Latest news with #EverstoryPartners
CBS News
29-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Woman says her mom's gravesite keeps flooding at Harrison cemetery
A cemetery in Harrison has been dealing with flooding issues for years, making it difficult for families to properly visit their loved ones. Now some are speaking out, saying not enough is being done to protect the gravesites of their loved ones. The gravesite of Sola Samuels' mother at Mount Airy Cemetery has been disfigured for years now. It's surrounded by caution tape and often covered in water, a heartbreaking sight she says she's been facing for nearly a decade. Her mother Ethel Samuels died in 2014, but within a couple of years, she noticed the gravesite issues. Samuels says now she's speaking out publicly, hoping for change. "I am going to see this through to the bitter end," Samuels said. "I came here to take care of my mother, and my mother is up there and I'm still going to take care of her. Life or death, this is going to be made right." Everstory Partners, the parent company of Mount Airy Cemetery, confirms they are aware of the flooding and have been for years. "It's a fair concern, and we want our family members to feel like they're being heard and the concern is being addressed," said Michele Stone, president of People Operations and Quality at Everstory Partners. "It's a really difficult situation. At significant rain events, the area does take on water." Stone says the cemetery installed a French drain in 2019, adjusted it last fall and recently regraded the topsoil to fix the issue. But for Samuels, those efforts have not been enough as her mother's grave remains flooded. "It just makes you want to cry," she said. "I mean, the emotion of seeing that is horrific. It just hits you inside and it hurts." Stone says Everstory has offered families the option to disinter and reinter their loved ones in a different section of the cemetery. However, Samuels says that option was never discussed until recently. "Now it's becoming public that they've offered, he said, 'Well, maybe we'll look into moving the graves.' That's the first time he said that, a couple days ago. A couple days ago. After 10 years," Samuels said. When asked if graves could be relocated within the same section, Stone said she didn't have an immediate answer but is open to that discussion. "We are actively working to correct the concerns there at this particular section of the park and will continue to be in touch," Stone said. "Communication is key." For Samuels, she hopes a permanent solution comes soon. "We want to preserve that area," Samuels said. "That would be the most wonderful thing to happen, that the ground is dry, that the graves are not disturbed in any way, that we can visit our loved ones and put flowers on their graves." Everstory Partners says a team will assess the section next week to determine if recent repairs are making a difference. They say they plan to provide updates to families as the process moves forward.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Everstory Partners Earns 2025 Great Place To Work Certification™
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla., May 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Everstory Partners is proud to be Certified™ by Great Place To Work® for 2025. The prestigious award is based entirely on what current employees say about their experience working at Everstory and its family of brands. Great Place To Work® is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience, and the leadership behaviors proven to deliver market-leading revenue, employee retention and increased innovation. "Over the past 24 months, we have been investing in our team — listening, learning, and evolving together," said Everstory Chief Executive Officer Lilly Donohue. "I am incredibly proud to lead this company and to work alongside such dedicated and passionate individuals." A few of the initiatives Everstory has implemented during this time: Increased the company-wide minimum wage. Launched Everstory University to enhance professional development. Implemented user-friendly technology platforms streamlining workflows. Launched advisory councils where our general managers, sales managers and funeral home managers provide insights and advice, ensuring the company makes informed decisions for its business and its people. Held town halls and implemented direct access to its executives for transparent communication. "Every step has been focused on creating a better workplace," Donohue added. "These efforts exemplify our dedication to an open, collaborative culture because we believe by fostering a supportive and engaging environment, we can truly be the best in family service." To be certified, the company earned the real-time feedback of employees regarding their company culture with approximately 80 percent of Everstory's 2,600 employees returning surveys sharing their thoughts on working at the company. "Great Place To Work Certification is a highly coveted achievement that requires consistent and intentional dedication to the overall employee experience," says Sarah Lewis-Kulin, vice president of global recognition at Great Place To Work. "By successfully earning this recognition, it is evident that Everstory Partners stands out as one of the top companies to work for, providing a great workplace environment for its employees." Everstory Chief People Officer Karen Sheean added: "Employee engagement is a key component of a multi-year commitment to listening to and understanding the voices of our employees through this program. We are thrilled to become Great Place To Work-Certified™ in our first year, however, we recognize that the real work is just beginning." "We owe our continued success to our team