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Broadcaster Winter 2004

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Procedures for the New Lot Reclamation Law from the NYS Division of Cemeteries click here
President’s Message click here
Irwin Shipper to Receive ICFA Hall of Fame Award click here
Saved in Time is a Winner click here
How to Apply for an Increase in Cemetery Charges click here
Matthews Introduces Cremation Plaques click here
Baseball Legends of Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery click here
Civil War Project Rolling Along click here
ICFA Cemetery Operations & Maintenance Conference Focuses on Operational Issues for Managers, Superintendents click here
Government & Legal Affairs Update click here
Anti-Combo Update click here
Kensico Cemetery Distributes Daffodils for Cancer Awareness click here


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Procedures for the New Lot Reclamation Law from the NYS Division of Cemeteries
N E W Y O R K S T A T E D E P A R T M E N T O F S T A T E
DIVISION OF CEMETERIES
M E M O R A N D U M

TO: Cemetery Board
FROM: Richard Fishman
SUBJECT: Review of Lot Reclamation Law (N-PCL Section 1513-a)
DATE: January 2004

This review is to clarify the requirements of the law and provide guidance
for administration. In this Memorandum, the term “lot” means a lot, plot
or part thereof; the term “owner” means the owner or owners of a lot; and the term “application” means the application made by a cemetery to the Cemetery Board for approval of a proposed reclamation or resubdivision of a lot.

REQUIREMENTS FOR RECLAMATION OF LOT WITH NO BURIALS, WHEN OWNER IS NOT IDENTIFIED
1. Records of cemetery demonstrate the lot was purchased 75 years prior to application;
2. No burials have been made in the lot or all bodies have been lawfully removed; and
3. A “reasonable search” cannot identify owner or any person having credible claim to ownership who has visited the lot, made payments with respect to the lot or engaged in any other proprietary activities in connection with the lot.

Note: a “REASONABLE SEARCH” consists of:
A. Checking cemetery records to determine (1) name and last known address of the owner, (2) information relating to any person buried in the lot, and (3) name and last known address of any person making inquiry about or visiting the lot.
B. Searching for death certificate and probated will of the owner.
C. Posting of notice at cemetery entrance and cemetery office indicating cemetery’s intention to declare the lot abandoned.
D. Mailing such notice certified mail return receipt to the owner and each person identified during reasonable search.
E. Publishing such notice once a week for three successive weeks in two newspapers to be designated by county clerk.
F. Preparing an affidavit describing (1) the steps taken to identify, and to contact, the current owner or next-of-kin, or any other person identified during the reasonable search who may have relevant information, and (2) the results of such steps.

Upon (1) filing proof of compliance with the above requirements with the Cemetery Board and (2) approval by the Cemetery Board, the cemetery may resell the lot to any party in accordance with the cemetery’s rules and regulations.

REQUIREMENTS FOR RESUBDIVISION OF LOT WITH BURIAL(S), WHEN OWNER IS NOT IDENTIFIED
1. Records of cemetery demonstrate the lot was purchased 75 years prior to application;
2. One or more burials have been made, one or more of the bodies have not been lawfully removed, and the most recent burial was made more than 75 years prior to application;
3. A “reasonable search” cannot identify owner or any person having credible claim to ownership who has visited the lot, made payments with respect to the lot or engaged in any other proprietary activities in connection with the lot;
4. It is physically possible to subdivide the lot to create new graves; and
5. The lot was not originally purchased for multiple depth burials.

Upon (1) filing with the cemetery board of proof of compliance with the above requirements and (2) approval by the cemetery board, the cemetery may subdivide the lot, and the cemetery may resell those parts of the resubdivided lot that do not contain remains.

REQUIREMENTS FOR RESUBDIVISION OF LOT WHEN OWNER IS IDENTIFIED
1. The owner consents to the resubdivision;
2. The owner gives notice of the application to resubdivide the lot to (1) the parents, spouse, issue, siblings, grandparents and grandchildren, if any, of the owner and (2) the spouse and issue of any person buried in the lot at any time during the 25-year period preceding such application; and
3. No person notified agrees within 45 days of notification to purchase the lot at the price determined under N-PCL Section 1513(c).

Upon (1) filing with the cemetery board of proof of compliance with the above requirements and (2) approval by the cemetery board, the cemetery may subdivide the lot, and the cemetery may resell those parts of the resubdivided lot that do not contain remains.

