The Order of the Golden Rule (OGR) recently installed its 2021-22 officers and board: President Evan J. Strong, Evan J. Strong Funeral Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Immediate Past President Mary F. Steele, Arnett & Steele Funeral Home, Pineville, Kentucky; President-Elect Paul A. Hummel III, Hummel Funeral Homes, Akron, Ohio; and Secretary-Treasurer Christopher B. Miller, Thomas Miller Mortuary & Crematory, Corona, California.
Returning as board members are Kim R. Hunter, Humphrey Funeral Home, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Raffy S. Jose, Arlington Memorial Chapels & Crematory, Quezon City, Manila, Philippines; and Jamie L. Wieting, Wieting Family Funeral Home, Chilton, Wisconsin. Peter A. Urban Jr., of Anton B. Urban Funeral Home in Ambler, Pennsylvania, joined the board as a director. Arianna Rule, of Brunswick Memorial Home in East Brunswick, New Jersey, will serve as chair of the Young Professionals Council.
In other news, OGR’s charitable foundation raised more than $11,000 during its virtual awards ceremony in April. Boosted by a $5,000 matching grant courtesy of Mike and Marie Butler and their children, John and Nicki (Livingston-Butler-Volland Funeral Home & Cremation Center, Hastings, Nebraska), OGR confirmed 13 donations/pledges of $6,545 for a total of $11,545, including the match.
The charitable foundation also awarded its 2021 Awards of Excellence Gold and Silver scholarships, awarded each year to funeral service students based on academic performance, community involvement and an essay exemplifying a commitment to serving grieving families with compassion, fairness and dignity. Mariah Banks, of Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science, received the Gold Award of $3,500 to help complete her studies. Kenneth Wortman, of Fayetteville Technical Community College, received the Silver Award of $2,000.
Also during its virtual awards ceremony, Brunswick Memorial Home, East Brunswick, New Jersey, received the 2021 Golden Rule Community Service Award – the fourth time the firm has received this honor (no other firm has received it more than twice) and for the second year in a row. The firm used social media to help its community adjust and get through the changes brought on by COVID-19. Those who could help, or needed help, filled out a form accordingly, and the Brunswick care team matched those in need with those who could help during the initial wave of the pandemic. As a thank-you to staff for their extra work, the company purchased lunch for them every day they worked during this period.
In addition, OGR selected Geraldine “Geri” Oliverie of Oliverie Funeral Home in Manchester Township, New Jersey, as recipient of its 2021 Golden Light Award, which recognizes an individual who makes specific, meritorious contributions to society through his or her profession, community or field of voluntary service as career achievements. Oliverie Funeral Home hosts a flu vaccination clinic every September and a blood drive every April. The firm is also a platinum sponsor of both Manchester Day and the Lakehurst Fleet Reserve Summer Olympics.
And lastly, OGR added a new supply partner, Bogati Urn Company. Since 2004, Bogati has been a wholesale urn, keepsake and memorial jewelry resource for the funeral industry. ogr.org