Our company, our family, and our staff have very strong ties to the community in which we live and work. We are all active socially, but more important are our service involvements. We believe very strongly in putting back into the community, as our community has given to us.

          Alan Gardiner is now semi-retired, but in the past has been active in Rotary, Thunder Bay Executives' Association, the Masonic Lodge, the Shriners, the Royal Canadian Air Force Auxiliary as a commissioned officer, various fraternal / professional / business organizations, and various musical and stage productions (as performer, soloist, narrator, producer, sponsor). His hobbies include swimming (almost daily), some small-game hunting / fishing, and quiet times at camp. He is a member of St. Paul's United Church where he sings bass in the church choir. It should also be noted that he joins in with the various church choirs when we are conducting church funerals. He can sing in English, Latin and Italian.

          John-Bryan Gardiner has served on the Board of Directors for: CrimeStoppers (1986-92 and 1999-01), Thunder Bay Executives' (1987-89), St. Paul's United Church (1990-92), Shelter House (1994-00), Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce (1998-00). On several of these Boards, he also served terms on the executive committee including the role of Chairman (CrimeStoppers and Shelter House). While no longer active, he is a commissioned officer in the Canadian Armed Forces Reserves, and also worked with air, army and naval league cadets for many years. His interests include working around his home and lawn, his dogs, auto racing, auto mechanics and restoration, hunting, fishing, camping, and spending time with his family (especially his daughter). He is a member of: the Thunder Bay Autosports Club, the Winnipeg Sportscar Club, the Lakehead Antique Car Club, the Professional Car Society, the Cadillac-LaSalle Club, Ducks Unlimited, and various professional and business associations. He is currently an adherent of Lakeview Presbyterian Church. He has also been extremely involved in public speaking engagements with various churches, schools clubs, etc... on the topics of funeral service, Shelter House, and CrimeStoppers.

          We do not compel our staff to join a club or community organization. On their own accord, they are heavily involved in: their various churches, service organizations, fraternal clubs, professional and business associations, musical and stage productions, and a variety of social groups.

          For many years our firm has been a corporate member of numerous professional and business associations. These memberships included local, provincial, national and international groups. However, there is an annual cost attatched to being a member, but even more important is the cost of being involved. Without involvement, what does one really get for the cost of membership? In recent years we have been closely assessing the cost vs. the benefits of our memberships. As a result, we are now members of fewer professional groups, but we are more active. We are not members for the purposes of appearances or attending annual conventions. We are involved because we want to continue to learn and be informed about changes in our profession, new ideas, services and products. This is one way the we are able to continually improve our service to You, our client. This web-site is only one example of the benefits of some professional memberships.

          For many years, within our abilities, our family and our company have put a great deal of money back into our community in the form of charitable donations. Unlike some businesses, we do not give away large cheques which get our picture in the newspaper. Typically we have preferred to make smaller, more discreet donations which eventually do total a large amount of money over the year. We believe very strongly in supporting the community that supports us!

          In recent years, we have been inundated with requests for money from many worthwhile charities. Having been involved in fundraising with service clubs and local charities, we know that there is more competition for the charitable dollar, and we were having a difficult time determining who we should be supporting. Likewise, for most businesses, the profit margins just are not available anymore to make donations, and we ourselves were having to make some serious decisions.

          Therefore, in the fall of 1999, based on a concept from one of our own staff, we developed our "donation program". The program is simple: a) We will make a donation in memory of the deceased person we are caring for. b) The family determines which charity the donation will go to. c) The amount of the donation is based on the amount that the family spends with us. d) We receive credit for the donation with a simple tasteful statement in the obituary.

          This program allows us to directly tie our charitable givings to our sales (revenue and volume) on an ongoing basis. We no longer need to set a specific budget and worry about exceeding it. It also removes the pressure of having to decide which charity gets, and which doesn't. Furthermore, most charities no longer call us, because they know how our program works, and it is up to the charity to keep themselves visible so that families will suggest them. Lastly is does provide us with some credit for our "good works". Individual donations may not be large, but over time they can really add up to a large sum of money. Likewise, we have been overwhelmed by the positive response and thank you cards that we have received from the families we serve.

          Thank you for joining us on our web-site.  We hope that you have learned something new about us.

 - John-Bryan Gardiner, Vice-President, Managing Partner.