UPON SALE OF RECLAIMED OR RESUBDIVIDED LOT, THE CEMETERY MUST
1. Deposit 35% of the net proceeds in the PMF, and
2. Deposit 65% of the net proceeds in the CMF.

IF THE OWNER IS SUBSEQUENTLY IDENTIFIED, THE CEMETERY MUST:
1. Return all unsold lots, if any, to the owner if so requested by the owner; and
2. With respect to each lot, if any, that has been sold, at the option of the owner, either
(i) provide the owner with a comparable lot at no cost to the owner, or
(ii) provide the owner with the proceeds of sale of the lot plus 6% per annum interest from the date of sale.

MISCELLANEOUS
1. This new law does not apply if the owner of record of the lot is a corporation or unincorporated association or society that provides burial benefits for its members.
2. Monuments subsequently placed on reclaimed or resubdivided lots must conform to the rules and regulations or other requirements of the cemetery and to the general appearance, size, style and type of any existing monuments in the section of the cemetery where the reclaimed or resubdivided lot is located.
3. Cemeteries are not authorized to remove monuments or other embellishments to facilitate the resale of a resubdivided lot.
4. This new law does not authorize the violation of the burial requirements of sectarian sections of cemetery corporations.
5. A more detailed discussion of this new law is available at the Division of Cemeteries’ web page at http://dos.state.ny.us/cmty/cemetery.html.

Cemeterians reviewing the bill have requested clarification as to length of time posting must stay in place at the cemetery entrance. Earlier discussions indicate one year to be satisfactory to cemeteries participating in review. Also, further clarification was requested regarding the publications being “designated by the county clerk.”

President’s Message
As President of the New York State Association of Cemeteries, I get a lot of phone calls, letters, and e-mails. I get calls from reporters, churches, town and village officials, but mostly I get calls from folks who run small cemeteries. These cemeterians, usually volunteers, deal with the same problems and issues as those of us with large specialized staffs. There must be hundreds who take on a sometimes thankless job out of a sense of responsibility to their family and community, respect for the history and culture of the cemetery, or maybe just because no one else will. Hats off to these men and women, and let’s make sure that the New York State Association of Cemeteries continues to be a resource for all cemeterians in the state.
This issue of the Broadcaster is one of those resources. Thanks to Al and Andrea Vittum for a great job in producing these newsletters.

Keep those calls and letters coming!

Rick Touchette
President

Irwin Shipper to Receive ICFA Hall of Fame Award
 Reston, Virginia (January 6, 2004) -The International Cemetery and Funeral Association has named Irwin Shipper, CCE, president of Rose Hills Memorial Park in Putnam Valley, New York, and chairman of the ICFA Government & Legal Affairs Committee, recipient of the ICFA Hall of Fame Award, the association’s highest honor.

Shipper has been involved in the cemetery and funeral service profession for 55 years. He was formerly president of Beth Israel Cemetery Association and Woodbridge Memorial Gardens of Woodbridge, New Jersey, for more than 30 years and was involved in the management of five additional cemeteries located in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, with a total of approximately 300 employees. From 1972 to 1994, he was chairman of the New Jersey State Cemetery Board.

Currently, he resides in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, where he serves on the board of directors of the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County and is a member of the board of directors of Temple Beth David in Palm Beach Gardens.

Shipper served as ICFA president from 1996-1998, presiding over the association’s transition from the American Cemetery Association to the International Cemetery and Funeral Association. He has served as chairman of the ICFA Government & Legal Affairs Committee for more than 10 years and also has held the offices of ICFA vice president, secretary and director.

“A role model...generous, kind-hearted, hard-working, dedicated, knowledgeable, professional, soft-spoken, commanding presence, respected, respectful, steward, helpful, righteous, husband, father, grandfather and leader. All these attributes and more exemplify Irwin Shipper,” said ICFA Hall of Fame Committee Chairman Bill Wright, CCE. “The members of the ICFA, his family, his friends, his home community and his Temple have benefited in wonderful ways from Irwin’s tireless leadership in a fashion that is transparent yet known to all of us who admire him. Irwin’s tremendous and positive contributions on behalf of the industry and otherwise will be felt for years to come by those of us who have had the privilege to know and work with him. Personally, there is no one I believe is more deserving of this honor than Irwin Shipper.”

