Investing in the Next Generation By Pat Ferry, John J. Ferry & Sons Funeral Home The John J. Ferry & Sons Funeral Home has been in the Ferry family since 1890 and a member of OGR since 1955. The business is currently run by 5th generation funeral directors Daniel, 36, and Patrick Ferry, 40. Their father Thomas L. Ferry, III, 71, recently retired as a precaution due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Going back to the founder, John J. Ferry, it has always been our policy to take care of our employees. They are our most valuable asset and a huge part of what keeps our families and customers coming back. They are like part of our extended family. An important part of taking care of your employees, especially new directors, is training – both formal and informal. Formal training includes things such as state and national conferences whereas informal is more on-the-job training. While both are important pieces in preparing the next generation of funeral directors, we feel it is essential to learn and network with people with experience. 6 www.ogr.org | Fall 2020 This is something Patrick was exposed to in his first career out of college with a public accounting firm in Hartford, Connecticut. While there, one of the things he really enjoyed was the annual training with people in similar roles. Every year the annual training was with other accountants with like experience who were being groomed for the next role in their career. It was extremely beneficial being with other people in similar positions because you were able to learn and ask questions together versus having to learn on your own. You also had a network of people you could rely on for help in the future. Patrick found this invaluable and wanted to incorporate this experience into the family business. However, this is not always possible at a small family funeral home where age and experience can vary drastically from director to director. We have been blessed with a diverse group of terrific directors who have a ton of experience and have embraced training new funeral
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