Rotary Minutes June 20, 2023
President Dave Dominick opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. Melissa Musliner gave the Inspirational minute. Susan Rostkoski was the greeter, Matt Magers and Ken Crabb were the tech team, and Micheal jon-Pease did the intros. The 4 way test was recited by all. We went through the June Birthdays and anniversaries. Joe Kovaric has 44 years in Rotary! The 114 new President Heidi Fisher introduced our speaker who was Jason Bradshaw. He spoke about the funeral Industry. He told us that they were the first to offer water cremation in Minnesota and elsewhere. He spoke about what’s changed in the last 10 to 15 years, the effect Covid had on the industry, water cremation and cremations stats. By 2025, Cremation will be about 72% of all funerals, up from 10% in 1975. It has gone up drastically in the last 10 years. The southern states are a lot slower to use cremation. Canada has stabilized at 72% of all funerals are cremation. What’s changed? The role of religion, family structures, medical care, Hospice care, and families what to be more involved in funeral arrangements, earth friendly ways to bury, and the economy or rising costs of funerals. The amount of sudden deaths has been radically reduced. People don’t want to take up much space to be buried. They want to be ecologically responsible. But it’s mainly that the cost of funerals has risen so much. People like the water cremations. The flame based form of cremation uses a lot of energy, expels a lot of CO2, and gas. There are mercury issues also, from dental fillings, pace makers etc. Water based was patented in 1880, but Mayo began using it in 2006. It uses 75% less energy to do, no mercury emissions, and takes about 3 hours. Then there are natural cemeteries. And finally composting, where you are put in a pod for 30 days and when you are finished, you will be put in the ground. With natural cemeteries there are no markers or vaults. Vaults are a Cemetery regulation, to help keep the sod firm. It’s not a funeral regulation. Finally he spoke about the effect Covid had on the funeral industry. There is currently a lot of burn out. So many deaths and funerals also that the Funeral homes could not keep up with the deaths, especially in New York, Chicago, LA and some of the big cities. The industry doesn’t have funeral directors in the pipeline to handle this amount of death. Many people have left the industry as they were burnt out. It’s just now coming out of the effects of Covid.
The Roast for President Dave is July 18 at the Pool and Yacht Club. The Changing of the Guard is next week on June 27 at COMO Park.
Laurie Murphy, scribe