Here at SAF we work hard to promote positive messages to funeral directors about the role of flowers in the bereavement process. Thanks to a generous contribution to the SAF PR Fund by Asocolflores, this year's efforts focus on an "open letter" ad campaign in monthly issues of the National Funeral Director Association magazine, The Director. We do this in hopes of creating top-of-mind awareness of flowers and why the use of the "in lieu of flowers" can be a detriment to florists, but most importantly bereaved families. But we have always said that this effort will only reach its potential when local florists reach out to their local funeral directors to establish a dialogue towards a better working relationship. I am happy to report that more and more florists are doing just that -- the latest being Karl Wirth of Wirth Florist, Inc. of Merchantville, New Jersey. Karl brought it up in conversation with the funeral director who presided over a family member's service. She had "no awareness of the sensitivity [of the use of the 'in lieu of' phrase]." Karl didn't only discuss it in passing, but took the reins and followed up with a nice letter to make sure he got his point across. He found SAF's suggested letter to be a good guide but used his own words to capture the spirit of their personal conversation.

This goes to show that while some funeral directors encourage the phrase so they don't have to deal with the hassles of transporting or cleaning up after the flowers, some may not even think about the ramifications of those four words. How does your funeral director feel about the phrase? Have you asked them? Maybe it's time to find out.

It's always great to see firsthand that your advertising is working. Especially with funeral directors. That's just what happened when I received a letter from Dwayne Spence, an Ohio funeral director and past president of the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA).

As many know, thanks to the support of Asocolflores to the SAF PR Fund, the industry is benefitting from an open letter to funeral directors ad in 12 consecutive issues of NFDA's magazine, The Director. In response to the FIRST placement of that ad this year (May), Dwayne gushed over the benefits of flowers to the bereaved, and spoke wholeheartedly in support of alternative phrasing to "in lieu of flowers." Music to our industry ears. And the best part is, he didn't just whip off an e-mail or leave a Voicemail, he took the time to write a letter the old fashioned way -- that tells me he really meant it.

The goal of this campaign is to plant the seed to funeral directors and get them thinking about, and appreciating, the unique role of sympathy flowers -- and make the point that there is a better way to honor a family's request for memorial contributions than that negative phrase. It's obviously working but that won't solve the problem. What will truly get the point across is florists taking the next grassroots step in contacting their local funeral directors. Establish a dialogue, form a relationship built on mutual respect and common objectives -- to help grieving families get through a hard time in their lives with services that provide comfort and reassurance that their needs are being taken care of. Positive experiences create loyalty.

SAF provides all the tools, you just need to make the effort: www.safnow.org/sympathy.

When was the last time you had a conversation with your funeral director? Dwayne's letter could be a great ice breaker.