Plummer Funeral Services wins OGR Exemplary Service Award

INDIANAPOLIS (April 30, 2021) – The Order of the Golden Rule (OGR) awarded Plummer Funeral Services of Litchfield, Illinois, with the Exemplary Service Award at its inaugural Golden Circle Celebration virtual awards ceremony April 29.

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Brunswick Memorial Home wins OGR’s Community Service Award

This makes a record four times Brunswick has been selected as the recipient of this award.

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Geri Oliverie awarded OGR’s highest honor

INDIANAPOLIS (April 30, 2021) – The Order of the Golden Rule (OGR) is proud to announce Geraldine “Geri” Oliverie of Oliverie Funeral Home in Manchester Township, New Jersey, as the recipient of the 2021 Golden Light Award.

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OGR Foundation announces 2021 scholarship winners

INDIANAPOLIS (April 30, 2021) – The Order of the Golden Rule Foundation is proud to announce the recipients of its 2021 Awards of Excellence Gold and Silver scholarships. These are awarded each year to mortuary students based on strong academic performance, community involvement and an essay exemplifying a commitment to serving grieving families with compassion, fairness and dignity.

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OGR Foundation raises $11K at awards celebration

The one-night campaign was boosted by a $5,000 matching grant.

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OGR welcomes Hartway System as newest supply partner

INDIANAPOLIS (April 19, 2021) – The Order of the Golden Rule (OGR), the world’s leading professional association dedicated to making independent funeral homes exceptional, is pleased to welcome Hartway System as its newest partner.

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Shining a light on 'last responders'

Doctors, nurses, and other frontline health care workers are deservedly hailed as heroes for their dedication and courage in treating patients with COVID-19. But behind the scenes, another set of professionals is addressing the toll of the pandemic in an equally important but unacknowledged way. These “last responders” are the workers who ensure that people who die from the novel coronavirus are laid to rest with dignity.

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President's Message: Looking to the future, learning from the past

OGR is built on a strong foundation of over 93 years serving the Independent Funeral Home. With a dedicated board, outstanding staff and members who are there to support one another, we're ready to write the next chapter of OGR’s story. We have begun to implement a three-year strategic plan that was developed by the board, our staff and the leadership at our management company Raybourn Group International.

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Pens Down, Eyes Up: Nonverbal communication with families

How we behave in our silence can sometimes have an even greater impact on the families we serve than the words we say to them.

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OGR celebrates 50th supply partner

INDIANAPOLIS (April 8, 2021) – The Order of the Golden Rule (OGR) is excited to announce its expanding Supplier Network has reached 50 members, with two new additions: Express Funeral Funding and Symmetry Elevating Solutions.

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OGR announces nominees for 2021 Exemplary Service Awards

The annual awards are given to three member funeral homes based on feedback from the families they served over the past year.

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When families say, 'We'll have a service later'

How you can be the hero who makes it happen.

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One of many projects that helped me earn the OGR Community Service Award

Earning the OGR Community Service Award is an honor our funeral has earned twice, once in 2015 and again in 2019.

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Finding your way through

We are built for empathy, connection and love. That's why loneliness hurts so much.

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Between good and great

By now, everyone has been put to the test with the ever-changing rules, regulations and restrictions that the COVID pandemic has imposed, not only on the funeral profession as a whole but on each individual who serves families who have lost a loved one. We have had to adapt and pivot to ensure that families receive the level of excellence in service our OGR firms are known by.

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Meet the OGR Staff

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'The day's not over yet!'

Many of us at some point in our lives have heard the phrase, "The day’s not over yet!" My great-uncle introduced me to it. I asked him one day why he always said it and he told me that when he landed with the Third Canadian Division at Juno Beach on D-Day, they achieved their objective and were regrouping and congratulating themselves when their commanding officer came by and said, "The day’s not over lads. There is still work to be done!” It was something that stuck with my great-uncle, and he often said it for the rest of his life.

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Applications now being accepted for OGR Foundation scholarships

The Order of the Golden Rule Foundation is now accepting applications for its 2021 Awards of Excellence Scholarship Program.

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Member Spotlight: Hoffen Funeral Home – Millstadt, Illinois

Elle Heiligenstein is the owner of OGR member Hoffen Funeral Home, LLC in Millstadt, Illinois, and also serves as funeral director and embalmer. She shared her experiences with running a successful funeral home for the past six years.

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Ignore at your own risk

When was the last time you took a look at your Google reviews? Have you ever taken a look? Have you even claimed your business so that you can respond to reviews as they are made? What about asking happy clients to post a review for your funeral home or cemetery? Based on what I have seen, most funeral homes and cemeteries are not making Google reviews a part of their business plan.

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