street we certainly were able to draw in guests. It was a lovely day in a lovely community.

NFDA in Boston

The Reflections team spent a very special week in Boston at the NFDA International Convention. With three days of exhibit floor hours, we met many professionals whom had not heard about the tour yet and were very inspired by it. Looks like we will be coming to your area soon. This was the second time Reflections has been to the NFDA Convention but after more then a year on the road it was nice to see so many familiar faces. It was a treat to visit with most of our sponsors and past hosts. They all start to feel like family.

We had a chance to give a little thank you to our sponsors by placing miniature models of our truck in their booths.

NFDA has created a new media outlet, NFDA-TV, this will be a monthly broadcast featuring stories about up and coming people in the industry and programs like ours. Plus we did an interview for it. Not sure when it will be used but look for us in the upcoming webcast.

Again we want to add a special Thanks to NFDA for allowing us to share the exhibit with the highest attendance convention in their history.

Miles Martin Thanks Community for 80 Years

As a special thank you to the Mt. Morris community for 80 years of support the Miles Martin Funeral Home hosted an open house reception and invited Reflections to join in. What made this event so special for us is that the local junior high classes come to see the exhibit. It was a busy day of bus fulls of inquisitive minds but a fun one. They certainly had tons of questions and enjoyed being able to see the funeral home as well as the company vehicles.




It was very touching to hear stories from visitors about what the staff had done for their families and how they had touching their lives in some difficult times.

Temrowski Family Funeral Home Open House

The Temrowski Funeral Home in Fenton, MI hosted an open house this Saturday and invited us to join them. This is a stunning facility run by husband wife team, Becca and Ken Temrowski. They opened their doors to talk to families about what services they offer and provide. This was an event similar to others we have been at recently, a local funeral home that reaches out to thank the community for its support.

Wayne State Open House 2009

Thanks to the help from sponsors we were able to attend the Wayne State Mortuary Science program open house. Kaul Funeral Home, Will Funeral Home and Frigid Fluid; staff made themselves available for questions and the student volunteer to greet and guide guests. It gives you a sense of the pride Wayne State has in their Mortuary program.

We were joined by some special guests; Lloyd Young, Dean of the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Services (far left), Matt Smith of Frigid (center), and Peter Frade, Program Director of the Mortuary Science Program at Wayne State (far right). It was an honor to guide them through the exhibit and express the pride we feel sharing this with communities.

There were many alumni that joined the event as well, many of which we have met at previous industry events.

With a line out the door most of the night, anyone can see how much this event means to the community. I spoke with a few people whom have attended in multiple years and some who expressed excitement about being future members of the program of study.

We were also joined by some officers and members of the Mortis City Hearse Club; hopefully we will be able to visit one of their events soon.

Wonderly Horvath Hanes Funeral Home - Fremont, OH

To celebrate 65 years of serving the Sandusky area communities Wonderly Horvath Hanes Funeral Home hosted an open house and reception. In addition to hosting the Reflections exhibit, refreshments, giveaways and pre-planning information was available.

Grand Traverse Heritage Center

After a great series of shows in Illinois, we headed into Michigan and made the scenic drive up to Traverse City. Our next event was sponsored by the Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home. The location for the event was at the Grand Traverse Heritage Center. They have a museum with many excellent exhibits about the area's natural history, Native Americans, local industries. They also have an impressive collection of military artifacts.


We were part of a special reception the first evening for guests invited by the Museum and Reynolds Jonkhoff. They enjoyed the premier of an exhibit on Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. Michigan has a rich Civil War connection, as some of the largest Union Regiments hail from there. We enjoyed another 3 days there sharing with the community of Traverse City.

Catholic Cemeteries Conference

We were honored to attend the 60th annual Catholic Cemeteries Conference. One of the key events was a Cemetery tour of the formidable Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside IL. Reflections greeted the attendees as they arrived at the cemetery's meeting facility. Our exhibit was well received by the two bus loads of national conference goers that made the trip. It was a great opportunity to meet with so many interested people and we hope to see many of them again. We were joined by Frigid Fluid the exhibits sponsor.

Malcolm X Community College

The next stop was in the windy city of Chicago at Malcolm X Community College. The school features a mortuary department, so it was our pleasure to provide its students with a unique educational experience. The turn out was pleasantly surprising as many others from the college ventured across the windswept parking lot to experience Reflections. We also included a special exhibit from Frigid Fluid, the events sponsor.

Reflections Participates In Rockford's Salute to Mr. Lincoln Weekend

We had a wonderful opportunity to participate in a very special event with Rockford Illinois' Salute to Mr. Lincoln event which included the dedication of a new 5 foot tall Abraham Lincoln sculpture in front the courthouse. We were able to set our exhibit in front of Rockford's Veterans Memorial Hall. It happens to be the first memorial hall of the nation and was dedicated by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1903.

The dedication of the sculpture was quite an event and the city pulled out all the stops. Hundreds attended the proceedings which featured historical reenactors, including Abe and Mary Todd Lincoln, Illinois 33rd Regimental Band, and several key speakers. It was an honor to participate in this one of a kind event.

The newest Lincoln Statue, "Iron Determination"