of dedicated employees at all of our Everstory locations and Support Center. We celebrate and thank them for all they do in earning this incredible recognition," Sheean said. Explore a Career at Everstory PartnersLooking to grow your career at a company that puts its people first? Visit our careers page at: About Everstory Partners Everstory Partners' mission is to create supportive spaces where individuals and families can find solace, meaning, and hope in the midst of loss. Since 1999, the company has grown to include 463 cemetery, funeral, and crematory locations serving more than 65,000 families a year across the United States (including Puerto Rico) on both a pre-need and at-need basis. Everstory is the brand promise, created in April 2023, to destigmatize death care with a unique blend of long-standing traditions of caring for the deceased with a fresh perspective that death is a natural and beautiful part of the human experience that should be planned and celebrated. Visit to learn more and for a list of properties and contact information. About Great Place to Work Certification™ Great Place To Work® Certification™ is the most definitive "employer-of-choice" recognition that companies aspire to achieve. It is the only recognition based entirely on what employees report about their workplace experience – specifically, how consistently they experience a high-trust workplace. Great Place to Work Certification is recognized worldwide by employees and employers alike and is the global benchmark for identifying and recognizing outstanding employee experience. Every year, more than 10,000 companies across 60 countries apply to get Great Place To Work-Certified. About Great Place To Work® As the global authority on workplace culture, Great Place To Work® brings 30 years of groundbreaking research and data to help every place become a great place to work for all. Their proprietary platform and For All™ Model helps companies evaluate the experience of every employee, with exemplary workplaces becoming Great Place To Work Certified™ or receiving recognition on a coveted Best Workplaces™ List. Learn more at and follow Great Place To Work on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Contact: Karen Sheean, Chief People Officer Phone: 503-841-7423 Email: kshee@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Everstory Partners Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Everstory Partners Earns 2025 Great Place To Work Certification™
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla., May 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Everstory Partners is proud to be Certified™ by Great Place To Work® for 2025. The prestigious award is based entirely on what current employees say about their experience working at Everstory and its family of brands. Great Place To Work® is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience, and the leadership behaviors proven to deliver market-leading revenue, employee retention and increased innovation. "Over the past 24 months, we have been investing in our team — listening, learning, and evolving together," said Everstory Chief Executive Officer Lilly Donohue. "I am incredibly proud to lead this company and to work alongside such dedicated and passionate individuals." A few of the initiatives Everstory has implemented during this time: Increased the company-wide minimum wage. Launched Everstory University to enhance professional development. Implemented user-friendly technology platforms streamlining workflows. Launched advisory councils where our general managers, sales managers and funeral home managers provide insights and advice, ensuring the company makes informed decisions for its business and its people. Held town halls and implemented direct access to its executives for transparent communication. "Every step has been focused on creating a better workplace," Donohue added. "These efforts exemplify our dedication to an open, collaborative culture because we believe by fostering a supportive and engaging environment, we can truly be the best in family service." To be certified, the company earned the real-time feedback of employees regarding their company culture with approximately 80 percent of Everstory's 2,600 employees returning surveys sharing their thoughts on working at the company. "Great Place To Work Certification is a highly coveted achievement that requires consistent and intentional dedication to the overall employee experience," says Sarah Lewis-Kulin, vice president of global recognition at Great Place To Work. "By successfully earning this recognition, it is evident that Everstory Partners stands out as one of the top companies to work for, providing a great workplace environment for its employees." Everstory Chief People Officer Karen Sheean added: "Employee engagement is a key component of a multi-year commitment to listening to and understanding the voices of our employees through this program. We are thrilled to become Great Place To Work-Certified™ in our first year, however, we recognize that the real work is just beginning." "We owe our continued success to our team of dedicated employees at all of our Everstory locations and Support Center. We celebrate and thank them for all they do in earning this incredible recognition," Sheean said. Explore a Career at Everstory PartnersLooking to grow your career at a company that puts its people first? Visit our careers page at: About Everstory Partners Everstory Partners' mission is to create supportive spaces where individuals and families can find solace, meaning, and hope in the midst of loss. Since 1999, the company has grown to include 463 cemetery, funeral, and crematory locations serving more than 65,000 families a year across the United States (including Puerto