Monday, October 31, 2022
It’s Caskets Week at AGoodGoodbye.com! With Create a Great Funeral Day (Oct. 30), Visit a Cemetery Day (the last Sunday in October), Halloween/Dia de los Muertos (Oct. 31), All Saints Day (Nov. 1) and All Souls Day (Nov. 2), take a look at these casket videos recorded at the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) expo. The event took place in Baltimore October 10-12, 2022. These three videos focus on different types of caskets, from eco-friendly to something that will not biodegrade, plus a vintage casket truck!
Passages International Bamboo Caskets for Cremation
In this video, Gail Rubin visits with Darren Crouch, president of Passages International. The company specializes in eco-friendly and biodegradable caskets and urns. At this convention, the company was emphasizing its bamboo casket for cremation. Many funeral homes use a cardboard box for cremation. Listen as Darren Crouch talks about the benefits: beautiful, affordable, clean and fast burning, low carbon footprint, and fair trade created. The bamboo casket is made in Bangladesh, creating jobs and skills for their workers there. Learn more at www.PassagesInternational.com or www.AGreenerFuneral.org.
Thacker Caskets and Vintage Casket Truck
Danielle Thacker, Executive VP of Sales & Marketing for Thacker Caskets, shows a classic casket truck the company recently restored. The truck was purchased by her grandparents in the 1960s. Found abandoned in a forest with a tree growing through the truck, it took them three years to restore this unique vehicle. Thacker Caskets is the third-largest casket company in America, and the third-generation family-owned company is based in Maryland. Their metal caskets are made in Alabama, and their wooden caskets are made with a family owned company in Canada. Learn more at their website: www.ThackerCaskets.com.
Clear View Caskets
In this video, Gail visits with Rangel & Andrea Fernandez, Owners and Co-Founders of Clear View Caskets. Gail does a “test rest” in their new GOLD COLLECTION CASKET, popularly known by families as “The Snow White Casket” due to its round top design.
Clear View Caskets was founded by this couple in their home garage. Their state-of-the-art manufacturing facility is now based out of Miami Florida, employing USA workers who build the caskets by hand. They export their luxury and unique casket collections nationally and internationally.
Their intention was to offer a revolutionary way to truly VIEW the passing of a loved one. What they never anticipated was the social and psychological benefits thousands of families all across America are reporting. “We all fear what we cannot see, therefore, this exceptional product provides much more than luxury,” explained Andrea Fernandez. Their slogan states; “HEALING BEGINS WITH A CLEAR VIEW CASKET!” Clear View Caskets® owns the patent to this concept of the transparent casket, as well as all design variations and functionality in America and other countries. Their website is www.ClearViewCaskets.com and you can follow them on Instagram @clearviewcaskets.
For more videos about products and services exhibited at the NFDA convention and other funeral and cemetery expos, check out the Tools of the Trade playlist on YouTube.
Gail Rubin, Certified Thanatologist and The Doyenne of Death, attended and spoke at the NFDA convention on “How a Before I Die Festival Can Fill Your Preneed Pipeline” (view her presentation rehearsal here). She also interviewed exhibitors at this funeral industry event. Subscribe to her YouTube channel @Gail Rubin for more videos about death and funeral planning information – know before you go, shop before you drop!
Related
Gail Rubin, CT, is author and host of the award-winning book and television series, A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don’t Plan to Die, Hail and Farewell: Cremation Ceremonies, Templates and Tips, and KICKING THE BUCKET LIST: 100 Downsizing and Organizing Things to Do Before You Die.
Rubin is a Certified Thanatologist (that's a death educator) and a popular speaker who uses humor and films to get the end-of-life and funeral planning conversation started. She "knocked 'em dead" with her TEDx talk, A Good Goodbye. She provides continuing education credit classes for attorneys, doctors, nurses, social workers, hospice workers, financial planners, funeral directors and other professionals. She's a Certified Funeral Celebrant and funeral planning consultant who has been interviewed in national and local print, broadcast and online media.
Known as The Doyenne of Death®, she is the event coordinator of the Before I Die New Mexico Festival and author of a guide to holding such festivals. Her podcast is also called The Doyenne of Death®. She produces videos about the funeral business and related topics. Her YouTube Channel features more than 600 videos!
Rubin is a member of the Association for Death Education and Counseling, the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association, Toastmasters International and the National Speakers Association. Her speaking profile is available at eSpeakers.com.
Gail Rubin has been interviewed about funeral planning issues in national and local broadcast, print and online media. Outlets include The Huffington Post, Money Magazine, Kiplinger, CBS Radio News, WGN-TV, and local affiliates for NPR, PBS, FOX, ABC-TV, CBS-TV and NBC-TV. Albuquerque Business First named her as one of their 2019 Women of Influence.
Sign up for a free planning form and occasional informative newsletter at her website, AGoodGoodbye.com.