Shipper will be presented the award during the Annual Meeting of Members at the 2004 ICFA Convention & Exposition, March 10-13 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Since its creation in 1965, the ICFA Hall of Fame Award has been presented to 26 cemetery and funeral service professionals.
Founded in 1887, the ICFA is the only international trade association representing all segments of the cemetery, funeral and memorialization industry. Its membership is comprised of more than 6,000 cemeteries, funeral homes, memorial designers, crematories and related businesses worldwide.

Saved in Time is a Winner
The Green-Wood Cemetery’s Historic Fund’s Saved in Time program has received the prestigious Save Outdoor Sculpture (SOS!) 2002 Achievement Award, winning the second place prize among all entries nationwide. Saved in Time is the Cemetery’s fund-raising initiative launched to restore 21 significant but deteriorating sculptures and monuments.

SOS! is a joint project of Heritage Preservation and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The director of SOS!, Susan Nichols, reported that these awards are intended to provide recognition and support for organizations involved in restoring outdoor sculpture. She praised Saved in Time for its “wonderful catalogue.” Richard J. Moylan, President of Green-Wood Cemetery, said that the $750 award “will help us tell the story of the historically significant monuments we have here and our efforts to save them.”

Already, three monuments up for adoption in Saved in Time have found sponsors: the Civil War Soldiers’ Monument (adopted by the cemetery, with major assistance from New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs), the Henry J. Raymond Memorial (adopted by New York Times executives Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., Michael Golden, and Arthur Ochs Sulzberger), and the General Henry Slocum Memorial (adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Clem Labine). Joseph Bresnan, FAIA, who was instrumental in putting this program together, has been spreading the word far and wide with slide talks at New York City’s Department of Parks and Recreation, Brookgreen Sculpture Garden, the National Sculpture Society, and the Mechanics Institute Library.

If you’d like a copy of Saved in Time, please call 718-788-7850.

How to Apply for an Increase in Cemetery Charges
The New York State Cemetery Board has just updated their policy regarding rate applications. Here is
the complete text of the newly adopted policy.

NEW YORK STATE CEMETERY BOARD RATE APPLICATION POLICY
Beginning in 1997, the New York State Cemetery Board made significant changes in the way rate requests are processed. A “rapid approval process” was adopted for rate applications that meet certain criteria. The rapid approval applications consist of a board order and the cemetery’s letter of application. Those applications ineligible for the rapid approval process would be subject to a more in-depth review by the Division and a full report will be presented to the Board. There are two types of rapid approval applications:

ECI
The key element in the rapid approval process is the Employment Cost Index (ECI), which is a measure of the change in the cost of labor. The index includes changes in wages and salaries and employer cost for employee benefits. Benefits covered by the ECI are; paid leave, vacations, holidays, sick leave and other leaves, premium pay for overtime, shift differentials, life, health, sickness and accident insurance, long term disability, retirement benefits, social security, federal and state unemployment insurance, worker’s compensation, severance pay and unemployment plans. The Cemetery Board considers the ECI to be a more accurate indicator of the cost increases incurred by cemeteries than the Consumer Price Index or other economic indices because cemetery service charges are extremely labor intensive.
The figures for the ECI are published quarterly by the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. (202) 606-6199.

The ECI percentages for recent years are as follows:
1991 4.5 1996 3.3 2001 4.1
1992 3.9 1997 3.0 2002 3.7
1993 4.0 1998 3.7 2003 3.9
1994 3.7 1999 3.1
1995 3.4 2000 4.3

These percentages are actually determined by calculating the ECI for the twelve months ending September 30, which is released at the end of October. (Editor’s Note: This annual figure is printed each year in the Fall issue of The Broadcaster.) This allows annual care cemeteries to print and mail their bills in January. The ECI becomes effective January 1 of the following year.
Upon receipt of an ECI rate application from a cemetery, the Division staff will multiply the cemetery’s approved rate by the ECI for each calendar year since the last rate approval, compounded annually. Rates quoted in even dollar amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar. Rates quoted in dollars and cents are rounded to the nearest 25 cents. These increases apply to hourly overtime, and flat weekend and holiday charges, after initial justification.

SMALL CEMETERIES
Although small cemeteries (under $400,000 in total funds) may use the ECI method, most of these applications are handled differently. If the adult interment charge requested is $400 or less, no justification is necessary. If the request is more than $400 the Division accountant writes a brief justification note on or with the cemetery’s letter of application.

