10 minute read

Saskatoon Funeral Home

from Business Voice - March / April 2020

by Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce

from Business Voice - March / April 2020, page 38

Article from: Business Voice - March / April 2020

Chair’s Message

A Fourth Generation Family Business Saskatoon Funeral Home

by Elizabeth Ireland

Saskatoon Funeral Home (SFH) is operated by the Edwards family and is the only locallyowned funeral service provider left in our city. The SFH team is highly experienced in managing traditional and non-traditional funeral services for individuals of various faiths and philosophies. The Edwards family employs 25 full-time employees and another 40 part-time employees, many of whom have been with the organization for 10 plus years. Founder and great grandfather William A. Edwards was born in Ontario in 1886. He moved to Saskatoon as an undertaker at the age of 24 and established what has become a 110-year family enterprise. His son Arnold continued to build the family’s business (interestingly, Arnold was trained as a social worker). Now representing the third generation of the family, Bill Edwards is President and a Funeral Director at SFH. Bill is also a registered architect who practiced for three decades. Working alongside his father, Bill’s son Morgan Edwards (fourth generation) is General Manager, Funeral Director and Embalmer. In addition, Morgan’s mother Eleanor coordinates the Edwards Family Centre. Established in 1995, the centre provides a place for funeral luncheons and memorial receptions. The centre also offers a grief-related lending library and supports non-profit community groups by providing a comfortable location to meet at no cost. After graduating in commerce from the University of Saskatchewan, Morgan worked for seven years at the non-profit organization SaskAbilities. It was an experience he describes as “very rewarding.” Morgan joined the family business in 2007 and earned his professional certification as a funeral director and embalmer. From an outsider’s perspective, it seems that funeral services might not be a career suited to everyone. “Being comfortable one-onone with people is an asset, as well as having a warm and relatable

personality. Luckily, these are characteristics that come quite naturally to us in Saskatoon and Saskatchewan in general,” says Morgan.

SFH’s current downtown location is a distinctive mid-century modern building. It is worth noting that SFH is the only Saskatoon funeral provider with 24-hour onsite attendance and guardianship for loved ones.

“It’s an unpredictable profession in terms of hours, although Saturdays are often the most sought-after days for funeral services. A pitfall that funeral directors can experience in the industry is allowing oneself to go down the path of grief with a family, rather than being there for the family. It’s a fine line but achieving that balance can make the difference between burnout and a successful career. In many ways, being a funeral director is more of a vocation or calling,” says Morgan.

Bill Edwards notes the spiritual and cultural diversity of the funeral services that SFH provides is achieved by working directly with faith-based community leaders. He describes Saskatoon in the early 1900s as “very Judeo-Christian at first.” Responding to the diverse changes in our community over the past century, the SFH team provides services to all faiths and backgrounds. With a growing community comes demand for specialized services, such as repatriation to an overseas country for final burial. In the case of a military funeral, the repatriation arrangements are back to Canada and done in partnership with the federal government.

Other businesses under the Edwards family ownership umbrella include Westwood Funeral and Cremation Services, located on 20 th Street West in the Pleasant Hill neighbourhood. In 1970, the Edwards family established Prairie View Crematorium – the first crematorium in the province, located just south of the city on Highway 11, in a setting of peace and serenity. Demand for cremation services continues to increase. Image: Saskatoon Chamber

The Edwards family also assists individuals and families with the loss of a pet through its Family Pet Cremation Services. This business works with veterinarians throughout Saskatoon and the surrounding area. Family pets range from cats and dogs to more exotic animals such as emus and snakes.

While it might seem a delicate question, what are the trends in funerals in 2020? “In Saskatoon, more than 60 percent of services today are cremations. Trends in our industry tend to move from the west coast to east coast so we often look to British Columbia for what’s next. There are fewer public visitations than there used to be. Baby boomers in particular are more interested in planning ahead, sometimes with a less formal gathering or a celebration of life,” says Morgan.

Other trends that Morgan notes include livestreaming funerals, particularly if family members are located overseas or not mobile. Another first that the Edwards family has brought to Saskatoon is a telepresence robot that attends the funeral – providing a way for a family member to give a eulogy, visit with family and guests, or pay their respects from another city or country.

Recently, SFH partnered with the Western Development Museum in Saskatoon for the W.A. Edwards Funeral Home Exhibit on Boomtown (a life-size Prairie town set in 1910). This permanent exhibit is the first of its kind in Canada and highlights the history of funeral service in Saskatchewan through mementos and storytelling.

SFH remains committed to the values of compassion, dignity, integrity and professional excellence.

