EterniTrees Receives a “Keeping It Personal” Award

STERLING, VA (February 6, 2013)—EterniTrees in Gresham, Oregon, has won First Place in the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association’s 2012 KIP (Keeping It Personal) Awards, recognizing the best in personalization in the cemetery, funeral service and cremation profession.

Created by the ICCFA Personalization Committee, the KIP program honors recipients in five categories. EterniTrees was honored in the Innovative Personalized Product category.

The ICCFA’s 2012 KIP Awards contest drew 41entries from across the United States, Canada and Austria. Marketing and communications professionals from outside the cemetery and funeral service profession performed the judging.

EterniTrees LLC was created by two cemeterians, Nicholas Hammerling and Helen DuBarry and Executive VP of sales and marketing, Governor Jay, in Oregon who recognized that the trend of cremation over traditional burials is hastening and also that green preferences are becoming increasingly important to families.

EterniTrees urns are biodegradable yet strong enough to cradle the precious ashes of a loved one or pet. The top of the urn is a sealed bio chamber that, once buried, absorbs moisture from rain and then the mixture inside expands to cover the cremated remains neutralizing the pH, thus allowing the tree seeds of your choice to grow.

Each urn is designed to hold about one-seventh of a person or a small pet. This allows multiple family members to plant their own tree that is specific to their planting zone. These urns exemplify the vision “Heal Your Heart—Heal the Planet.”

“We were extremely pleased with the broad range and high quality of entries to the KIP Awards program this year,” said Steve Bittner, chair of the ICCFA’s Personalization Committee. “The staff at EterniTrees demonstrates a strong commitment to serving the death-care industry.  They are true leaders within our profession and are very deserving of this prestigious award.”

All KIP Awards recipients will be recognized at the ICCFA 2013 Annual Convention & Exposition, April 10-13 at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida, and in ICCFA Magazine.

Founded in 1887, the ICCFA is the only international trade association representing all segments of the cemetery, cremation funeral and memorialization industry. Its membership is comprised of over 7,500 cemeteries, funeral homes, memorial designers, crematories and related businesses worldwide.