165526 Resource 117783 116314 116314 1176239515095 1176239515095 Controlled Vestal Hills Listens: Community Matters

Vestal Hills Acts on Community Suggestions

Representatives from <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Vestal</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Hills</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Memorial Park</st1:PlaceType> informally polled several residents of the greater <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Broome</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> community regarding what they want and expect from their local cemetery – and Vestal Hills is listening and acting on their suggestions.    In 1996, when Vestal Hills was distressed and in need of tender loving care, CMS Mid-Atlantic's Chairman, Bernard Stoecklein, was by asked by the lot owners to become president of Vestal Hills.  Mr. Stoecklein immediately embarked on a program dedicated to restoring the financial integrity of Vestal Hills and restoring the beauty and dignity that was the hallmark of this cemetery for decades.   This restoration program needed to be funded and the only means available to a small, non-profit association like Vestal Hills was to raise revenue through the sale of cemetery property.  Vestal Hills is regulated by the New York State Cemetery Board and the Attorney General’s Bureau of Charities.  It is not a business corporation that can go to a bank – it is a small cemetery owned by its lot owners.  Vestal Hills cannot borrow money.   To fuel this restoration program, sales needed to increase and the only way to increase sales was to contact local residents by telephone to ask them to consider the benefits of pre-planning.  Vestal Hills realized that using the telephone to contact residents was bound to cause irritation.  Nevertheless, as Mr. Stoecklein explained, “The value of the survival of this cemetery to the community mandated extraordinary efforts that ultimately work to the benefit of the community”.   In the past several months, several residents have expressed dissatisfaction with the methods Vestal Hills used to reach out to families in the community.  Vestal Hills has taken these concerns to heart.  “We respect the residents of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Broome</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> community and have discontinued these efforts,” Stoecklein explained.  “We will no longer conduct a formal program of systematic telemarketing in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Broome</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.  The community has spoken and we have listened.”   Vestal Hills has reached a position of financial stability.  Today, nearly one out of every two Vestal families that choose ground burial or above ground entombment select Vestal Hills Memorial Park as their final resting place.  While community support is still essential to the survival of Vestal Hills, Vestal will use other means to reach out to members of the community.   “A cemetery is for the living,” explained Stoecklein.  “We want to preserve the natural beauty of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Vestal</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Hills</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Memorial Park</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> so that it continues to be a place where people can find solace and inspiration.”     Stoecklein invites the community to visit Vestal Hills Memorial Park to experience the beauty and solitude that can be found throughout the property -- in the gardens, at the gazebo and at Mirror Lake or to enjoy the breathtaking view from Liberty Terrace or the Tower of Memories Mausoleum which serves as a local landmark.    <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Vestal</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Hills</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Memorial Park</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> operates as a non-profit organization under the oversight of the New York State Attorney General’s Bureau of Charities and also under the auspices of the New York State Cemetery Board.  It also has a seven-member board of directors, the majority of whom are <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Broome</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> residents.   For more information about <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Vestal</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Hills</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Memorial Park</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>, visit the Vestal website at <A href="http://www.vestalhillsmemorialpark.org/">www.vestalhillsmemorialpark.org</A>.  The cemetery is located at <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">3997 Vestal Road</st1:address></st1:Street>.  The office is open daily during the week from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and until noon on Saturdays.  Family Service personnel are available Saturday and Sunday. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p>             10 application/xml 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