Broadcaster Winter 2000
TABLE OF CONTENTS
NYSAC Public Affairs Seminar click here
A Message From The President click here
Ellen Woodbury ~ A Friend Says Goodbye... click here
MASTER TRUST UPDATE click here
Government & Legal Affairs Update click here
Cremation Authorization Form Being Standardized click here
Regulations for Mailing Cremated Remains click here
Brookside Cemetery Association, Inc. Announces the Retirement of Chas. R. Hyde click here
Green-Wood Cemetery Receives Brooklyn History Award click here
NYSAC Public Affairs Seminar
The 23rd Annual New York State Association of Cemeteries Government and Legal Affairs Seminar will be held on Monday and Tuesday, May 8 – 9, 2000 at the Desmond Hotel in Albany, New York. Chester S. Day, Kenisco Cemetery, Valhalla, NY and Richard Touchette, Albany Diocesan Cemeteries, Menands, NY are the Co-Chairmen of this event.
Dominick Tarantino, President of the association, will open the seminar at 2:45 pm, on Monday, May 8th. Richard J. Moylan, President, Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY will address ICFA and national and regulatory issues. Timothy Griffin, Esq., Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Ferncliff Cemetery, Hartsdale, NY, will discuss what’s new in employment law.
Frank Giglio, Chairman of the New York State Association of Cemeteries, (NYSAC) Government and Legal Affairs Committee, along with legal counsel, James Featherstonhaugh, Esq., Beth Clyne and David Fleming will explain what issues the committee is working on, and what is happening in the legislature in Albany. Frank and Susan E. Walsh, Vice President, Bank of New York, will provide information on the NYSAC Master Trust Plan, which will benefit all cemeteries.
A cocktail party is planned for 6:00 pm, with an opportunity to meet and socialize with the members of the New York State delegation of the Cemetery Board. On hand will be Daniel Shapiro, John Eadie, Rachael Kretser and Robert Batson. A dinner reception will wrap up the day’s events. Speaking at the dinner reception will be the Honorable Alexander Treadwell, Secretary of the State of New York, Department of State.
Richard Fishman, Director of the Division of Cemeteries; Michael Itzo, Assistant Director; Daniel Shapiro, Department of State; Robert Batson, Esq., Legal Counsel; Edward Hand, Senior Investigator; Dominick Pliskowski, Senior Auditor; and Mary Lee Hedrick, Administrator will complete the panel discussion on regulatory issues for 2000.
The Treiber Group, Matthews International Corporation, The Bank of New York, Biondan & LP (Canada), Ltd, and York Bronze Company are sponsoring the cocktail party and breakfast at the conference.
Please try to attend, and we look forward to seeing you on May 8th and 9th!
Welcome readers from all New York cemeteries to the spring issue of the Broadcaster. The New York State Association of Cemeteries has established itself as a leader in representing and protecting the industry. There are many benefits to being a member of the association. You receive publications likeThe Membership Directory, which contains a listing of fellow cemeterians, and suppliers; The Broadcaster, our newsletter; special government and legal affairs bulletins, along with an invitation to our Fall Conference, Grounds Maintenance Seminar held in conjunction with the Turf & Grounds Exposition and Spring Seminar. These items help keep you informed of events and activities that have an impact on you and your business. So please, take a moment and review this issue of the Broadcaster.
Our Annual Spring Public Affairs Seminar is just around the corner. I hope to see you at the Desmond Hotel in Albany on May 8-9th! The registration forms, hotel forms and agenda are located on pages 4, 5, 7 & 9. Remember that the deadline for hotel reservations is April 16th, so be sure to make your reservation before the cut-off date.
I would like to thank the event’s Co-Chairs, Chester S. Day and Richard Touchette, for doing an exceptional job in organizing the seminar. I must say that this year’s seminar has shaped up nicely. The agenda is filled with knowledgeable speakers and guests. They will address current topics regarding - regulatory issues, legislative issues, review of NYSAC’s workers compensation insurance plan, investment strategies and information regarding the Master Trust Plan. The special guest during dinner on Monday, May 8th, will be Senator Vincent Leibell, representing Putnam, Westchester and Dutchess counties.
As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at Washington Cemetery at (718) 377-8690. I look forward to seeing everyone in Albany on May 8-9th!
