Every year, the ICCFA is proud to honor members of the deathcare profession for their extraordinary achievement through our awards. The ICCFA’s Keeping It Personal (KIP) awards honor cemeteries, funeral homes, pet-loss professionals, and suppliers who have gone above and beyond in personalization and memorialization efforts. The Lasting Impact Award is selected by the ICCFA Educational Foundation, and honors an individual who has made a significant contribution to furthering professional development and lifelong learning in deathcare. Our highest honor, the Hall of Fame Award, pays tribute to an elite group who have demonstrated selfless service and outstanding contributions.
You can learn more about our award winners and find more information below
ICCFA’s Keeping It Personal (KIP) Awards
The Keeping It Personal (KIP) Awards were started in 2001 by the ICCFA’s Personalization subcommittee to encourage the sharing of ideas for personalizing services and products to better serve families. The KIP program honors recipients in four categories: Most Personalized Service/Memorial for Funeral Home; Most Personalized Service/Memorial for Cemetery; Most Personalized Pet Service or Memorial; and Innovative Personalized Product, which is only available to supplier members. You can find information on how to apply for KIP and our 2022 winners below.
Cemetery
Most Personalized Service or Memorial
First Place
H2oLyfe
Green Hills Memorial Park – Rancho Palos Verdes, California
Honorable Mention
Jefferson Memorial Park Paints the Park Pink in Honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Jefferson Memorial Park, Funeral Home, Crematory & Arboretum – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Funeral Home
Most Personalized Service or Memorial
First Place and Grand Prize Winner
Star Trek Memorial – Boldly Going Where No Funeral Has Gone Before
Pray Funeral Home Inc. – Charlotte, Michigan
Honorable Mention
Flanner Buchanan’s Certificate of Service and Challenge Coin Initiative
Flanner Buchanan – Indianapolis, Indiana
Pet
Most Personalized Pet Service
First Place
Changing the Lives of Street Dogs
Capillas Señoriales Casa de Homanejas – Merida, Mexico
Honorable Mention
Fox, Canine Hero
Capillas Señoriales – Guatemala
Suppliers
Innovative/Personalized Product
First Place
KeepTrack™ – The QR Body Tracking System for Funeral Homes & Crematories
Gather – Meridian, Idaho
Honorable Mention
Chronicle
Chronicle Cemetery Software – Victoria, Australia
ICCFA’s Lasting Impact Award
The Lasting Impact Awards were created by the ICCFA Educational Foundation to recognize those individuals who have made significant contributions to furthering professional development and lifelong learning in the funeral, cemetery and cremation profession.
This year’s Lasting Impact Award has been awarded to Doug Gober. Doug is receiving this award in recognition of his commitment and contributions to the deathcare profession over his 44-year career. During this time, he has logged hundreds of hours as a speaker and educator at deathcare events across the globe and has presented at many ICCFA events. Doug has earned numerous national awards and has served as a consultant for marketing and merchandising projects on an international scale.
The Lasting Impact Award will be presented to Doug Gober at a reception on May 17 at the 2023 ICCFA Annual Convention and Exposition in Kansas City, Missouri.
2022 Lasting Impact Awardee
Glenda Stansbury
Stansbury’s legacy is notable for her training and development of celebrants, who offer an alternative to services provided by clergypersons for families who are not affiliated with a church or who do not wish to have a traditional religious funeral service. They are trained to design services that are completely personal, incorporating those unique stories, songs and experiences that defined the deceased. Under her guidance, she has trained over 4,665 celebrants with an estimated 7.5 million individuals who have witnessed the impact of a ceremony performed by one of her trainees. To view Glenda’s award video click here.
2023 Lasting Impact Awardee
Doug Gober
The Lasting Impact Award will be presented to Doug Gober at a reception on May 17 at the 2023 ICCFA Annual Convention and Exposition in Kansas City, Missouri.
This year’s Lasting Impact Award has been awarded to Doug Gober. Doug is receiving this award in recognition of his commitment and contributions to the deathcare profession over his 44-year career. During this time, he has logged hundreds of hours as a speaker and educator at deathcare events across the globe and has presented at many ICCFA events. Doug has earned numerous national awards and has served as a consultant for marketing and merchandising projects on an international scale.
2020 Recipient
Robert Boetticher Sr.
Robert Boetticher Sr. began his career as a supply sergeant and embalmer at the Army mortuary in Frankfurt, Germany. After graduating mortuary school and owning four funeral homes, Robert eventually joined Service Corporation International. Throughout his career, he has had the honor to serve in the ceremonial teams involved in many Presidential and high profile funerals. He took the experiences he gained and created LHT Consulting Group, LLC. In addition, Robert has been an industry consultant on numerous films and tv shows. He serves as CEO of the National Museum of Funeral History located in Houston, Texas. Robert’s passion for the industry and continuing education makes him an exemplary candidate for the Educational Foundation’s 2020 Lasting Impact Award.
ICCFA Hall of Fame Award
The ICCFA’s most prestigious award is entry into our Hall of Fame. Since its creation in 1965, it has been awarded to only 35 individuals. This award recognizes those who have demonstrated unselfish service and outstanding contributions to the ICCFA, to the cemetery, funeral, cremation, and memorialization profession, and, ultimately, to the public.
This year, the ICCFA is proud to induct two extremely worthy individuals to the Hall of Fame, Jim Price, CCFE, CCrE, and Bill Wright, CCE. They will be honored at a ceremony during the Closing Banquet of the 2022 ICCFA Annual Convention & Exposition on Friday, March 25, which begins at 5:30 pm.
Jim Price, CCFE, CCrE
Jim Price has dedicated over 50 years of service to the deathcare profession, embodying the idea of giving back and paying it forward. He has served on the Board of Directors of the ICCFA and as a Trustee for the ICCFA Educational Foundation. In 2015, Jim Price was elected as President & Chairman of the ICCFA Educational Foundation, a position he continues to serve to this day. His leadership of the Educational Foundation has seen an unparalleled rise in donations, scholarships awarded, and initiatives undertaken.
Bill Wright, CCE
Bill Wright has displayed continued dedication to the ICCFA throughout his 35 years spent supporting the Association. He has served in a number of leadership roles including Director, Vice President of Education, Vice President of the Government & Public Affairs Steering Committee, and as President of the ICCFA from 2002 – 2003. Notably, he founded the ICCFA’s Political Action Committee (PAC) in 2003 and served as chairman for six years. The ICCFA’s PAC has made a tremendous impact on the deathcare profession through its advocacy efforts.