[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 22 (Thursday, March 3, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 3, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
 CONGRATULATIONS TO JOE MERRITT ON THE OCCASION OF HIS ELECTION TO THE 
                         PRESIDENCY OF THE NFDA

 Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I would like to take this 
opportunity to congratulate an outstanding man on the occasion of his 
election to the presidency of the National Funeral Directors 
Association [NFDA]. Mr. John C. ``Joe'' Merritt has been a licensed 
funeral director and embalmer since 1974, when he received the Mu Sigma 
Alpha Society award for excellence from the California College of 
Mortuary Science.
  Joe was born and raised on an American Indian reservation. He and his 
wife Kerry are the parents of two daughters, Brandi, who was a nursing 
student at the Washington State Intercollegiate School of Nursing 
before her death as a result of a brain tumor on November 1, 1992, and 
Bradi, a business student at Washington State University.
  Joe and Kerry own and operate Merritt Funeral Home, Langevin-
Mussetter Funeral Home, Jones & Jones Funeral Home, and Waterville 
Funeral Home. Joe is a past president of the Washington State Funeral 
Directors Association as well as a past president of the State Funeral 
Insurance Agency. Joe has served NFDA as chairman of the committee for 
audits of brochures and booklets and as a member of the education 
affairs steering committee. Additionally, Joe has served as NFDA's 
secretary, treasurer, and president-elect. Joe's outstanding 
contributions to NFDA have enabled the association to better serve its 
members through improved communications and educational programs.
  During the upcoming year, Joe hopes to help NFDA establish itself 
more fully as a flexible, growing, and dynamic leader in the funeral 
service industry. Finally, Joe believes that NFDA's priorities should 
mirror those of the truly committed funeral service professional: The 
consumer first, the profession second, and the individual third.
  The National Funeral Directors Association has elected an able and 
committed leader as their president for 1994. They are fortunate to 
have such a leader, and I commend Mr. Merritt on his great achievement 
in becoming president of the National Funeral Directors 
Association.

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