My Two Cents Worth

From the Desk of the Executive Secretary:

My Two Cents Worth--

Mack55

KSBMA Executive Secretary
Mack Smith

Last Updated: Thursday, November 19, 2009

Web Site Activity As hard as it is for me to believe, we had 103,734 successful requests for access to the KSBMA web site in the month of October! That's a truck load--and is double from a year ago.

Rule Book Update We've updated our rule book with laws current as of October 15, 2009. The rule book can be printed off at no cost to your from our website or you can purchase a copy by sending $5.00 to our office. If you have a good quality printer that will print both back and fronts, then free is a good price. Otherwise, with a total of approximately 50 pages, $5.00 may be the way to go. The rule book is saved in Adobe Acrobat Reader (pdf) format. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader already installed on your computer, please visit their site to download it at no cost.

The American Society of Embalmers (ASE) If you're a licensed embalmer and haven't yet taken a look at joining the ASE, I suggest you checkout the ASE Website for membership information. Their quarterly newsletter is worth the price of membership which is currently only $75 for the initial year and $45 per year thereafter. Student membership is available, also. You can join with a credit card online or you can print off a membership application, and pay via check. ASE Co-Founder Bob Mayer, CFSP, was Recognized by the National Funeral Directors Association at their 2009 Annual Convention in Boston. The ASE Executive Director is Melissa Johnson Williams, CFSP, who is also a Co-Founder of the ASE. Kansas licensee Mark McDonald from Beloit is on the ASE's Board of Directors.

Death Certificates On December 9, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE)/Office of Vital Statistics (OVS) will conduct a public hearing over proposed amendments to regulations that would result in a price increase for death certificates. If adopted, the proposed cost for each death purchased would be $15.00. Information can be found on the KDHE/OVS web site, including: Proposed Regulations Economic Impact Statement and Notice of Public Hearing. UPDATED 11-4-2009.

PLEASE NOTE that some of the information on our web site is in pdf/Adobe Acrobat Reader format. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader already installed on your computer, please visit their site to download it.

KSBMA License Fees Look for our license fees to remain the same for the upcoming two-year biennial licensing period of January 1, 2010 until December 31, 2011. This will mean that fees will have remained the same for six (6) consecutive years, three (3) biennial licensure period. We do our best to not raise fees unless we absolutely have to.

I'm having some shoulder surgery on November 20, 2009 and will be out of the office for a while, but Mary and Francis will be glad to assist you in any way they can until I get back as soon as possible. ADDED 11-19-2009

Questions, Thoughts, Suggestions??? Please let me know if there is anything else you would like to see us include on this page or anywhere on our website. Constructive criticism is always appreciated. Our contact information is listed below. My direct email address is: mack.smith@ksbma.ks.gov

700 SW Jackson Street, Suite 904 - Topeka, Kansas 66603-3733
phone:(785) 296-3980 - fax:(785) 296-0891 - email: boma1@ksbma.ks.gov

Business Hours: 8 a.m.-12 noon & 12:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday - Friday
Please leave us a message on our voice mail if we are unable to answer your call or send us an email at: boma1@ksbma.ks.gov

***Due to the State of Kansas changing over to a new financial management system (FMS), attendance at meetings will require that our telephones be placed on voice mail from time to time. I apologize for this, but we will return all phone calls and emails just as soon as possible.***