President’s Message President’s Message Excellence Amid the Unexpected While the strategic plan has been a major focus of my presidency, I have also been called upon to guide our association through a global pandemic that would change some of the most fundamental aspects of our society both in terms of how we live and how we honor those who die. Luckily, as death care professionals we are no strangers to handling the unexpected. It is something we face on a regular basis, and our members have met the challenge for our families with the highest levels of service we all strive for every day. Four of NFDA’s seven “Best of the Best” funeral homes came from among our ranks; American Funeral Director’s Funeral Director of the Year was Geri Oliverie, who joined OGR the same year she opened her first funeral home; and more than 1,000 funeral directors, embalmers and other employees of Golden Rule Funeral Homes have worked tens of thousands of hours to help the grieving amid their loss - and I think every OGR member would agree that a sincere “thank you” from a family you have served well in one of the most trying times of their lives is worth more than any accolade. We do still love taking time to honor the amazing work you do, whether it was stepping up to provide outstanding service or volunteering your time and reaching out to your communities while navigating your companies through a year we will never forget. Please set aside an hour of your time and join me on April 29 for the Golden Circle Celebration, this year’s virtual awards ceremony. This event will also serve as our annual meeting and the formal change of leadership to next year’s board of directors, including Evan J. Strong as your new president. Just flip the page in this magazine to learn more. I am privileged to have been your president this past year and honored to have counted myself among this esteemed association’s number for more than 20 years. I look forward to the day we all meet again in person to share stories and a warm embrace after so long apart. Yours in service, Mary Flynn Steele OGR CHANGING ITS DUES SCHEDULE OGR leadership has decided to change the association's membership year to match the calendar year. We have long operated on a July 1 - June 30 calendar, but starting in 2022, that will become Jan. 1 - Dec. 31. To make this transition happen, OGR has issued new invoices to cover the six-month gap between our current member year and the new calendar-year system taking effect. In all, your OGR invoice history will look like this: • July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021: already paid • July 1, 2021 - Dec. 31, 2021: new invoice issued in November 2020, due no later than July 1, 2021 • Jan. 1, 2022 - Dec. 31, 2022: will be invoiced in October 2021, due Jan. 1, 2022 www.ogr.org | The Independent® 5 MEMBERSHIP DUES LEVELS ARE NOT CHANGING. If you pay in installments, nothing will change; you will continue paying the same amount on the same schedule as you have been. Members whose dues are paid annually will pay a one-time prorated invoice to match the shorter time frame. We know transitions like this aren't always easy, so OGR's staff is standing by to help with any questions or concerns you may have. Contact us at info@ogr.org or (800) 637-8030 and we will be happy to help in any way we can.
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