January, February, & March, 2020
Q1 eNewsletter
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Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a peaceful holiday season filled with reunions with loved ones as well as time to reflect and celebrate your accomplishments in 2019.
At FSI, we start the new decade with an exciting announcement about one of our valued team members. Wendy Russell Wiener, Esq. – who has served as FSI’s general counsel for more than 15 great years – has discovered and channeled her entrepreneurial spirit by officially launching her own legal practice, WRW Legal, PLLC. As she pursues this endeavor, Wendy will continue in her role as FSI’s general counsel, and we wish her great success!
2020 also brings a busy lineup of conventions and expos across the country, where the industry will be collaborating and looking ahead to the key trends and issues of the new decade. FSI is honored to contribute to this dialogue as it presents at CANA’s Cremation Symposium and Preneed Summit, as well as the ICCFA Annual Convention and Exposition. We look forward to seeing you there!
Finally, the start of the new year gives us a great opportunity to refresh our minds on what’s happening in our industry. Our team at FSI encourages one another to stay up to date on the latest trends and news that affect our profession. This quarter, we worked with our colleagues and industry media partners to contribute thought leadership on a variety of topics. These topics range from financial savings, rethinking the traditional service, automation, and the future of the unitrust distribution method.
From the entire FSI team, thank you for your continuous trust in FSI. We wish you all a productive, successful and memorable year.
Bill Williams
President and CEO, Funeral Services, Inc.
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The FSI team is excited to share that our General Counsel, Wendy Russell Wiener, Esq. is launching her own legal practice, WRW Legal.
WRW Legal, a boutique regulatory law practice focused on the deathcare profession, offers full-service legal counsel within the state of Florida and consulting services nationwide. Wendy will remain serving as FSI’s general counsel and we wish her the best of luck with this endeavor!
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Upcoming Speaking Engagements
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FSI is thrilled to kick off the first few months of 2020 with two speaking engagements! Bill Williams and Wendy Russell Wiener will present at the following industry events:
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March 30-April 2, 2020
San Antonio, TX
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Topic – The Impact of Unclaimed Property Laws on Your Preneed Trust
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Video Series Launch
FSI is launching a four-part video series to welcome our clients and professionals across the deathcare profession to learn a more about FSI.
Video 1, “Who is FSI?” was published with the start of the new year: click here to watch the video and learn about our history, our people and why we do what we do.
The topics for the remaining three videos, which will be released throughout 2020, are outlined below. We hope you enjoy them!
Video 2: What does FSI do?
Video 3: When do you need FSI?
Video 4: How does FSI do it?
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How Much Do You Know About FSI?
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Each quarterly e-newsletter, we will share a service or resource FSI provides to help ensure our clients and the industry understand the value we can deliver to them.
Did You Know that FSI provides regulatory compliance consulting and audit support?
Since deathcare laws and regulations change often, FSI maintains a strong understanding of those laws and when they change so our clients don’t have to.
No business enjoys being audited. As an FSI client, we provide you with detailed regulatory reporting and audit materials customized to your specific needs and requirements of state law and regulators. We ensure the regulator has what he or she needs so your business will avoid significant disruption.
Learn more about our compliance and audit capabilities by calling us any time: 1-800-749-1340.
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Over the last quarter, FSI and fellow colleagues have been sought out to provide thought leadership on a variety of topics in several industry publications. Here’s a quick look at some of the most recent stories featuring FSI.
New Day Dawning: Rethinking the Traditional Funeral Service
FSI Vice President of Client Development and Marketing, Paul White, shares in The Director why it is time to consider rethinking the traditional funeral service. Read more here.
After 10 Years in the Deathcare Industry, What’s Next for Unitrust?
On the 10th anniversary of the unitrust distribution method enacted in deathcare, Bill Williams, reflects in American Cemetery on how much unitrust has impacted cemeteries and what’s ahead in the next 10 years for the alternative distribution approach. Read more from Bill here.
How to Ensure Your Next Merger or Acquisition is Successful
Strategic mergers and acquisitions can serve as one of the most significant means of growth for a deathcare business. However, more than 83% of them fail. In The Director, FSI and other industry experts give tips on how to ensure your next merger or acquisition is successful. Click here to learn more.
‘Online’ Equals Efficiency, Compliance & More Successful PreNeed Sales
More than 40% of employees spend at least a quarter of their workweek on manual and repetitive tasks. Paul White and Wendy Russell Wiener, Esq. contribute to ICCFA
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Prakash Mohan
Chief Technology Officer
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Prakash Mohan started at FSI as a Programmer Analyst - III in 2009 and has since grown into his role as chief technology officer. He is responsible for managing a team of six employees in the IT department and enhancing FSI’s PRISM system, a software that allows clients to streamline their records management program and see a complete picture of their trust at all times.
Prakash works closely with executive management and is responsible for overseeing all technical aspects of the company. Prakash supports the management team by helping onboard new clients to the PRISM system. Prakash is involved in software design, troubleshoot technology complications, and ensures FSI’s PRISM system complies with state regulators, auditors and uses the latest technology.
Prakash’s proudest personal achievement at FSI was his promotion to chief technology officer, especially at a young age. Prakash believes that in his role as chief technology officer, he has developed his project management skills and gained knowledge in both the deathcare and technology industry. Over his time at FSI, Prakash has witnessed FSI grow from having clients in two states to more than two dozen states.
Prakash received his bachelor’s degree in computer engineering in India and a master’s degree in computer science at the Florida State University. Prakash is an intermediate tennis player in his off-time, competing in United States Tennis Association (USTA) affiliated tournaments.
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Important FSI Dates to Remember:
January 19 - 21 , 2020
AFDA Mid-Winter Meeting & Expo
Birmingham, Alabama
January 15 - 17, 2020
ICCFA Dead Talks Sales Conference
Las Vegas, Nevada
February 26 - 28, 2020
CANA Cremation Symposium & Preneed Summit
Las Vegas, Nevada
March 30 - April 2, 2020
ICCFA Annual Convention & Expo
San Antonio, Texas
Booth #2071
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Copyright © *|2017|*|Funeral Services, Inc.|*| All rights reserved.
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Our mailing address is:
Funeral Services, Inc.
Post Office Box 13407
Tallahassee, FL 32317
(800) 749-1340
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