Dominick Tarantino
Ellen Woodbury ~ A Friend Says Goodbye...
How fast the days and years have flown by with constant challenges along the way! Thirty-one years ago (and it seems like yesterday!), Father Minturn, who in 1967 had been assigned by Bishop Kellenberg to direct the Diocesan Cemeteries approached me to see if I would join the cemetery staff as Office Manager at Holy Road Cemetery in Westbury. I had recently returned to the workforce as a legal secretary with a local law firm, following 15 years spent at home raising four sons. I wondered if I would be sufficiently challenged, moving from the fast-moving pace and pressure one experiences working with lawyers to what appeared to be a much more subdued and slow-paced atmosphere in a cemetery office. What a startling surprise I was in for when I made the decision to change my career path!
Within a short time after I arrived, Bishop Kellenberg asked us to organize the 20 parish cemeteries located throughout the Diocese and establish uniform procedures, pricing, and trust funds, and to educate their staff on the legalities involved in operating a cemetery. Soon after that had been accomplished, Bishop Kellenberg promoted me from Office Manager at Holy Road, to the position of Assistant Director of Cemeteries. In 1982, an opportunity arose to enlarge the Diocesan Cemetery System (which at the time, included both Holy Road Cemetery in Westbury and Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Coram), resulting in the founding of Queen of All Saints Cemetery in the Hauppauge/Islip area, in order to provide burial space in close proximity for members of the Diocese who resided in Western Suffolk. From just two locations, not only had three emerged, but also the 20 active parish cemeteries had been added to the Diocesan Cemetery System! I continued as Assistant Director until 1989, at which time Farther Minturn retired, and Bishop McGann honored me by elevating my position to that of Director of Cemeteries for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, the first woman to hold such a position in the United States.
Liturgical services in the form of regularly scheduled and anniversary Masses were initiated. In addition, our Bishops commemorate the lives of those who have returned to the Lord by celebrating Memorial Day and All Souls Day Field Masses annually at each of the Diocesan Cemeteries. Good Friday services, Cemetery Sunday Vespers and Candle Lighting services (as a result of the generosity of Monsignor Hayde in preparing the liturgy and the members of the Diocesan Choir who volunteer their time and voices to provide a truly emotional and inspirational hour for the hundreds of family members who attend) and, more recently, our Christmas remembrance program all allow us to minister more personally to those who have lost a loved one and are in need of the consolation such services offer. As we advanced in technology and computerized our records, we were afforded an opportunity to develop and distribute a biannual newsletter via a master mailing list, and to offer Mother’s and Father’s Day decorations in addition to our existing Christmas and Easter programs. None of the aforementioned accomplishments would have been possible were it not for the support and dedication of a terrific staff and the priests of our Dio-numerous and there are still many more ahead as we enter the new millenium.
And now, dear friends, the time has come for me to step aside and turn over the reigns to others who will face these new challenges with renewed energy and ideas. It has been my honor and privilege to have ministered to those who have lost a loved one and were in need of moral support and guidance. I feel sure that God directed me to this ministry those many years ago and, hopefully is pleased with the end result of my years of service to Him and His Church. If I have brought a ray of sunshine into someone’s life along the way, if I have in some small way helped
lighten a person’s grief, or offered a simple word or prayer that encouraged an aching heart, then I will leave feeling that I have accomplished the task God set out for me to do and have been truly rewarded.At the end of April, I will leave this ministry which has offered me such personal rewards and begin the next phase of my life. In June my husband and I will celebrate 50 years of what has been a wonderful and fulfilling marriage. Without his love, understanding, support and (most of all) patience these past 31 years, I would never be able to continue. He has truly been the “Wind Beneath My Wings”, Gods special gift to me. Now it is time for me to show my gratitude for all he has given throughout these years.
To those of you who have lost a loved one, always remember: “To live on in the hearts of those we love is never to die. The song may be ended but the melody lingers on.” And to all of you who have been a part of my life these past 31 years, I thank you for sharing your life and memories with me and for allowing me to serve you. My wish for you is expressed in this old Irish blessing:
Our Committee is happy to announce that the New York State Association of Cemeteries has endorsed the Master Choice Program being offered by the Bank of New York.
