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Awards & Scholarships honor achievement and professionalism
In 2002, OGR instituted its most prestigious award, the Golden Light Award, to salute professional excellence exemplified by individual members who have inspired others by their commitment to service.
As an OGR member, you have opportunity each year to nominate a fellow member who has distinguished him- or herself in the funeral profession through OGR involvement, community service or volunteer activities that demonstrate "service measured not by gold, but by the Golden Rule." |
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2010 Golden Light Award Winner
2010 Winner
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William
Brock Jr.
Vander Plaat Funeral Home
Wyckoff, NJ
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 OGR is privileged to bestow its 2010 Golden Light Award to
William Brock Jr.
Brock was selected by a committee chaired by Michael S. Lewis and including Jack Frost, Christopher Janowiak, Andy Millsaps, Gerry Montgomery and Cari Spence.
About William Brock Jr.
Vander Plaat funeral home has been a member of OGR for 48 years and has been attending OGR meetings for 42 years. The firm is a member of NFDA, the state Funeral Directors Association and the county’s Funeral Directors Association where Bill Brock has served as president. He has served on several OGR committees and is presently an OGR regional chair.
Through the years Bill Brock has gone many extra steps in the delivery of service. One of the most important has been his leadership in developing a Tree of Remembrance service where families are presented with an ornament that has the name of the loved one with date of death. It has generated countless thank you notes from families who struggle with the holidays. And in fact this past holiday season the funeral home had more than 200 people attend the Tree of Remembrance service.
Bill has been a volunteer fire fighter for 38 years, has served as chair of a home for handicapped children, sings in his church men’s choir and has been active as a youth group leader along with his wife, Linda.
And if these accomplishments weren’t enough, two of the most memorable of his experiences were the selection of his funeral home to handle the funeral arrangements for former First Lady Pat Nixon followed a year later when the Vander Plaat Funeral Home was chosen to handle the arrangements for former President Richard M. Nixon.
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Past Golden Light Award Winners
2002 Award
Glenn P. Taylor
Glenn Funeral Home & Crematory,
Owensboro, Ky. |
2006 Award
Michael G. Butler
Livingston-Butler-Volland Funeral Home & Cremation Center, Hastings, Neb. |
2003 Award
Bonnie Helweg-Campbell
Helweg Funeral Service, Inc.,
Jenkintown, Pa. |
2007 Award
Harold Lake
Rindt-Erdman Funeral Home, Arkansas City, Kan. |
2004 Award
Billy K. Wages
Wages & Sons Funeral Home,
Stone Mountain, Ga. |
2008 Award
Charles Rader
LeRoy Rader Funeral Home
Longview, Texas |
2005 Award
Thomas P. Lynch
Lynch & Sons Funeral Directors
Milford, Mich. |
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2010 Golden Rule Community Service Award |
2010 Winner  |
Brunswick
Funeral
Home
East Brunswick, NJ
Photo: Mike Kulbacki |
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Launched in 2008, the Golden Rule Community Service Award singles out a member firm for outstanding service to the community performed during the calendar year.
Brunswick Funeral Home was selected as the winner of the 2010 Golden Rule Community Service Award for several community actiivties, bu the selection was largey based on the firm's donation of 150 $25 American Express gift cards to Home Front Hearts, an organization that supports families of service personnel deployed oversees. The gift cards were distributed to members of a New Jersey National Guard command upon returning home from service oversees that was in need of gifts for its holiday party.
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Past Golden Rule Community Service Award Winners
2008 Award
Arnett & Steele Funeral Home
Pineville, Ky. |
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The Exemplary Service Awards recognize those Golden Rule firms that have displayed outstanding professionalism and exemplary service.
The criteria for receiving an Exemplary Service Award are family comments gathered through OGR's Family Contact Program, a family evaluation of the service received from members. Comments that represent a family’s satisfaction and indicate that the funeral home performed in an exemplary manner are chosen as nominees for for this award.
Each year, a collection of comments are reviewed by the Regional Chairpersons, who choose the top three instances of member firms providing service above and beyond what is typically expected.
Those firms are honored as Gold, Silver and Bronze Exemplary Service Award winners.
For information about Family Contact, contact the membership department
or call (800) 637-8030.
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2010 Winners
Gold Award: George Darte Funeral Chapel
St.Catharines, Ontario, Canada |
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| Silver Award: Bumpers Funeral Home Butler, Ala. |
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| Bronze Award:Barkdull Funeral Home Shelby, Ohio |
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 OGR demonstrates its support of the next generation of funeral home employees and owners by offering scholarships to students nearing completion of their mortuary science degree and about to enter the funeral profession.
The Awards of Excellence Scholarship Program provides scholarships to students based on strong academic performance, funeral service experience and the strength of their essay, that exemplifies a commitment to serving grieving families with compassion, fairness and dignity. Applicants must be enrolled in a degree program at an accredited mortuary science school or college; be scheduled to graduate in the calendar year in which the award is given; and have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. This fund is supported by member contributions.
Applications are due January 31 of each year.
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2010 Scholarship Winners
 Gold Award of Excellence
Jessica Urban
$3,500 Scholarship
University of Minnesota Program of Mortuary Science
Jessica plans to use her scholarship to complete her studies and become a compassionate funeral director who reaches out to those less fortunate than her. She learned of this very important quality from a funeral director in her hometown who reached out to a homeless individual in her church and worked to gather the community to provide a funeral for this very faithful individual.
 Silver Award of Excellence:
Stephanie Andringa
$2,000 scholarship
Milwaukee Technical College Funeral Service Program
Stephanie expects to learn and grow professionally. A model funeral director, from her perspective, is one who upholds their obligations to the families he or she serves, the public and the profession. Being able to serve a diverse community is a privilege that she will strive to maintain the highest quality of workmanship, respect and dignity.
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Awards of Excellence Scholarship Contribution Fund
Contributions to the Awards of Excellence Scholarship Fund may be made in someone's memory or in honor of a special event. Contributions are acknowledged in The Independent as they are received.
 To send a donation, download a contribution form or contact the Education Department,
(800) 637-8030.
Please check with your tax advisor to determine if the donation is deductible as a business expense.
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