Member Spotlight Member Spotlight As far as I know, we’ve never had a morale problem at our facility. We have a party for each staff member’s birthday, plus we host a large Christmas party. I give employees time off whenever possible - especially after we’ve had a busy spell. Our belief is that a happy employee is a great asset to the business. What are three future goals you have in mind for your funeral home? We operate three cemeteries, which were abandoned by three different lodges in our city. We have spent a lot of time and money upgrading each of these old cemeteries and we are proud to say people are once again buying lots in all three locations. Other goals include trying to keep up-to-date on our chapel video equipment. To this end, we spent about $25,000 this past summer upgrading equipment, including a new laser-lighted projector that produces stunning images on the new wide-format screen we installed. We also upgraded our sound mixer and installed new light fading equipment to give our presentations a more professional look. Anything else you would like to share about your funeral home? Our firm is fortunate to have in good condition a number of antiques that were used by my father, grandfather and great-grandfather, including an old pump organ, which is in perfect playing condition and is, in itself, a nice piece of furniture. Also on display are a number of fine clocks throughout the facility including one that had a repair date from the 1700s, plus a Civil War-era grand piano in the main visitation room. One room in our facility is designed to resemble an old English library. It has a tall ceiling with draping curtains, stylish bookshelves and a large antique chandelier that commands a lot of comments from visitors. The room also houses a fine antique armoire that we’re told is the most valuable of our many antiques. It adds charm to our facility and also speaks to our firm’s more than 150 years of service to our community. Cozean has several antique pieces including a carriage (left) and grandfather clock (above), giving the facility a unique atmosphere. (OGR photos) www.ogr.org | The Independent® 31
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