To be eligible for either type of rapid approval process the following criteria must be met:
1. There are no current invasions of trust funds, other than those authorized by court order.
2. The cemetery must be in compliance with any existing court orders.
3. The cemetery is current on annual reports, assessments and vandalism payments.
4. The Division is not aware of any significant financial, management, or operational problems.

All applications that do not meet the above criteria, or are recommended by the Division of Cemeteries to be denied as not justified, would be subject to in-depth review. Any individual charges on any application may be isolated for further review.

OVERTIME CHARGES ON WEEKENDS AND HOLIDAYS
Considering the wide spectrum of cemetery operations, there are various methods by which overtime, weekend and holiday rates are established. These rates can be increased, either by ECI or justification of actual costs, as follows:
· Hourly Rate - Based on employee compensation charged by the hour.
- Provided the cemetery’s existing Hourly Rate is below the maximum allowed, Hourly Rates are simply increased by applying ECI rates, retroactively, to the latest increase approved by the Cemetery Board. (Current maximum Hourly Rate is $121.)
· Flat Rate - Based on minimum 4 hours of overtime.
- If the Flat Rate is less per hour than ECI Hourly Rate, then it is justified and the ECI rate can be applied to Flat Rate if requested.
· Service Contract - Based typically on service contract cost passed on to lot owner.
- Rates based on service contracts are increased based upon the cemetery passing on the cost of the contractor providing the service.

PERPETUAL CARE
Perpetual care is a voluntary charge, usually purchased at the same time the lot is purchased. The income from the perpetual care endowment is for the care and maintenance of that lot. Most cemeteries charge their approved annual care rate against each lot’s perpetual care income. Cemeteries may increase their perpetual care charge by the ECI rate but there is an alternative method to justify a perpetual care increase. A long-standing Cemetery Board policy is to approve a perpetual care charge that would yield (at prevailing interest rates) no more than 2.6 times the cemetery’s annual care charge. Cemeteries need to charge an amount sufficient to maintain the fund’s income earning ability. While a cemetery’s costs, and its annual care rate, will continually rise, the perpetual care endowment will likely remain the same forever. Only the changes in interest rates will affect the amount of money available to care for the lot.

ONE YEAR POLICY
The Cemetery Board’s policy of considering one application per cemetery within a twelve month period will continue.

Originally adopted January 15, 1997
Amended version adopted November 29, 1999
Amended version February 2004

Matthews Introduces Cremation Plaques
Matthews is expanding its collection of cremation memorialization products to include the cast bronze Fall Leaves Plaque which can be used in cremation gardens or on granite niches.

Available in 8” x 7” and 9” x 7” sizes, each plaque can accommodate a cast name, birth and death years. They are accentuated with finely sculpted oak leaves and acorns.

Baseball Legends of Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery
On Saturday, January 10, the Green-Wood Historic Fund, participating in The New York Times’ Arts and Leisure Weekend, proudly presented Peter Nash, baseball collector and historian. Despite frigid temperatures, an enthusiastic crowd of more than 100 turned out to hear Peter discuss and sign his recently-published book, Baseball Legends of Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery, in the Cemetery’s Historic Chapel.

Peter, a former member of the legendary rap group 3rd Bass and a longtime baseball fan, has discovered, through painstaking research, almost 200 pioneers of the “National Pastime” who are permanent residents of the cemetery and their fascinating stories. According to Peter, Green-Wood is baseball’s first shrine and the model for Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park and Cooperstown’s Baseball Hall of Fame. It has four men who lay claim to the title of “Father of Baseball” (none of whom is named Abner Doubleday). It also showcases baseball’s first star and martyr, Jim Creighton, who was memorialized with baseball’s first monument. This book covers all the bases with tales of many greats of the game who lay in obscurity for more than a century until Peter recently rediscovered them. Stars of America’s earliest baseball teams, including the Excelsiors, Atlantics, and Knickerbockers, as well as a Brooklyn Dodgers manager, Ebbets Field’s namesake Charles Ebbets, ball makers, stadium owners, and an organizer of the early Negro baseball leagues, are all featured.

This richly illustrated book is a grand slam of baseball lore. Copies are available through the Cemetery and through most major book retailers.

