Advertise on podcast: Rest Assured: The Funeral Profession Podcast

On the latest episode of Rest Assured, Justin is joined by OGR President Kim Hunter from Humphrey Funeral Home A.W. Miles-Newbigging Chapel in Toronto, Canada. Kim and Justin discuss a variety of topics related to independent funeral service, including cremation trends, networking, working with high-notoriety clientele, the value of independence, and much more. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. 

On another new episode of Rest Assured, Justin is joined by Theresa Thielen from Hoffmann Schneider & Kitchen Funeral Home & Crematory in Dubuque, Iowa for a conversation about community involvement, professional development, and how funeral directors can position themselves as leaders in their community. Theresa also talks about her career in the funeral profession, what funeral directors can learn from customer service experts, and more. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. 

In the 2026 season premiere of Rest Assured, Justin is joined by Adam Guthrie from Huff-Guthrie Funeral Home & Cremation Services in Franklin, Pennsylvania. Adam and Justin talk about how funeral homes can organize community events and how events have changed Adam's strategy as a funeral home owner. The conversation also covers the value of networking and much more. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. 

In the season finale episode of Rest Assured, Justin is joined by Aiyanna Rivera from Pollock-Randall Funeral Home in Port Huron, Michigan. In a wide-ranging conversation, Aiyanna discusses the humanization of funeral service, working in a funeral home as a young professional, her passion for organ/tissue donation, and much more! Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. 

In the latest episode of Rest Assured, OGR Past President Chris Miller from Thomas Miller Mortuary & Crematory in Corona, CA, joins Justin for a deep dive into funeral home marketing. Justin and Chris discuss how marketing for funeral homes has changed, how to make your funeral home stand out, and the importance of engaging with your community both inside and out of the funeral home. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts!

On a special international episode of Rest Assured, Justin is joined by Bettina Jose, a licensed funeral director from Arlington Memorial Chapels & Crematory in Quezon City, Manila, Philippines. In a wide-ranging conversation, Bettina talks about the next generation of funeral directors, the funeral culture in the Philippines, mental health in the funeral profession, and much more! Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. 

In this week's episode of Rest Assured, Peter Urban, Jr. from Urban Funeral Home in Ambler, PA joins the show. Peter is a licensed funeral director and embalmer, and his conversation with Justin covers his embalming experience, his passion for Future Leader development and much more! Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. 

In the latest episode of Rest Assured, OGR Past President Evan J. Strong from Evan J. Strong Funeral Services in Calgary, Alberta joins the show to talk about all things independent funeral service. Evan and Justin discuss the value of staying independent, the latest trends they are noticing in the profession, Evan's cremation services, and much more! Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. 

In part 2 of our conversation with Jamie Wieting, Justin and Jamie discuss the question of whether "To Crematory or Not to Crematory?" They dive into Jamie's experience of offering cremations in her funeral home and share their opinions on the opportunities and costs associated with making that investment. 

In the first episode of the 2025 season of Rest Assured, host Justin Zabor sits down with Jamie Wieting, President of the International Order of the Golden Rule and a licensed funeral director at Wieting Family Funeral Home in Chilton, WI. Jamie discusses her career, how she got her start in funeral service, the growing number of female funeral directors, and much more!

Wally Hooker, President of the Indiana Funeral Directors Association, discusses the roots of his passion for embalming, his greatest challenges when working with families and how he's overcome those challenges, his advice for other funeral directors and those young professionals just getting out of mortuary school, as well as his take on the changes we've recently seen in the profession and how we can best move forward post COVID-19. We enjoyed getting to know such an influential and accomplished funeral director who has enjoyed an illustrious career in numerous leadership roles. 

Larnique will talk about as an Air Force Veteran how she moved to the funeral profession, and how she uses Tik Tok and Facebook (1500 followers) to promote her business and engage and educate the community about funerals.

In the spirit of The Changing Consumer, Liesel focuses on discussing ways to combat both “compassion fatigue” and “change fatigue” in our profession. Entering the 2020s with all the change we’ve experienced globally, both big and small, how do we ensure our employees aren’t overwhelmed by it all? Liesel also discusses the nuances of working with families in grief and how we can practice a more empathetic approach to our interactions with them. Her encouragement in lifelong relationship building, highlighting her own philosophy and approach, is an inspiring message to all of us, particularly in the funeral profession.

As we continue our conversation about The Changing Consumer, we enjoy a discussion with Justin Zabor thinking “out of the box” regarding ways our profession can better serve families. Justin will talk about the modern cremation consumer, how he integrated catering into his business, and other exciting innovations. We learn about his softer approach when working with families to honor their loved ones, believing the little things make a big difference. As Zig Ziggler put it, “they don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Justin highlights his approach to showing families how much he cares and moving the profession forward with that mindset.

In this week’s OGR podcast, we’ll talk with Barbara Kemmis, Executive Director of the Cremation Association of North America. Barbara will delve into the latest insights and trends in the world of cremation. She’ll share the results of CANA’s recent survey that addresses both human and pet cremations and cremation merchandising. So, whether you're a funeral director, a crematory operator, or simply someone interested in learning more about cremation, tune in for an informative and engaging conversation.