As part of the entry process, all program participants are required to submit an essay describing the development and execution of a program or service that had a positive impact on those served (Category 1, Criterion I). Funeral homes that develop a program or service that is exceptionally well-executed and yielded positive results will receive a Certificate of Honorable Mention from the Pursuit of Excellence Task Force.
- 2024 Honorable Mention
- A.J. Desmond & Sons Funeral Directors, Troy, Michigan; A.J. Desmond & Sons Funeral Directors, Troy, Michigan; A.J. Desmond & Sons Funeral Directors, Royal Oak, Michigan
- Alderson-Ford Funeral Homes, Inc., Cheshire, Connecticut; Alderson-Ford Funeral Homes, Inc., Waterbury, Connecticut; Alderson-Ford Funeral Homes, Inc., Naugatuck, Connecticut
- Brunswick Memorial Home, East Brunswick, New Jersey; Mount Sinai Memorial Chapels, East Brunswick, New Jersey
- C.R. Lyons & Sons Funeral Directors, Danvers, Massachusetts
- Funeraria Jaramillo, Loja, Ecuador
- Funeza Servicios Funerarios, Mexico City, Mexico; Funeza Azcapotzalo, Mexico City, Mexico; Funeza C7 Nezahualcoytl, Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico; Funeza La Raza, Mexico City, Mexico; Funeza Los Reyes, Los Reyes Acaquilpan, Mexico; Funeza Zaragoza, Mexico City, Mexico
- Jardim da Saudade Assistência LTDA, Curitiba, Brazil
- Jennings-Calvey Funeral & Cremation Services, Inc, Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania; Scranton Area Cremation Care, Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania
- Morada da Paz, Parnamirim, Brazil
- Morris-Baker Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Johnson City, Tennessee
- Myers Mortuary - Ogden, Ogden, Utah; Myers Mortuary - Layton, Layton, Utah; Myers Mortuary - Brigham City, Brigham City, Utah; Myers Mortuary - Roy, Roy, Utah
- Posey Funeral Directors, North Augusta, South Carolina
- 2023 Honorable Mention
- A Sacred Choice, Houston, Texas
- A.J. Desmond & Sons Funeral Directors, Troy, Michigan (A.J. Desmond & Sons Funeral Directors, Vasu, Rogers & Connell, Troy, MI; A.J. Desmond & Sons Funeral Directors, Price Chapel, Troy, MI)
- Bradbury Memorial Center, Lake Havasu City, Arizona
- Brandon G. Thompson Funeral Home, Hammond, Louisiana (Brandon G. Thompson Funeral Home, Denham Springs, LA; Brandon G. Thompson Funeral Home, Ponchtoula, LA)
- Capillas Señoriales Casa de Homenajes, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico
- Duksa Family Funeral Homes at Newington Memorial, Newington, Connecticut (Duksa Family Funeral Homes at Burritt Hill, Burritt Hill, CT)
- J. Garcia Lopez Casa Prim, Mexico City, Mexico
- Jefferson Memorial Cemetery, Funeral Home, Crematory & Arboretum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Jennings-Calvey Funeral and Cremation Services, Inc., Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania (Scranton Area Cremation Care, Scranton, PA)
- Life Celebrations Group – Radney Funeral Home, Alexander City, Alabama (Langley Funeral Home, Camp Hill, AL)
- Lord and Stephens Funeral Homes, Athens, Georgia (Lord and Stephens Funeral Homes, Watkinsville, GA; Lord and Stephens Funeral Homes, Danielsville, GA)
- Memorial Parque Das Cerejeiras, São Paulo, Brazil
- Mercer-Adams Funeral Service, Bethany, Oklahoma
- Morada da Paz. Parnamirim, RN, Brazil
- Myers Mortuary, Ogden, Utah (Myers Mortuary, Roy, UT; Myers Mortuary, Layton, UT; Myers Mortuary, Brigham City, UT)
- Nie Family Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Inc. – Carpenter Chapel, Ann Arbor, Michigan (Nie Family Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Inc. – Liberty Chapel, Ann Arbor, MI)
- Phaneuf Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Manchester, New Hampshire (Phaneuf Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Boscawen, NH; Pillsbury Phaneuf Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Littleton, NH)
- Reeves & Baskerville Funeral Homes and Crematory, Coal City, Illinois (Reeves & Baskerville Funeral Homes and Crematory, Gardner, IL; Reeves & Baskerville Funeral Homes and Crematory, Morris, IL; Reeves & Baskerville Funeral Homes and Crematory, Wilmington, IL)
- Robinson Funeral Home & Crematory-Downtown, Easley, South Carolina (Robinson Funeral Home & Crematory-Powdersville Road, Easley, SC; Duckett-Robinson Funeral Home & Cremations, Central Clemson Commons, Central, SC)