Civil War Project Rolling Along
The Green-Wood Historic Fund’s Civil War Project is picking up steam. The goals of this ambitious Project are to publish a book with a biographical dictionary (illustrated with portraits and gravestone photographs) of virtually every Civil War veteran interred at Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery, to print the most fascinating stories relating to their service, to install gravestones for Civil War veterans in unmarked graves, to make sure that all Civil War veterans’ stones are properly set, and to mark the graves of every Civil War veteran with an appropriate insignia.

The Project, headed by Green-Wood’s historian, Jeff Richman, has been ongoing since September, 2002. With the help of many volunteers, hundreds of Civil War veterans already have been found. Green-Wood likely has more New York State Civil War veterans than any other cemetery. Latest estimates are that 6,000-7,000 Civil War soldiers, including several Confederates, may rest within Green-Wood’s grounds.

On May 17 and September 20, 50 and then 75 volunteers traversed the cemetery’s 478 acres, looking for gravestones identifying Civil War veterans, photographing their monuments, and adding hundreds of “finds” to our list. Since the publication of wonderful articles in the New York Times (appropriately on the 4th of July) and an Associated Press report that was carried in newspapers and on websites throughout the country, many descendants of Civil War veterans have contacted the Project, sharing photographs, original papers, memorabilia, and great stories. Volunteers have been checking lists of officers and enlisted men from New York State regiments raised primarily in New York City and/or Brooklyn against the cemetery’s online database for name matches and printing the records of possible matches. On three separate occasions, volunteers have combed the cemetery’s chronological books to check as to whether the year of birth for the soldier and that for the interred with the same name matched. Other volunteers have then written the biographies of our Civil War veterans based on military records, obituaries, and other information. We hope to complete our research by the end of 2005.

ICFA Cemetery Operations & Maintenance Conference Focuses on Operational Issues for Managers, Superintendents
Reston, V A (January 6, 2004) -The International Cemetery and Funeral Association (ICFA) will hold the Cemetery Operations & Maintenance Conference on July 16-19, 2004, at the University of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee. Formerly known as the Small Cemetery Management Conference and, later, the Small Cemetery & Funeral Management Conference, the conference will focus on cemetery-specific operational issues for managers and superintendents.

The educational program will cover landscaping challenges, equipment, administrative management issues, and a variety of other topics, providing cemeterians with the opportunity to learn about techniques used on a daily basis by other managers and superintendents throughout North America.

“Whether your cemetery is large or small, non-profit, for-profit, municipal or religious, the operational and grounds maintenance issues you deal with tend to be similar,” said Program Co-Chair Scott Saltsgaver, superintendent of Ivy Hill Cemetery in Alexandria, Virginia. “Our mission with this conference is to provide excellent cemetery management education and extensive networking time at an extremely affordable cost. Many cemeterians, especially those from municipal properties, do not have large budgets to attend meetings. By keeping the registration fee below $300 and offering economical hotel room rates, we believe this conference is the best educational value in the industry.”

The conference will be held concurrently with the 2004 session of ICFA University, offering attendees of both programs an opportunity to network with a large number of industry colleagues. Participants in the Cemetery Operations & Maintenance Conference will also benefit from an extensive educational tour at a Memphis cemetery with the ICFAU College of Land Management & Grounds Operations.
The conference is developed by the ICFA Cemetery Operations Committee, which voted in September to change its name from the Small Cemetery and Funeral Operations Committee.

“Historically this has been one of ICFA’s most important meetings, and it has gone through several transformations since it was developed in 1986,” according to ICFA Internal Chief Operating Officer Joseph W. Budzinski. “We added more funeral content in the 1990s as more and more of our attendees were either running or contemplating combination operations. Recently, as ICFA has created more educational opportunities for funeral directors at its other meetings, cemeterians have comprised the main audience for this conference. So the committee decided to focus on the core audience.”

Budzinski notes that “ICFA currently provides a broad selection of educational programming for funeral directors and those responsible for the operations and marketing aspects of funeral home management. There are many topics covered at the Annual Convention, the Sales Management and Marketing Conference, and the ICFA University College of Funeral Home Management and College of Embalming and Restorative Arts. In addition, new educational programs on funeral service- and cremation-related topics are being developed.”

Regarding the name change, Saltsgaver says “the properties managed by most of the participants really aren’t all that ‘small’ anymore, as may have been the perception in the 1980s when the Conference was founded. Because we typically have as many attendees from cemeteries doing 500 interments a year as those doing 100, the committee voted to rename itself the Cemetery Operations Committee. In any case, the topics we cover are relevant for everyone.”

