The Cemetery Chronicles

Dominic and Bobby sit down with Brandon Finley from CIMS Cemetery Management Software to talk about how AI and technology are changing cemetery work—from photographing every monument and digitizing old records to digital deed signatures and selling graves online. Bobby also starts looking at bringing Oakland Cemetery onto CIMS.CIMS hits about a thousand cemeteries in the cloud, with remote team members and steady new featuresGIS mapping as the backbone: lot owners, burials, and inventory in one place instead of card files and booksMonument photos, OCR, and AI reading handwriting and old records (still needs a human check)How CIMS staff use AI day to day for code and data-migration scriptsDigital deed signatures and the push toward selling graves online—what cemeteries worry about, and what software has to get rightOakland Cemetery exploring a CIMS partnership, plus the podcast listener discount for BobbyEmail us at [email protected] Association of Cemeteries https://mncemeteries.orgLike us on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574151340561Please support our sponsorsParadise Pictures 1-800-960-8040 or visit online at https://paradisepictures.com — Let them know you listen to The Cemetery Chronicles and get a free sample!CIMS Cemetery Management Software. Visit online at https://cimscemeterysoftware.com — They will give you a 10% discount on a new software license just for listening to us!Coldspring. Visit them online at https://coldspringusa.com/memorial

Dominic and Bobby are deep in fall cleanup: wet leaves, a warm fall and getting the cemetery ready for winter. They compare how their cemeteries handle wreaths, weeds and crabgrass. Dominic gives a sneak peek at the new Minnesota Association of Cemeteries website and talks about how AI is changing day-to-day cemetery work.Fall leaf cleanup: wet leaves, working with the wind, and new blowers that cut a four-to-six-week job down to about a week and a halfWreath season: when wreaths arrive, when families can put them out, and stands versus tying wreaths on monumentsGetting the grounds ready for winter: pulling trash cans and vases, cutting back hostas, day lilies and shrubs, and blowing out the water linesFall weed control and fertilizer, plus using drone photos to spot-spray crabgrassGIS cemetery mapping with CIMS, and a Paradise Pictures porcelain portrait projectA sneak peek at the new MAC website: an easier member side, a step-by-step tool for title-transfer affidavits, and an updated vendor member sectionAI at work: an ordering app idea for the monument company and an AI assistant that sorts email and textsEmail us at [email protected] Association of Cemeteries https://mncemeteries.orgLike us on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574151340561Please support our sponsorsParadise Pictures 1-800-960-8040 or visit online at paradisepictures.com. Let them know you listen to The Cemetery Chronicles and get a free sample!CIMS Cemetery Management Software. Visit online at cimscemeterysoftware.com They will give you a 10% discount on a new software license just for listening to us!Coldspring. Visit them online at http://coldspringusa.com/memorial

Bobby is back after a busy stretch of softball, hockey and one nasty migraine. He and Dominic catch up on life before Dominic shows off his cemetery's nearly finished cremation area: individual family columbariums and boulders next to a quiet wetland, with a small fountain, built almost entirely by his own crew.Then they get into a growing headache for cemeteries: new and unfamiliar monument companies. They tell stories about lettering that was never approved, foundations nobody ordered, concrete borders that aren't allowed, and a company that took families' deposits and disappeared. Their advice is to check vendor insurance, require the lot owner's signature on every drawing, and never take on liability for work you aren't being paid for.They finish with fall prep (foundations, leaf season, and shutting off the water) and some talk about future guests.Email us at [email protected] Association of Cemeteries https://mncemeteries.orgLike us on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574151340561Please support our sponsorsParadise Pictures 1-800-960-8040 or visit online at paradisepictures.com. Let them know you listen to The Cemetery Chronicles and get a free sample!CIMS Cemetery Management Software. Visit online at cimscemeterysoftware.com They will give you a 10% discount on a new software license just for listening to us!Coldspring. Visit them online at http://coldspringusa.com/memorial