Rico) on both a pre-need and at-need basis. Everstory is the brand promise, created in April 2023, to destigmatize death care with a unique blend of long-standing traditions of caring for the deceased with a fresh perspective that death is a natural and beautiful part of the human experience that should be planned and celebrated. Visit to learn more and for a list of properties and contact information. About Great Place to Work Certification™ Great Place To Work® Certification™ is the most definitive "employer-of-choice" recognition that companies aspire to achieve. It is the only recognition based entirely on what employees report about their workplace experience – specifically, how consistently they experience a high-trust workplace. Great Place to Work Certification is recognized worldwide by employees and employers alike and is the global benchmark for identifying and recognizing outstanding employee experience. Every year, more than 10,000 companies across 60 countries apply to get Great Place To Work-Certified. About Great Place To Work® As the global authority on workplace culture, Great Place To Work® brings 30 years of groundbreaking research and data to help every place become a great place to work for all. Their proprietary platform and For All™ Model helps companies evaluate the experience of every employee, with exemplary workplaces becoming Great Place To Work Certified™ or receiving recognition on a coveted Best Workplaces™ List. Learn more at and follow Great Place To Work on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Contact: Karen Sheean, Chief People Officer Phone: 503-841-7423 Email: kshee@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Everstory Partners Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Yahoo
‘A long road': Mother awaiting her son's memorial bench at cemetery
MORAINE, Ohio (WDTN) — A mother's grieving period has stretched over the course of roughly five years. In late 2016, Asiah Hughes lost her 21-year-old son. Leo Montgomery was killed during a shooting at an area Roosters location. Hughes wanted to honor her son with a memorial bench that would be installed by his grave at West Memory Gardens in Moraine. Although her intent was to spend more time with him and sit by his gravesite, it seemingly turned into a long nightmare. 'He was a good kid. If he loves you, he loves you,' said Hughes. 'It was the most devastating day of my life.' In 2019, Hughes wanted to install a memorial bench in Leo's name. The process and payments began, but there is still no bench today. 'My price was $3,697.88, which is what this bench cost,' said Hughes. According to Leo's mother, she was working with someone who worked at the cemetery where her son is buried. That worker is said to have come to Hughes's home to collect the payments because of COVID-19. With time passing, no progress was visibly shown. Hughes contacted a number of people at the cemetery, but nothing was working. On the anniversary of Leo's death, Hughes received a phone call saying the bench order had been cancelled due to lack of payment. 'That was devastating. That was devastating to wake up to a phone call to say that his bench was canceled for nonpayment. It lit a fire underneath my feet,' said Hughes. 'I started immediately the next day. I cried about it that day, and I went through my emotions about it that day. My son's death, that you call me and tell me that his business has been canceled. But she tells me that it's being shipped out on the 27th of December. Which is it? Is it canceled or is it being shipped out on the 27th?' She decided it was time to turn to 2 NEWS for help. 'I was in denial for a long time, I didn't want to deal with this part of it at all,' said Hughes. 'But in order for me to heal, I feel like this was a step that i needed to take.' When Hughes reached out, 2 NEWS contacted the cemetery and Everstory Partners — its corporate office. WDTN received the following statement from the office: Thank you for bringing this viewer's concern to our attention. We have reviewed her file and note that we do not yet have a final design for Ms. Hughes' son's memorial bench. We have reached out to Ms. Hughes, and she is planning to come to our location tomorrow (Thursday, February 20) at 1:00 to review proposed designs and finalize the memorial. Once finalized, we will place an expedited order and hope to have an estimated delivery date in the coming weeks. We will install the bench immediately upon receipt and will send photographs to Ms. Hughes once installation is complete. We have confirmed that Ms. Hughes does not owe any additional sums for the memorial bench. Please let us know if you have additional questions. While we never like to hear that customers have received less than excellent customer service, I'm glad that we were able to not only identify the reason the bench had not yet been ordered, but also rectify the issue promptly. Thank you for your assistance in making this happen.' Everstory Partners After the meeting concluded, Hughes told 2 NEWS the meeting went very well and she was told that her bench will come in 3 to 6 months. She also said she is thankful for the new management of the cemetery helping her, as well as the effort from 2 NEWS. 'I gained a person. I gained a person that was really concerned about me,' said Hughes. 'I feel like without you guys, and without him, I don't know where I would be right now.' Hughes did say that she will still consider her options when it comes to holding those who kept the bench away from her responsible. Most importantly, Hughes wants to ensure that another family doesn't have to have the same experience that she endured. WDTN will be following Hughes's journey in the coming months. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
