Indiana Resident with Lifelong Aspirations to Enter Funeral Profession is Inaugural Recipient
DEERFIELD, ILL. — September 2, 2010 — Selected Independent Funeral Homes Educational Trust announced today that it has awarded its first ever Second-Career Scholarship to Robert Bogue of Frankfort, Ind., in the amount of $1,500 toward his studies in the Funeral Service Education Program at Vincennes University.
The scholarship was created to meet the educational needs of the increasing number of second-career professionals entering the funeral industry seeking positions as funeral directors, a role traditionally filled by family members who have grown up in the business and whose ancestors have owned and operated funeral firms for decades if not generations.
Bogue, who is currently employed full-time as a Journeyman Lineman at Frankfort Light and Power, is also putting one of his two daughters through college at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., as he continues his own education. “With one daughter in college and another in high school, this scholarship will afford me a greater opportunity to achieve my lifelong desire of becoming a funeral director,” said Bogue.
He also works as a part-time funeral assistant at Goodwin Funeral Home in Frankfort and is an ordained deacon with more than twenty-five years’ experience in youth ministry. Bogue says he believes it is his calling to become a funeral director and help others in their greatest time of need.
The Second-Career Scholarship is one of several programs of the Selected Educational Trust which was founded by Selected Independent Funeral Homes, a worldwide professional association of independent, locally-owned funeral homes founded in 1917.
In order to be eligible for the scholarship, applicants must not be related to an owner of a funeral firm currently in operation and must be currently enrolled in a Mortuary Science program at an accredited school. By creating the program, the Trust hopes to attract and assist future practitioners interested in entering the profession.
“We are thrilled to have Robert as the first recipient of our Second-Career Scholarship,” said Robert J. Paterkiewicz, Administrative Trustee for the Selected Educational Trust. “He truly exemplifies what this program is all about. His desire and life experience combined with his education in the field will be a tremendous asset to the funeral service industry.”
Upon graduation, Bogue hopes to one day become a partner or owner of a funeral home and carry on what he calls a “noble profession.”
About the Selected Educational Trust
The Selected Educational Trust was established in 1982 as a charitable organization to develop and present educational programs on business management, counseling, personnel management and other topics of interest to the membership of Selected Independent Funeral Homes. Since then, it has expanded its role and funding opportunities to benefit the entire funeral home profession.
This fall, it will hold its inaugural Fundraising Gala and Silent Auction in conjunction with Selected’s Annual Meeting on October 1 at Walt Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. More information on the Selected Educational Trust and its activities can be found on its all-new website at www.selectedtrust.org.
Editor’s Note: Photo of Robert Bogue available upon request. Please contact Lisa Gunggoll at lgunggoll@lg-pr.com.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Lisa Gunggoll, LG-PR
708.829.8669 (mobile)
lgunggoll@lg-pr.com
