On the Brink of Economic Failure: Can Oregon Survive?ALF Issues a Wake-Up Call to Oregonians, Saturday
January 23, 2010 1~4 pm
Join state policy leaders and the American Leadership Forum (ALF) of Oregon for a timely and engaging exploration into the challenges facing our state and how an unstable revenue.....more info >>
Volunteers needed for focus group.....APACC is looking for business people, professionals and entrepreneurs who are interested in participating in a two-hour focus group on sustainability...more info >
Q&A with Kathy Wentz-Phelps
Omega Funeral & Cremation Service
What is the creation story for Omega Funeral and Cremation Service?
Omega Funeral & Cremation started in 1990 by husband and wife team - Erin Phelps and Kathy Wentz-Phelps. Both licensed funeral directors in Oregon. We wanted to offer affordable services with care and dignity to the families that that we serve. At the time Omega was started there were some larger corporations coming into Oregon and we wanted to keep the family feel to the service we provide.
How does the business differentiate itself from the competition?
Since we are family owned and operated the owners are right here to help make decisions that will serve our families better. We are honored to help serve people of different religions, cultures and back grounds. We welcome the different ceremonies and try to give the family what they need in a difficult time. We have heard that some funeral homes will no longer allow the burning of incense or candles. We want the families to be able to do the ceremonies that mean the most to them and welcome them to burn candles etc. I truly think we are Portland's lowest cost traditional funeral home and in any economic time - this helps the people we serve.
As the owner of the business, what is your primary role?
The primary role is to serve the families that come to us and to make sure the needs are met. Both Erin and Kathy wait on families and help them and help with the services. Kathy takes care of the human resources and administrative side of the business, the books etc. Erin and Kathy together take care of the decisions and the maintenance of the business. Erin always says "The buck stops here" meaning that he is responsible for the business and making sure that people are getting their needs met. Erin is the expert in helping families getting their loved ones to other countries, if needed.
What do you find most challenging about the work you do?
Balancing our time. It takes a lot of work to help people when they have had a death - to help plan services make phone calls etc. and to do the day to day duties of running a business. But we love what we do and we love to help people. We have been married for 23 years and have a 15 year old daughter who is very important to us - so we need to balance our time at Omega and at home to keep the balance for our life. Omega has a wonderful staff that helps us accomplish this.
What are some of the 'most frequently asked' questions you deal with?
We get asked many questions - on what type of services we provide and cost of our services. Also, people who want cremation would like to know if we own our own crematory (which we do and it is on site). Many people are interested in why we choose this line of work ~ but that is another story all together!
What are some of the most important lessons you've learned in this line of work?
Because of what we do we have learned that life is precious and to love honor our family. We are grateful for each other and for our business. We are sorry when people have a death in their life but we are honored when we are allowed to be part of their family for a short time and to help plan a service/ ceremony that will mean a lot to them. We have learned to work hard because in our line of work we do not want to make any mistakes that may upset a family even more. We have learned to be humble.
