FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jay F. Heinrich (719) 783-9099
Jay@foreverwildflowers.com
www.foreverwildflowers.com

Ohio Funeral Directors Association Helps Members Change The Funeral Experience

Today’s families are seeking a more profound, positive experience from the funeral process. They are asking for alternatives to bring more value to the experiences in their lives, including funerals.

The Ohio Funeral Directors Association will present alternatives that will add value to the funeral process at its annual meeting April 21-23, 2004. The annual convention will be held in Battel Hall at the Hyatt Regency – Columbus Convention Center.

Times are changing. The funeral industry must respond to the changes already in motion. The values and opinions of the Baby Boomer generation have influenced how they choose to honor the lives of their loved ones and themselves.

The society is challenging funeral homes to create a more personalized, meaningful experience. This change of focus needs to include all those attending funerals. This involvement helps everyone to move past the loss and achieve a greater purpose from the service – that of the celebration of the life lived.

This change in direction opens the door for funeral homes to expand their product line and the service they offer. This directional change also promotes a positive image of their business for the consumer and for all the participating attendees. In a time of grief, the funeral home provides comfort and meaning. For the family, experience equates to value and value drives their decisions.

Forever Wildflowers™, located in Westcliffe, Colorado, has both identified and met the Baby Boomer challenge. This patent-pending product line allows family, friends and associates to take an active part in the process of bringing closure to the life of a loved one. The company wants funeral attendees to have the opportunity to celebrate and memorialize a life lived, rather than dwell on a death.

The program involves the presentation of either a cut glass bowl, or high quality woven basket, filled with velvet pouches containing vials of highest quality wildflower seeds with planting instructions and a personal note from the funeral home. A family member or friend dispenses the pouches of seeds to attendees in memory of their loved one.

Each service attendee has the opportunity to celebrate this life by planting their portion of wildflower seeds, in a time and location of their choice, thus creating a meaningful tribute for years to come. Each vial contains approximately 9,000 seeds, geographically chosen, to plant a garden of around 25 square feet.

Forever Wildflowers™ has created a professional, elegant, positive process in redirecting the mourning experience to celebrate the life experience and the life lived.

Attendees of this year’s annual Ohio Funeral Directors Association convention will be able to learn more about this revolutionary program by visiting the Ohio Funeral Directors Association booth on the convention floor or by contacting Forever Wildflowers™ directly at 719-783-9099. Additional information is available on the company’s website at www.foreverwildflowers.com.