President Clent walker presided, Linda Mast led us in prayer, Matt Greenlee recited the 4 Way Test and Roy Loo led us in the pledge to our flag. Art Harrington led us in a song.
Thought of The day by Jerry Frohman: Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out.
Catheryn Tuberty announced our next meeting will be in a different meeting room at the Resort and to follow the arrows. She also announced the clubs annual Christmas party will be held on December 9th.
Guests : Laura Vanderburg From Cody WY, Chelsea Sederstrom from Touchmark and Jean Gurga our new VA rep.
Sargent of arms Dan Beyer, fined everyone who watched the Presidential Debates $2, Matt Greenlee $2 for no name badge, John Stewart $5 for wearing John Whites’ badge and had one person from each table spin the Rotary wheel to determine our fines. Jerry Hulm spun the wheel for those on Zoom. Lots of Happy Bucks. Richard Hernandez carried the spittoon. Dan Beyer won the pot.
Art Harrington Presented Paul Harris Fellow awards to the following members: Bud Ackerman +4, Clent Walker+1, Jerry Hulm+1, Harry Oberg+1, Stan Steiner+1, Teresa Smith+2, T Smith+4 and Catheryn Tuberty+5.
President Clent Walker, wearing two hats today, kicked off the meeting to a great start, then was introduced by Art Harrington as 
our guest speaker. Clent has lived in this area for 18 years, been a Sunup Rotarian for most of that time and has been a mortician for 38 years.
A mortician handles all aspects of the funeral profession, helping people through the process of funeral planning, which can be daunting. The average cost of a funeral is 5 to 7 thousand dollars for arrangements and 6 to 7 thousand dollars for burial. Costs of cremation in this area are between 1 and 2 thousand dollars. In 2019, the U S had a cremation rate of 54.6%. Arizonas’ rate was 71%, with an annual death rate of 45 thousand per year.
By law, funeral homes must provide a copy of the Consumer Guide to Arizona Funerals, published by the Arizona State Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers, to prospective clients, along with a complete price list of services provided. Cemeteries also must list prices for all services. The Federal Trade Commission can levy fines of 50 thousand dollars for failure to comply. OSHA also regulates the industry. All discussions between a client and funeral home are confidential. Arizona is a closed record state. Vital statistics are sealed for 75 years, death certificates for 50 years.
Plan ahead with funeral arrangements when possible. Check out funeral homes in your area to ensure a comfortable relationship. Pre-paid insurance plans, honored by most funeral homes are available with clauses for additional services to be added. Yavapai county will provide cremation for indigents living in poverty. Military veterans may be eligible for funeral benefits. The basic veteran benefit is a headstone and burial vault in a National Cemetery or Veterans Cemetery. Funeral homes will assist veterans with this complicated process.
Arizona has an Immunity Document for self-authorization of burial or cremation. An applicant must prove competency and pre-pay all expenses. All vital statistics of anyone to be buried or cremated must be on record before the process is completed. Bodies shipped out of state must have a transfer permit issued by the Office of Vital Statistics. Clent stated anyone considering donating their body for research should be very specific about its uses. When someone dies in a hospital, a doner network is notified. The network then notifies the family of the deceased about donating and determination of use.