- Roller Funeral Homes (Roller-Chenal Funeral Home), Little Rock, Arkansas (Roller-Drummond Funeral Home, Little Rock, AR; Roller-Owens Funeral Home, N. Little Rock, AR; Roller-England Funeral Home, England, AR; Roller-Citizens Funeral Home, West Memphis, AR; Roller-Swift Funeral Home, Osceola, AR; Roller-Citizens Funeral Home, West Helena, AR; Roller-Citizens Funeral Home, Marianna, AR; Roller-McNutt Funeral Home, Conway, AR; Roller-McNutt Funeral Home, Greenbriar, AR; Roller-McNutt Funeral Home, Greenbriar, AR; Roller-Burns Funeral Home, Yellville, AR; Roller-Christeson Funeral Home, Harrison, AR; Roller Funeral Home, Mountain Home, AR; Roller-Crouch Funeral Home, Batesville, AR; Roller-Coffman Funeral Home, Marshall, AR; Roller-Coffman Funeral Home, Mountain View, AR: Roller-Crouch Funeral Home, Mountain View, AR; Roller-Daniel Funeral Home, Searcy, AR; Roller-Farmers Union Funeral Home, Jonesboro, AR)
- Smith Family Funeral Homes, North Little Rock, Arkansas (Smith Family Funeral Homes, Benton, AR; Smith Family Funeral Homes, Glenwood, AR; Smith Family Funeral Homes, Hot Springs, AR; Smith Family Funeral Homes, Little Rock, AR; Smith Family Funeral Homes, Sherwood, AR; Smith Family Funeral Homes – Westbrook, Beebe, AR; Ruggles-Wilcox Funeral Home, Arkadelphia, AR)
- Soxman Funeral Homes, Ltd., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Sproles Family Funeral Home, New Castle, IN
- Tetrick Funeral Services, Johnston City, Tennessee (Oakley-Cook Funeral Home & Crematory, Bristol, TN)
- Vila Memorial - Centro de Velório São José, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
- Watson Thomas Funeral Home and Crematory, Galesburg, Illinois
- 2022 Honorable Mention
- Arnett and Steele Funeral Home, Inc., Pineville, Kentucky
- Arrington Funeral Directors & Crematory, Jackson, Tennessee
- Bailey Family Funeral Homes and Company, Wallingford, Connecticut
- Chambers and James Funeral, Pet and Cremation Services, LLC, and Company, Wellsburg, West Virginia
- Christopher Mitchell Funeral Homes, Inc., and Company, Albion, New York
- Copeland Funeral Service, Inc., Beaufort, South Carolina
- Cozean Memorial Chapel & Crematory, Farmington, Missouri
- Hughes Family Tribute Center, Dallas, Texas
- Jones-Wynn Funeral Homes & Crematory, and Company, Villa Rica, Georgia
- Morris-Baker Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Johnson City, Tennessee
- Oliverie Funeral Home and Company, Manchester, New Jersey
- Posey Funeral Directors, North Augusta, South Carolina
- Pray Funeral Home, Inc., Charlotte, Michigan
- Reeves & Baskerville Funeral Homes and Company, Coal City, Illinois
- Smith Family Funeral Homes and Company, North Little Rock, Arkansas
- Twiford Funeral Home, LLC, and Company, Elizabeth City, North Carolina
- Weeks' Funeral Home, and Company, Buckley, Washington
- 2021 Honorable Mention
- Anderson Funeral Home and Crematory, Alexandria Minnesota, and Company
- Arlington Memorial Chapels, Inc., Quezon City, Manila, Philippines
- A Sacred Choice, Houston, Texas
- Capillas Señoriales Casa de Homenajes, Merida, Yucatán, Mexico, and Company
- Feeney Funeral Home, Ridgewood, New Jersey
- Gardinier Funeral Home, Inc., Franklin, Pennsylvania
- Jennings-Calvey Funeral and Cremation Services, Inc., Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, and Company
- Lakeside Memorial Funeral Home, Inc., Hamburg, New York, and Company
- Reeves and Baskerville Funeral Homes, Coal City, Illinois, and Company
- Señoriales Corporacion de Servicio, Guatemala City, Guatemala, and Company
- St. Peter Chapels, Quezon City, Philippines, and Company
- Thomas McAfee Funeral Home - Downtown, Greenville, South Carolina, and Company
- 2020 Honorable Mention
- Cannon Cleveland Funeral Directors, McDonough, GA
- Copeland Funeral Service, Beaufort, SC
- Patrick T. Lanigan Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc., East Pittsburgh, PA
- Pixley Funeral Home, Rochester, MI
- Radney Funeral Home, Alexander City, AL
- Reichmuth Funeral Home, Elkhorn, NE
- 2019 Honorable Mentions
- A.H. Peters Funeral Home, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI
- Anderson Funeral Home, Alexandria, MN
- Arlington Memorial Chapels, Inc., Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
- Brunswick Memorial Home, East Brunswick, NJ
- Caldwell & Cowan Funeral Home, Covington, GA
- Funeraria San Vicente, Medellin, Colombia
- Gunderson Funeral and Cremation Care, Madison, WI
- Lakeside Memorial Funeral Home, Inc., Hamburg, NY
- Macz Funeral Home, Centralia, IL
- Morada da Paz, Paulista, PE, Brazil
- Morgan & Nay Funeral Centre, Madison, IN
- Myers Mortuary - Ogden, Ogden, UT
- Oakey's Funeral Service & Crematory - South Chapel, Roanoke, VA
- Old Bridge Funeral Home, Old Bridge, NJ
- Oliverie Funeral Home, Manchester, NJ
- Radney Funeral Home, Alexander City, AL
- Watson-Thomas Funeral Home, Galesburg, IL
- Weeks' Dryer Mortuary, Tacoma, WA