Bobby is under the weather this week, so we're bringing back one of our favorite conversations.We are joined by Trevor Crean, owner of Heritage Gardens Cemetery in Surrey Canada. He started a cemetery 8 years ago, and has some great insight and ideas for what customers are looking for, and forward thinking ideas about how cemeteries should operate. It is a great conversation. Trevor will be a speaker at the 2026 Minnesota Association of Cemeteries conference in September.Email us at [email protected] Association of Cemeteries https://mncemeteries.orgLike us on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574151340561Please support our sponsorsParadise Pictures 1-800-960-8040 or visit online at paradisepictures.com. Let them know you listen to The Cemetery Chronicles and get a free sample!CIMS Cemetery Management Software. Visit online at cimscemeterysoftware.com They will give you a 10% discount on a new software license just for listening to us!Coldspring. Visit them online at http://coldspringusa.com/memorial

Bobby chats about how having a cemetery in the capital city of Minnesota is a pain in the butt when it comes to construction, and then Dominic nerds out in how he is using AI to streamline all the processes at his cemetery.Email us at [email protected] Association of Cemeteries https://mncemeteries.orgLike us on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574151340561Please support our sponsorsParadise Pictures 1-800-960-8040 or visit online at paradisepictures.com. Let them know you listen to The Cemetery Chronicles and ask for information, samples, and a few free trial orders.CIMS Cemetery Management Software. Visit online at cimscemeterysoftware.com They will give you a 10% discount on a new software license just for listening to us!Coldspring. Visit them online at http://coldspringusa.com/memorial

Lets talk about disinterment/reinterment. Especially odd case scenarios. Plus, listener emails! We love it.Email us at [email protected] Association of Cemeteries https://mncemeteries.orgLike us on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574151340561Please support our sponsorsParadise Pictures 1-800-960-8040 or visit online at paradisepictures.com. Let them know you listen to The Cemetery Chronicles and ask for information, samples, and a few free trial orders.CIMS Cemetery Management Software. Visit online at cimscemeterysoftware.com They will give you a 10% discount on a new software license just for listening to us!Coldspring. Visit them online at http://coldspringusa.com/memorial

We talk about the MAC conference we just attended. We had the pleasure of meeting so many great folks. We also talk about coming back to a stacked work load.Email us at [email protected] Association of Cemeteries https://mncemeteries.orgLike us on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574151340561Please support our sponsorsParadise Pictures 1-800-960-8040 or visit online at paradisepictures.com. Let them know you listen to The Cemetery Chronicles and ask for information, samples, and a few free trial orders.CIMS Cemetery Management Software. Visit online at cimscemeterysoftware.com They will give you a 10% discount on a new software license just for listening to us!Coldspring. Visit them online at http://coldspringusa.com/memorial

Bobby and Dominic experience poor customer service this week in multiple various venues. (Not with any of our sponsors, they have the BEST customer service!)Email us at [email protected] Association of Cemeteries https://mncemeteries.orgLike us on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574151340561Please support our sponsorsParadise Pictures 1-800-960-8040 or visit online at paradisepictures.com. Let them know you listen to The Cemetery Chronicles and ask for information, samples, and a few free trial orders.CIMS Cemetery Management Software. Visit online at cimscemeterysoftware.com They will give you a 10% discount on a new software license just for listening to us!Coldspring. Visit them online at http://coldspringusa.com/memorial

We go over the upcoming Management Course with our guest, Jay Larson. We also talk about theives in our cemetery, and funny stories on how to handle them.Email us at [email protected] Association of Cemeteries https://mncemeteries.orgLike us on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574151340561Please support our sponsorsParadise Pictures 1-800-960-8040 or visit online at paradisepictures.com. Let them know you listen to The Cemetery Chronicles and ask for information, samples, and a few free trial orders.CIMS Cemetery Management Software. Visit online at cimscemeterysoftware.com They will give you a 10% discount on a new software license just for listening to us!Coldspring. Visit them online at http://coldspringusa.com/memorial

Why has this summer been so exhausting, and where did it go? Its already labor day, and that marks the end of summer here in the great state of Minnesota.Email us at [email protected] Association of Cemeteries https://mncemeteries.orgLike us on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574151340561Please support our sponsorsParadise Pictures 1-800-960-8040 or visit online at paradisepictures.com. Let them know you listen to The Cemetery Chronicles and ask for information, samples, and a few free trial orders.CIMS Cemetery Management Software. Visit online at cimscemeterysoftware.com They will give you a 10% discount on a new software license just for listening to us!Coldspring. Visit them online at http://coldspringusa.com/memorial