Co-chairing the 2004 Cemetery Operations and Maintenance Conference with Saltsgaver will be Eudra Howell, manager of Roselawn Memory Gardens in Glen Allen, Virginia. The ICFA Cemetery Operations Committee, which creates the educational program, is made up of cemeterians and industry suppliers from throughout the U.S. and Canada.

More details on the program are available from ICFA Headquarters at 1-800-645-7700, and on the ICFA Web site at www.icfa.org.
Founded in 1887, the ICFA is the only international trade association representing all segments of the cemetery, funeral and memorialization industry. Its membership is comprised of more than 6,000 cemeteries, funeral homes, memorial designers, crematories and related businesses worldwide.

Government & Legal Affairs Update
The Metropolitan Cemetery Association, Inc. held its first Annual Distinguished Public Service Award and Cemetery Achievement Award at its Annual Holiday Luncheon held on Friday, December 13, 2002 at Niederstein’s Restaurant, in Middle Village, New York.

The Distinguished Public Service Award was presented to Peg Breen, President of the New York Landmarks Conservancy for her support of preservation efforts at historic and religious cemeteries.

The Cemetery Achievement Award was presented to Sonia Bennett, Director of Human Resources at the Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY, for her outstanding service to her cemetery, and for her public service, which includes fund raising for the American Diabetes Association, the American Cancer Society, as well as others.

David Gigler, Superintendent of Mount Olivet Cemetery in Maspeth, NY and President of the Metropolitan Cemetery Association, made the presentations before the group of 140 attendees. The MCA is comprised of over 200 cemetery and supplier members. Through mutual cooperation and association among its members, high ethical standards and professional cemetery management are fostered. Membership is open to any cemetery or supplier located in the Metropolitan New York area.
The 2004 legislative session has gotten off to a fast start for the New York State Association of
Cemeteries. The Committee, along with our legislative counsel, Featherstonhaugh, Wiley,
Clyne & Cordo, LLP, have been monitoring over sixty bills that have been introduced this session.

The following bill was re-introduced by NYSAC:
A.7346-B,Tokasz/S.3418-A,Marchi. This bill would permit the Modified Return concept to be used on Permanent Maintenance and Perpetual Care funds. This bill has been amended and referred to Corporations on 1/21/04 in the Assembly and was amended and referred to Corporations on
1/16/04 in the Senate.

The following bills are being monitored by our Committee:
A.8569-Brodsky/S.4809-Leibell. This bill would enact provisions relating to voting rights of record lot owners at annual meetings of a cemetery corporation.
S.4836-A-Leibell. This bill provides additional protection against financial fraud and abuse.
A.8568-Brodsky/S.5041-Leibell. This bill would regulate possible conflict of interest situations between officers and directors and the not-for-profit corporations they represent.
A.9461-Gunther. Relates to the exemption from taxation for non-profit organizations; repealer.

The following regulation is being monitored:
Sale of Vaults. The Cemetery Board has sent new regulations to GORR
(Governor’s Office of Regulatory Reform) for their approval. We are optimistic.
The 2004 legislation tracker can be found on the NYSAC web site in the “Members Only” Section.

Frank F. Giglio, Chairman

Anti-Combo Update
Recently, the courts ruled against NYSAC by refusing to overturn the Anti-Combination Legislation. At its February meeting, the NYSAC Board of Directors voted unanimously to appeal this decision. More information will be presented regarding this important issue at the NYSAC Public Affairs Seminar in Albany, May 3-4, 2004. Be sure to attend!!!

Kensico Cemetery Distributes Daffodils for Cancer Awareness
The Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, NY, extends an invitation to visitors, lot owners and funeral parties to participate in the American Cancer Society’s annual cancer awareness campaign by taking free daffodils to the grave site of loved ones during Daffodil Days, Thursday, March 25 through Sunday, March 28, 2004.

Visitors to Kensico Cemetery may pick up their fresh-cut daffodils, while supplies last, at the Kensico Cemetery Administration Building on Lakeview Avenue anytime between 9:00 am and 3:30 pm during Daffodil Days.

In announcing Kensico’s participation for the ninth consecutive year, Chester S. Day, President of Kensico Cemetery said that “Daffodil Days gives visitors a meaningful way to welcome spring, celebrate life and pay tribute to loved ones buried here.”