Keeping It Personal Awards

Washington Park Cemetery Association/Buchanan Group – Indianapolis, Indiana

In partnership with the Buchanan Group, Washington Park Cemetery Association commemorated the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks and the lives lost by unveiling the 9/11 Memorial. This symbolic memorial features 2,977 medallions with the names of those who lost their lives, and the nine fallen Hoosiers have a blue state of Indiana medallion added to their names. The medallions are suspended from the ceiling which forms the shape of “9/11”. With the help of Washington Park Cemetery, artist Arlon Bayliss, Bob and Mark Buchanan, Buchanan Group’s President Tony Lloyd, was able to create the 9/11 Memorial in a way that was both innovative and impactful.

Hillside Cemetery – Wilton, Connecticut

To safely engage the local community, and to tie-in with the 100-year anniversary of Women’s Right to Vote, Hillside Cemetery’s Executive Administrator Pamela Brown created Champions of Change: A Celebration of Women’s History. This self-guided walking tour recognizes local women and their significant contributions to Wilton and beyond. By walking this new annual tour, you’ll meet women who will not only educate, but inspire you to realize the power within you to help make your community the place you want it to be now and in the future.

Grandview Cemetery – Maryville, Tennessee

To create a meaningful connection that would build trust and value in the importance of a cemetery’s lasting heritage among a changing demographic, the Healing Path was born. The Healing Path is a self-guided and interactive initiative that’s designed to help visitors in their journey through grief. Visitors receive a 30-page field guide that provides practical steps and guidance as they search for support, rediscover meaning, honor their loved ones, and look or hope. Comprised of 6 stations, each includes an informational sign and an engaging activity. The Healing Path provides “a sacred space – set apart and designed especially for your care – a special place for nurture, comfort, empathy, reconciliation, and forgiveness.” Pg.3 in the field guide.

Friends Of Maple Grove Cemetery – Kew Gardens, New York

2020 was the 15th anniversary for the Friends of Maple Grove Cemetery’s Day of Remembrance event, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this normally in-person event was transformed into a virtual experience. This event included a 30-minute online presentation that was divided into segments that would focus on specific messages. A Remembrance Tree banner was installed in the Celebration Hall at the Maple Grove Center with a life-sized image of a bare tree so that families could add their personalized leaf to the tree and watch it flourish. The families sent in their leaves by mail, email, fax, or hand-carried to the cemetery.

AFTR – Brooklyn, New York

Founded in 2018, AFTR is a product that sets out to increase accessibility to burial sites for family and loved ones to be there when they cannot, changing the way people visit burial sites. With two camera types to choose from, GroundCam and MountCam, visiting your loved ones has never been easier. Through AFTR’s solar-powered and weatherproof camera and subscription-based app for iOS and Android, families can connect to their loved one and ensure their memorial is being cared for.

The Visit Box – Windsor, Colorado

After losing her father unexpectedly during the COVID-19 pandemic and experiencing gravesite mementos being lost, Regan Espinosa created The Visit Box. This patent pending weatherproof box allows families and friends to securely store items and tokens at their loved one’s gravesite. This innovative product offers a solution to families’ fear of having their mementos lost or damaged.

Capstone Technologies – Haines City, Florida

The Memory Maker is a web-based video recording app that captures the memories, stories, and condolences of mourners. By clicking on a link or scanning a customized QR code, families and friends are able to leave a video recording on any web-connected device. These videos can be shared and stored for later viewing. Funeral directors can post their clients’ Memory Maker link in their obituary, give it to the family to share on social media, and even print their custom QR code in the funeral bulletin or in a sign to display at the funeral. This virtual product has the option of adding a physical component – funeral homes can download the videos and store them on a DVD or flash drive for the family to keep.

TribuCast™ – Wilton, Connecticut

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, TribuCast further innovated their product to further meet their clients’ needs for the present as well as the future. The TribuCast™ Remote Attendance System™ creates a private online environment that closely matches the in-person experience of attending a funeral. Thanks to new technology, the product has the capacity to enable clergy, eulogists, and even musicians to contribute to the service from a variety of locations by using special effects including split-screen, screen-share, and more. Using TribuCast™ helps all loved ones grieve more effectively by including those who can’t be there in person and by creating a highly personalized enduring tribute to the life that was lost. Through its easy-to-use live stream technology and interactive touchpoints, TribuCast™ helps share family history and fond memories and put the life that was lost into greater context for both in-person and remote attendees.

Parting Stone – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Parting Stone provides a service that offers a solid alternative to cremated remains. Families now have the option of receiving either “ashes” or “stones” following cremation. The shape, color, size, and texture of the solidified remains is 100% natural and varies depending on each unique batch of remains provided to their lab. Parting Stone’s solidification technology introduces a new form of human and animal remains and creates an entirely new category in death care. “Folks want permanent memorialization of their loss but, sometimes, just don’t know what to do with a box of ashes,” says Larry Stuart Jr., CEO of Cremation Strategies & Consulting. “The idea that remains can be offered as stones is monumental.” Click here to watch Parting Stone’s video.

TribuCast™ – Wilton, Connecticut

The Domani Group – Orem, Utah

Most aftercare programs are personalized and time-consuming, or efficient and impersonal. Because of the lack of time funeral home staff may have, The Domani Group developed Domanicare. Domanicare is a text message-based aftercare program that sends custom, personalized text messages that check in on the recently served families during their grieving. If the families respond, a highly-trained and compassionate staff responds, who continues this conversation with support. If the family has questions, the conversation is escalated and sent right away to the funeral home. All of the conversations are compiled and sent to the funeral home in a monthly report so they can see what families are saying about their services.

UPD Urns – Manassas, Virginia

Heaven’s Maid – Hazel Park, Michigan

Heaven’s Maid is an online platform that helps families order flowers and grave cleaning services to any cemetery nationwide. Whether the family lives out-of-state or are unable to make regular visits to the cemetery, they can use Heaven’s Maid to deliver fresh or silk flowers and schedule a cleaning service that consists of trimming grass, scrubbing off debris, and removal of weeds. After each scheduled maintenance, a confirmation photo is sent to the family.

Memorial Reefs International, LLC – Hamilton Parrish, Bermuda