Eternal Image Inc (fka ETNLQ)

[al44]

Orlando news:-

http://www.wesh.com/news/17705695/detail.html


Funeral Caskets Get Major League Makeover
Sports Teams, Other Personalization Offered

POSTED: 4:56 pm EDT October 13, 2008
UPDATED: 5:22 pm EDT October 13, 2008
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ORLANDO, Fla. -- The funeral industry is seeing a change. Caskets are going major league.

Caskets can be donned with images of the New York Yankees, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Red Sox -- just to name a few.

Video: Personalization Offered For Caskets

"As baby boomer are making the decisions, we came out with the baseball urns last year and that was huge, and so this year here in Orlando we thought we’d roll out the caskets. The reception has been overwhelming," Nick Popravsky of Eternal Image said.

Olympic gold medalist Jason Lezak was on hand for the unveiling at the national funeral directors trade show at the orange county convention center.

"For me this is a pretty special thing," Lezak said of his gold medal. "So I could see myself having this on there."

"If you went to a funeral home and you wanted the Mets. It's about $4,500. Authentic Mets casket," Popravsky said.

"This is a neat idea. I come from very traditional but this something, it's interesting," Pennsylvania funeral director Vince Fuleno said.

The appeal is to the younger generation to provide a more personal funeral for sports fans.

More colleges, as well as NFL and NBA teams to choose from are on the way.

Meanwhile, Lew Hall, the President Of Florida Funeral Directors Association said the national average for a funeral is $6,000, but he said his industry is not seeing the layoffs and closures that others have in flailing economic times.

"At this time what we're seeing a lot of people coming to us for employment from other careers for some stability," Hall said.

The face of funeral service is also changing -- currently 60 percent of morturary science students are women. That's a 71 percent increase from 12 years ago.

Those involved in the industry are bracing for the worst, but, in the meatime, Hall said they are working on legislation to help the jobless make the transition into the funeral industry.