Saskatoon Funeral Home 338 - 4 th Avenue North (306) 244-5577 mail@saskatoonfuneralhome.com saskatoonfuneralhome.com

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Mayor Charlie Clark

Tuesday, April 9 th 11:30 am - 1:00 pm TCU Place

Saskatchewan’s Intersection of Education and Innovation by Elizabeth Ireland

Jordan Dutchak, Executive Director of Co.Labs, discusses the uniqueness of Minister Tina Beaudry-Mellor’s role. In our province, the Minister of Advanced Education is also the Minister responsible for Innovation Saskatchewan (as well as the Minister responsible for the Status of Women). Dutchak sees the synergy of combining advanced education with innovation and describes it as “a competitive advantage.”

Interestingly, there are a number of education technology (or EdTech) startups and scale-ups in Saskatoon. Athlete Era is notably one of them and was cofounded by Corey Edington, Andrew Leslie and Kent Walters (Athlete-Era.com). This start-up provides mobile learning apps for sports and augmented reality software and has been in the Co.Labs Program since the very beginning.

Located in the same building as Co.Labs, Greg Sutton is CEO of TinyEYE Therapy Services. Sutton has been a Co.Labs Board member since its inception and is someone that Dutchak describes as “a godfather of local tech.” Sutton’s network and “unbiased feedback” have benefitted companies like Athlete Era, who are also operating in the EdTech sphere. TinyEYE offers online speech therapy services and the majority of its employees work remotely.

“Through Co.Labs, I can meet with founders and tell them how it worked out for us. There are a lot of commonalities: trying to scale up, forming a leadership team, market differentiation and creating value. These aren’t specific to EdTech companies. Co.Labs is a critical piece in the cultural shift necessary for tech innovation and moving the needle in Saskatoon,” says Sutton.

One of the newest companies at Co.Labs is Planly – a way for users to sync all of their financial accounts on one platform and set milestones. Planly takes an individual’s current financial situation and combines it with their financial goals to provide a bird’s eye view. “Co.Launch is probably the best opportunity in the province for a new tech company. The network and resources they provided helped transform our original idea and turn it into what it is today. Financial planning is an extremely important, but often overlooked part of our lives. We’ve seen significant growth in the robo-advisor space, which is setting the stage for robo-planners like Planly,” says Justin Halldorson, Planly’s Founder and Director (planly.ca).

In other news, Co.Labs recently launched Co.Learn, a five-stream program created to help the next generation build their own start-ups and launch careers. “You can begin by attending events or becoming a volunteer. If you're looking to go deeper, there is a scholarship program, a one-day skills summit or internships at our start-ups,” says Aditi Chadha, Co.Labs’ Youth Program Lead.

“The Youth Program aims to engage youth between the ages 15 to 29. With such a wide age range, we've chosen year one to focus on youth 19+ who can take immediate advantage of streams that offer internships and postsecondary scholarships. We’re excited to have soft-launched the program, meaning that 2/5 streams are live on our website, and we’ve begun engaging with various stakeholders and program participants. Our hard launch will take place on February 27th at our Co.mmunity Night where we'll make some exciting announcements regarding the other streams,” adds Chadha.

With so much going on at Co.Labs, and ramping up for the spring, Dutchak describes right now as “the calm before the storm.”

Co.Labs is Saskatchewan’s first technology incubator and has served as a creative collaboration space for 90 tech start-ups in its first 32 months of operation. Co.Labs is funded by the provincial and federal government through Innovation Saskatchewan and Western Economic Diversification Canada.

Co.Labs Innovation Place 229-116 Research Drive, Saskatoon www.co-labs.ca | @colabsyxe

The 1 st WEDNESDAY of every Month 4:30 pm at LB Distillers

Connect with the business community and enjoy great food and drinks at Chamber on Tap on the first Wednesday of each month. Learn Entrepreneur Insights when our host Nadine Kanigan interviews members of the business community.

Wednesday, March 4 th

Evan Drisner NuFab Building Products

Evan Drisner is the managing partner of NuFab Building Products, part of the AllFab Group of Companies, a manufacturing, and resale company in the construction industry.

Wednesday, April 1 st

Asif Moola Momentum Clothing

In 2001, Asif Moola bought Momentum Clothing, a Saskatoon based retailer that specializes in streetwear, sneakers, outerwear and premium accessories.

Wednesday, May 6 th

Jim & Brenda Nowakowski JNE Welding

The Nowakowskis are part owners of JNE Welding, a custom industrial steel fabrication company with two locations in Saskatoon and employ 130-150 skilled people.