TGIF From TIFG!
Thank goodness it’s Friday! Apologies for not sending new articles from The Practitioners’ Post last week, but we were quite busy enjoying the great company of members and their families at The Group’s 2026 Fall Conference. Cloudland at McLemore Resort, which is spectacularly perched on a stunning mountaintop in northern Georgia, was the perfect location for fun, food, and fellowship — and, of course, incredibly interesting continuing education offerings and endorsed partner presentations. To make up for the lack of news sent to your inbox last week, here are some of the past two weeks’ happenings and what’s coming up next in the world of deathcare — plus a little good news, because who doesn’t need that?
Highlights and headlines
↪ Disgraced funeral director Chadrick “Chad” Mundy, owner of the temporarily-unlicensed Mundy Funeral Home in Jamestown, Tennessee, was arrested on September 23 on a 52-count indictment for “widespread fraud, financial exploitation and the mishandling of cremated remains.”
↪ A UK funeral home celebrated its 100th anniversary by adding a Ford Mustang Mach-E Electric Etive Hearse to its fleet. Take a look at this, um, interesting vehicle here.
↪ The Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors has revoked the entity licenses of James & Gahr Mortuary and Dent County Memorial Chapel following violations of preneed contracts and funds.
Practitioner spotlight
Did you know that one of the early owners of Rose Funeral & Cremation in Knoxville, Tennessee once owned one of the white Arabian horses that were featured in Douglas Fairbanks’ 1924 silent film “The Thief of Bagdad”? Before hearses were motorized, Arthur G. Mann, who assumed ownership of E.B. Mann Undertaking Company upon the death of his father, Edward, purchased a pair of white Arabian horses to pull the company’s white hearse for $2,500 in the early 1900s.
After the death of one of the pair, Mr. Mann eventually sold the other, which they had named “Mollie,” to a traveling circus for $200. When the circus came back to Knoxville the following year, they told Mr. Mann that they had sold Mollie to the actor Douglas Fairbanks in California for $5,000. Earlier that year, Mr. Mann and his wife had seen a billboard for the movie “The Thief of Bagdad” in Chicago and commented that the horse Fairbanks was riding looked a lot like their Mollie — only to find out a few months later that it WAS Mollie!
In a 1952 reminiscence published by the Knoxville News-Sentinel, Mr. Mann admitted that he “never enjoyed a movie more after learning that Fairbanks’ mount was his own Arabian beauty.”
For the Good of the Group (and Anyone Else!)
CONTINUING EDUCATION: Decoding the Death Certificate: Reading Between the Lines of Life's Final Paperwork on October 14 … Secure your spot today!
OBSERVANCE: The third Saturday in October (Saturday, October 17) is now not only the date of the annual Alabama-Tennessee game, but also National Cremation Placement Day. This new observance was established and registered by Coldspring memorial company as a day to “highlight the importance of permanent placement and memorialization.” If you’ve planned a corresponding event, you can add it to Coldspring’s registry here.
ACTION NEEDED: The National Association of Counties urges you to support the Veteran Burial Timeliness and Death Certificate Accountability Act, which would require a VA physician or nurse practitioner to certify a veteran’s death within 48 hours after learning of the death when the veteran dies of natural causes. Learn more about the proposed act here.
OBSERVANCE: Veterans Day is coming up on Wednesday, November 11. It’s a good opportunity for funeral homes and cemeteries to honor all military veterans who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces (living or deceased, in peace and/or war), whether that’s on your social media channels, in your community, or with special observances at your facility.
CONTINUING EDUCATION: Funding Prearranged Funerals, presented by Brianne Niedermyer of Homesteaders Life Company on Wednesday, November 11. Don’t miss this one!
One Question for You
This recent op-ed from a Cleveland, Ohio news outlet explored whether natural organic reduction (human composting) is becoming “mainstream.” What do YOU think?
We’ll share the results in next week’s TGIF along with a new question.
Our last One Question was, “How many sets of unclaimed cremated remains are you currently holding?”
Responses ranged from zero to 60 sets of unclaimed cremated remains in storage. Watch The Practitioners’ Post for more content on this topic, including current state laws (which vary widely) and potential solutions.
In Case You Missed It
Here’s what The Group has published recently in The Practitioners’ Post:
