SENECA — Charles H. Oglesby Jr. & David J. Oglesby of Brown Oglesby Funeral Home, Inc. recently attended an educational seminar designed to help funeral home owners and managers better understand, prepare for and make the modifications necessary to their firm's fiscal health and service to families.

The seminar, "Business Fundamentals ... Connecting the Dots," was sponsored by the International Order of the Golden Rule, a professional association of local, family owned and operated Golden Rule funeral homes. Brown Oglesby Funeral has been a member of the association since 1994.

The educational program featured several leading industry experts who led sessions including "Redesigning Your Funeral Home for the Future," highlighting the process of updating a funeral home's architectural layout to meet the needs of families, while making rooms comfortable, inviting and functional. The session titled "Tried and True Marketing and Merchandising Techniques," offered tips on marketing funeral products and aftercare goods and services. Two sessions titled "Five Financial Controls for Proven Profit Management," centered on business models for improving funeral home stability.

Continuing education credit was offered to attendees, required by most states to maintain funeral director and embalmer licenses. The seminar also featured an idea exchange, exhibitor displays and opportunities to network with participants and speakers.

"Central to our association's mission is supporting member interaction, information exchange and professional business development," said Guy Linnemann, association president. "Through this program we were able to deliver these much-needed tools to our members, all of whom take seriously, their commitment to service 'by the Golden Rule."'

"I am confident that what we learned by attending this seminar will ultimately help us to better serve the needs of grieving families in our community and provide the services they expect from a 21st century funeral home," said Charles Oglesby Jr.

Golden Rule funeral homes are a premier group of local, family owned funeral homes dedicated to offering reliability, fair pricing, and dignified, caring services to families. Funeral homes wishing to join must pass a rigorous application process and demonstrate the highest standards of service, integrity and compassion.