Q1 eNewsletter

President's Note

Happy New Year!

     As we begin another year, our team at FSI feels a sense of momentum with many new opportunities coming to clients in the months ahead. Like most businesses at this time of year, we feel very optimistic that 2017 will be the best year yet for our clients. FSI’s enhanced technology and trust management strategies will help us serve the death care industry even better, continuing our standard of excellence that we hold ourselves to each and every day.

     Our team kick-started the year by officially enrolling our eligible clients in the Unitrust Distribution Method, or, in Florida, what we call the Total Return Trust. We are proud to say this model enables our clients to potentially enjoy higher annual returns for their cemeteries’ care and maintenance trusts, which offers better forecasting for long-term sustainability.

     Additionally, we will launch our brand new website, FSItrust.com, and enhanced technology platform, PRISM, on Feb. 1 for all clients. Both the website and PRISM utilize powerful, industry-leading features to help client accomplish all of their preneed and perpetual care trust management goals.

      As always, we will continue networking through industry events to discover innovative ways to serve our clients better. For example, the team will attend this week’s ICCFA Wide World of Sales Conference from Jan. 11-13, as well as the ICCFA Annual Convention & Expo April 5-8, which I’ll be speaking at on FSI’s behalf. We invite you and your colleagues to join us at the ICCFA Convention as we connect with thousands of professionals to help move the death care trust industry forward.

     2017 offers several new FSI products and opportunities, but our commitment to you remains the same. Whether you’re building a preneed program or simply want to better understand the death care regulations you face, our team is dedicated to helping you grow your business, and sustaining it for many years to come.

Sincerely,

Bill Williams
President and CEO
Funeral Services, Inc.

In the News:

Funeral Business Advisor Features FSI as its Cover Story

In Funeral Business Advisor’s recent cover story, “Funeral Services, Inc.: A Trusted Business Partner for Preneed and Perpetual Care Trusts,” FSI’s Bill Williams and Paul White discuss how innovative trust solutions help funeral directors and cemeterians accomplish their business’s financial goals.

If you’re new to the industry and still learning the “nuts and bolts” of what FSI does for its clients, this article walks you through the step-by-step operations of trust administration and recordkeeping for death care—and how it can benefit your business.

From advanced technology to compliance assurance, learn more about how FSI is leading the way in death care trust administration by reading the full article here.

FSI’s New Technology Platform Launches Feb. 1

After years of development, FSI will launch its industry-leading preneed web-based platform, PRISM, for ALL clients on Feb. 1, 2017. PRISM, accessible through FSItrust.com, helps FSI clients accomplish all of their preneed trust management goals and remain in compliance with state death care regulations.

An upgraded version of our previous web-based system, PRISM enables clients to:

Produce error-free, digital preneed contracts with automated uploading
Make deposits and withdrawals online that process as quickly as overnight
Download a variety of trust reports in various formats
Access raw data to complete an independent analysis

     To help you understand the new system and ease your transition, FSI is offering PRISM training webinars throughout January.

     In addition, FSI will release its completely re-designed website, FSItrust.com, on Feb. 1. The enhanced, more powerful website offers a simple navigation and additional information about your preneed and perpetual care trusts.

     This new technology will help the FSI team serve you as effectively and efficiently as possible, enabling you to focus on growing your business. As you learn the technicalities of PRISM, always remember we are only one phone call away to answer any of your questions.

Bill Williams to Speak at the 2017 ICCFA Convention

Join the FSI team April 5-8 at the 2017 ICCFA Annual Convention & Expo in Nashville, Tenn. to connect with more than 1,000 cemetery, cremation and funeral home professionals from all across the world. The ICCFA Expo offers a unique experience, as it’s the only event that combines all aspects of the profession—from funeral management to pet loss services—with programming focused on enhancing your business.

In addition to the Expo, FSI’s Bill Williams was selected to speak at the annual convention. Watch Bill discuss the unitrust model and its benefits to the industry on Saturday, April 8.

Click here for convention details. See you in Nashville!

Employee Spotlight:

FSI’s Team of IT Experts

FSI is made up of a dedicated team of experienced professionals who work each day to provide you with unparalleled service. Each individual brings an important skillset that assists us in powering your trust. To help you get to know the FSI team better, we shine a spotlight on one employee—or as in this newsletter, a department—each quarter.

Meet the Team that Drives
FSI’s Innovative and Leading Technology

Building on FSI’s continuous effort to innovate and move the industry forward, Bill Williams charted a new course of service in 2009 to better serve clients through advanced technology.

Following Bill’s directive, Kyle Dunn, FSI’s Chief Technology Officer, expanded the IT department to complement FSI’s forward-thinking approach. For the last eight years, the IT team has delivered iPad and desktop apps, online contracts, smartphone payment calculators, extensive digital reports and eCommerce for direct internet sales—all establishing FSI as the leading tech provider in the death care industry.

Meet the members of our IT team below that make FSI’s exceptional technology services possible.

Prakash Mohan
Lead Software Developer

Mr. Mohan has been employed at FSI since January 2009. As lead software developer, Prakash is responsible for leading a group of software developers to design, code, test and maintain .net windows, web and IOS applications for FSI. He also helps design the core architecture of the FSI system and guides the team towards successful project delivery.

Polina Volkova
Senior Programmer Analyst

Mrs. Volkova serves as a senior programmer analyst, earning multiple Microsoft certifications, such as Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Database Administrator and Microsoft Certified Professional Developer: asp.net. She’s been employed with FSI since May 2008 and ensures the reliability of software and the integrity of data for FSI clients.

Mudassir Mohammed
Senior Programmer Analyst

Mr. Mohammed has been with FSI since October 2007. As a senior programmer analyst, Mudassir is focused on developing new .net applications as well as maintaining existing applications.

Suresh Venkatesan
Senior Programmer Analyst

As a senior programmer analyst, Mr. Venkatesan develops and maintains .net windows and web applications to serve FSI business needs. He’s also responsible for establishing and managing all the testing standards for new applications and enhancements to existing applications. He’s worked with FSI since July 2009.

Calendar

Important FSI Dates to Remember:

January 11-13, 2017               ICCFA Wide World of Sales Conference
                                                   Phoenix, Ariz.

February 1, 2017                     New PRISM Platform Launches

April 5-8, 2017                        ICCFA Annual Convention & Exposition
                                                   Nashville, Tenn.
                                                   Bill Williams to speak Saturday, April 8th

Our mailing address is:

Funeral Services, Inc.
Post Office Box 13407
Tallahassee, FL 32317
(800) 749-1340

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Our mailing address is:

Funeral Services, Inc.
Post Office Box 13407
Tallahassee, FL 32317
(800) 749-1340