This program will enable all members of our Association to invest their funds prudently and at a reasonable cost, while getting professional investment services.
Susan E. Walsh, Vice President of the Bank of New York, will be mailing enrollment kits to our members.
A presentation of the Master Choice Program will be part of the Spring Seminar in Albany, NY on May 8-9, 2000.
Frank F. Giglio
Chairman
The Government and Legal Affairs Committee along with our legislative counsel, Featherstonhaugh, Conway, Wiley & Clyne, have been working diligently towards the passage of the New York State Association of Cemeteries legislative agenda.
A.6556/S.4458-B would authorize the repair or removal of monuments or other markers not owned by the cemetery corporation that have fallen into disrepair.
A.6554/S.4457 would permit the “Modified Total Return” concept to be used on Permanent Maintenance and Perpetual Care Funds.
A.6558-A/S.4460-A would permit cemetery corporations to reclaim graves under certain circumstances, upon application to and approval by the Attorney General.
We will have a full report for the membership at the Spring Seminar in Albany on May 8-9, 2000.
Frank F. Giglio
Chairman
A group of Western New York cemeteries is working together to try to standardize the Authorization to Cremate form that must be signed by both the family and the funeral director before cremation takes place. Jim Huggins, Joe Dispenza and Bob Wutz have drafted a form that would be available to any cemetery/crematory operation in the state.
The group has worked together to try to cover all aspects of protecting the crematory and at the same time making it easier for both the family and funeral director. By standardizing the form, funeral directors will only have to use one form, rather than different ones for each individual crematory, which is now the case.
If you are interested in receiving a copy of the authorization form, contact any member of the Cremation Committee- Jim Huggins (716-876-8131), Joe Dispenza (716-885-1600), Kevin Boyd (914-693-4700), Andrew Nagle (718-920-0500) or Al Vittum (716-586-5250).
Regulations for Mailing Cremated RemainsA reminder from the Post Office (Postal Bulletin 22018- 2/24/00) that if you are mailing cremated remains, they must be sent as registered mail with return receipt service. Publication 52 states “Human ashes are permitted to be mailed provided they are packaged as required. The identity of the contents should be marked on the address side. Mailpieces must be sent registered mail with return receipt service.”
Publication 52, and other Post Office information is available at www.usps.com.
Brookside Cemetery Association, Inc. Announces the Retirement of Chas. R. HydeChas. R. Hyde of Brookside Cemetery Association, Inc. has retired from active management of the cemetery, but will continue on as a trustee.
He began his association with Brookside when elected as a trustee in 1977. He stayed on the Board of Directors until 1984, serving as President from 1980 through 1984. In 1985, he became Secretary and Executive Director.
Chas. Hyde is active in cemetery affairs, serving as President of the Jefferson County Association of Cemeteries, on the former Division of Cemeteries Advisory Board. He was elected to the New York State Association of Cemeteries Board of Directors, serving on committees and in 1998 was President of NYSAC. Additionally, he was instrumental in organizing the Cemetery Workers Compensation Safety Group #528.
He and his wife Marge, will continue to live in Watertown, New York and will continue their membership in NYSAC. If you would like to reach the Hyde’s, their mailing address is PO Box 693, Watertown, NY 13601. Their phone number is (315) 788-7242.
Green-Wood Cemetery Receives Brooklyn History Award
Brooklyn Borough President, Howard Golden presented The Green-Wood Cemetery with a Brooklyn History Award at a ceremony held at Brooklyn’s Borough Hall on March 29, 2000. “I am pleased to confer this award on The Green-Wood Cemetery for its important contribution to the wider public awareness of the rich history of Brooklyn and its citizens” the Borough President said. “We are honored that Brooklyn has chosen to recognize our work in this fashion” said Green-Wood’s President, Richard J. Moylan.
The Master of Ceremonies for the program was official Brooklyn historian John Manbeck and the keynote speech was given by Mike Wallace, co-author of the Pulitzer Prize winning Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898. Accepting the award for the Cemetery was Corporate Secretary Jane Cuccurullo.
Also receiving awards were Jeffrey I. Richman, author of Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery: New York’s Buried Treasure and John Cashman, a retired New York City police officer and Green-Wood’s history buff, who has been leading more than 30 tours per year through the cemetery for over ten years.