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87th Annual GFSPA State Convention |
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May 13th - 16th, 2012 in Albany,
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@ The Hilton Garden Inns 101 South Front St Albany
GA |
Hotel Tour |
More Details |
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Vision Statement:
The vision of the Georgia Funeral Service
Practitioners Association, Inc. is to become the most dynamic and
unique entity of the funeral service profession. |
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Mission Statement:
GFSPA, Inc. is committed to providing outstanding
leadership to its members and promoting the development of funeral
service professionals by: |
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Providing educational opportunities and experiences
to our colleagues to enhance professional growth.
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Providing professional support and networking to our
members.
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Promoting unity through cooperation and
communication.
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Promoting positive and effective leadership.
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Embracing diversity and multi-culturalism,
thereby ensuring the longevity and growth of our organization.
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Deal appoints 15 to boards:
Friday, January 27, 2012
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Michael L. Fowler, Sr., Georgia Board of Funeral
Service
Fowler retired as a death investigation
specialist/forensic pathology assistant for the
Georgia Bureau of Investigation. He serves as the
president of the Georgia Funeral Service
Practitioners Association, vice president of the
Community Development Council and is a member of the
Albany Chamber of Commerce. He also served on the
National Disaster Mortuary team, which assists with
natural disasters. Fowler earned his mortuary degree
from Gupton Jones Mortuary College and is licensed
in both Georgia and Florida. He and his wife, Rosa,
have three children and three grandchildren. They
reside in Albany. |
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URGENT NOTICE: |
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Please contact your state legislator as soon as
possible. |
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Dana L. Lemon |
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GFSPA Legislative Committee |
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For the past 6 weeks, GFDA has been working to
secure favorable legislation for GA funeral service in the face of some
potentially dangerous proposals from interests outside the state. That
outside interest sought to allow funeral homes to invest preneed escrow
in the stock market and other riskier investment instruments. GFDA
disagrees, along with Rep. Sims and others, and believes preneed escrow
should remain in the secure FDIC-insured or Treasury-backed instruments
required under current law. |
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HB 953 is attached. (If you print it, it must be on
legal paper or it will cut off some of the language). |
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We ask that you call your state representative and
state senator to support this legislation drafted by Rep. Chuck Sims. In
this extensive effort, GFDA worked with Rep. Chuck Sims, the legislative
committee of the State Board, other state organizations, funeral
associations across the country and NFDA. Thanks to all of these for
their hard work, information and suggestions. |
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Other states that allow funeral homes to make this
type of investment have had dire consequences; in all instances, the
funeral home was left to make up any shortfall of consumer funds. When
the stock market and housing market tanked, funeral homes were
financially devastated when they suddenly had to make up the large
deficit. Georgia enjoys some of the strongest consumer protection in the
country relating to preneed. In our state, funds are 100% portable and
refundable and belong to the CONSUMER until death; they do not belong to
the funeral home. GFDA believes that consumers who pre-pay funerals do
not expect any risk on those funds; consumers believe those funds will
be there when needed. |
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In Georgia, you should know that banks are weighing
in on how our professions should handle preneed escrow funds. We
respectfully don’t believe they should have any involvement in a
funeral/cemetery question of how best to work with our own customers.
The goal of the banks is to earn Trustee fees on large trust accounts,
and they will get those fees regardless of how well or poorly the
investments might do. Under current law, the banks of course invest
money, but individual accounts are protected by FDIC, so the consumer is
protected. Please understand, Georgia trust law is different and trust
accounts are NOT insured unless deposited into CDs, Treasury notes,
Treasury bonds or savings bonds. Rep. Sims’ bill preserves the
protection on funeral escrow. |
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On the other hand, cemeteries in Georgia wish to
pursue that type of investment because their business model has a much
longer time-frame (can be 80 years) and typically include a plot or
plots. Even if an investment fails, the consumer still has their plot.
The risk is much lower, even accounting for some burial merchandise.
Accordingly, GFDA was not opposed, but does think law requires informed
consent by the consumer because escrow funds are the consumer’s until
death and not the property of the cemetery or funeral home. In other
words, we don’t think you can invest someone else’s money without
telling them there is risk involved. |
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GFDA believes that any type of risky preneed
investment is ultimately bad for the funeral profession. You as the
licensed professional are the person who would sit across from a family
having to tell them their money is not there. It would not be the banker
or the cemetery owner; you are on the front line. |
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HB953 accomplishes several other items in addition
to insuring that funeral pre-paid funds remain secure: |
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Adds preneed insurance as a method for pre-need;
this is already a practice but is missing from GA Code.
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Clarifies the definition of various methods of disposition to include
any professionally accepted process.
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Adds the ability to accept an electronic signature on a funeral
contract.
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Clarifies the language relating to burial societies and eliminates the
loophole whereby companies are subverting the law by simply changing
their name to cremation or funeral society
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Allows apprentices to earn some of their apprentice hours while in
mortuary college. Currently, an apprentice in a regular college
curriculum can earn apprentice hours, but in our own colleges can’t earn
toward their own profession. (proposed by State Board).
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Splits Cemetery and Funeral Service back into 2 professional areas to
correct the problems caused by the year 2000 law.
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funeral director in full and continuous charge and/or the owner of a
licensed cemetery would be exempt from filing as a preneed dealer. Under
their main license, the law already allows them to do what the preneed
license also does. Therefore it is duplicative and not needed.
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Requires any preneed insurance contract that lists the name of a
specific funeral establishment to be signed by that establishment.
Currently, unscrupulous individuals have been putting funeral home names
on insurance contracts without the funeral home’s knowledge and quoting
their GPL; later, the consumer and insurance company find that the
funeral home has no contract and no knowledge of any guarantee of
services.
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Maintains current law that funeral homes escrow 100% of funeral preneed
in a trust to be invested in secure financial instruments.
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