Business Briefs BUSINESS PROFILE _ . Burrell joins Hooper Funeral Home """*** ?* i 4 By YVETTE N. FREEMAN Community News Editor Since 1946, the name Hooper Funeral Home has been synony mous with quality service and pro fessional staff people. That reputa tion is what has made the business one of the top African-American businesses in Winston-Salem. And although most people would think such a reputation could not be improved upon, that is indeed what is about to happen. Gregory Burrell joined Hoop er Funeral Home in January of this year as the new funeral director. He says it will be his job to take the funeral home into the next century. " I think this industry is changing so much and the consumer is becom ing more educated that we're look ing for more than just going to the church and having the funeral and going to the cemetery for the inter ment. It's going to be incumbent upon the 21st century funeral direc tor to provide families with more than just the traditional funeral interment service," he said. On^ particular service in addition to the traditional interment service at Hooper is the newly I i ** Gregory Burrell has a number of Ideas to improve and expand the services of Hooper Funeral Home, which he hopes will make the business a full service funeral home. By THEODORE R. DANIELS Credit life and disability insurance It has been documented that a greater percentage of African Americans use installment credit than the population as a whole. Moreover, as a group* we spend a greater percentage of our income for debt repayment if you fall into the category of a moderate to fre quent credit user* you wiH want to seek ways to reduce your tost of borrowing, . r - ' \* - ^ & IflM 1 In many instances, the revolving or installment credit arrange ment either requires or encourages the purchase df so yo# should fiever purchaseiredit life - y * . \ \ s J developed AfterCare Program, which is designed to help families cope with the loss of their loved ones. Burrell said the AfterCare. vir"q I Ti III I'm |.lmni ?r> jpor>rpr>r^tP into the Hooper tradition. "We are striving to become a full service funeral home. We want to be able to help families with whatever their needs are and do it in a professional and dignified way," he explained. "I am very strong on J CITY^ MARKET Downtown Winston-Salem 6th & Cherry St. FRESH-BAKED GOODS FLOWERS PLANTS CRAFTS AND MORE . . . CITY MARKET Every Tues. & Thurs. 10am-3pm We can help. We're paid only if you collect. Practice limited to serious injury and wrongful death. -Michael LEWIS ? ATTORNEYS AT LAW, PC. Michael Lewis David D. Daggett Celeste Harris 765-7777 Phon?s answered 24 hours 285 Executive Park Blvd. Winston -Salem, NC 27103 professionalism and ethics. I think that's very, very important. I just believe that when people are spend ing their money they should be pro vided with the best possible service, facilities, and staff possible. And that's what we're striving to provide here at Hooper Funeral Home." A native of Atlanta, Burrell's responsibilities as funeral director include hiring, training and devel oping the staff, directing and coor dinating all funeral home facilities and staff for all professional ser vices on each funeral, being respon sible for each family and being their primary spokesman for all profes sional and business dealings, over seeing all advertising and promo tions for the funeral home, making sure the staff regularly cares for and mnintninfi thr facilities, and uphold ing all professional and regulatory standards for the funeral home. "I love it. It's quite challeng ing," he said. "And I think my biggest challenge is to rebuild the business. I enjoy that challenge. I'm here to provide families with good, quality, professional funeral ser vice." That includes not only improving and expanding the ser vices of the funeral home, but also the facilities themselves. Currently, a number of physical changes are underway at the funeral home, which is located at 1417 East 14th Street. Burrell says the building itself will be enlarged and redeco rated. However, he stressed that the main emphasis will be to "develop services that we can offer to the families." Burrell, 31, is a graduate of Morehouse College, and Gupton Jones College, where he received an A.S. Degree in Funeral Service. He has been in tfeMweral heme busi Gregory Burred joined Hooper Funeral Home in January. He is the new funeral director of the family-owned business. ness since 1979. He is a member of the Georgia Funeral Service Practi tioners Association, Inc., the National Funeral Directors & Mor ticians Association, the North Car olina Funeral Directors Association ^nd the National Funeral Directors Association. He says he moved from Atlanta to Winston-Salem because of the fine reputation of Hooper F iiuor. Honv\ "It had a lot to do with the reputation of the funeral home because I checked it out before I moved. And they had an almost flawless reputation, and that influenced my decision a lot," he said. "And il had a good quality ?? business. They wanted to maintain _s the tradition and the business that Mr. Hooper, the founder, had built" Burrell hopes to own his own funeral home in the future or become a partner of an already established one. But he says, "111 be here for as long as the Hoopers want me here, and hopefully that'll be a long time." Hooper Funeral Home was founded in 1946 by Thomas Hooper Jr., when he bought the Fitch Funer al Home and renamed it. Initially located on North Highland Avenue, Hooper moved the business to its present facility on 14th Street in rijL96& It was incorporated in 1991. ><$toros