New ABQ festival tells what you're dying to know
September 10, 2017 16:32 Rants & Rulings | Book signings
“Before I Die” festivals are part of a growing social movement to foster reflection about how we as individuals and as a society manage death and dying. By providing space and opportunities to openly discuss end-of-life issues, we can improve the percentage of those who plan ahead and take actions to address our mortality. Here is one of Albuquerque's first — check it out!
By nature, business owners feel comfortable planning ahead, but planning for the end often gets left by the wayside.
Many people don't want to think about what will happen to their body, family and business when they die. That may be one reason why only 30 percent of family-owned businesses succeed past the second generation, according to the Family Firm Institute.
The Before I Die Albuquerque Festival , which will run from Oct. 20 to 25, is sponsored by several local companies and aims to get people talking about end-of-life issues through discussions, events and art.
"We all feel invincible and like it's not going to happen to me, but when it inevitably does there needs to be some kind of plan," said Jim Plitz, an estate planning attorney at Morris Hall. "Businesspeople do what they do really well ... run their business. [To make a succession plan] you actually have to take a step back and stop doing your day-to-day job and that's hard because other things keep popping up. Leaving the company is 10 or 20 years down the road so it's easy to keep putting off."
Morris Hall, an estate planning law firm based in Phoenix, is sponsoring Before I Die. Plitz could not disclose their sponsorship costs for the festival.
Whether a death is unexpected or anticipated, its impact can be devastating to a business if the owners, executives or employees have not planned ahead. Financial strains and business struggles can be avoided if business owners learn about funeral or cremation costs and devise a succession plan ahead of time, said Gail Rubin, the coordinator of Before I Die.
"When you have executives or employees who haven't planned ahead, it's the same issues that happen in a family," Rubin said. "Businesses can fail because owners don't have a succession plan or insurance coverage ... This event will be lighthearted but provide a space to plan ahead so when someone dies there has been an opportunity to say goodbye well."
Rubin has partnered with local businesses and organizations that are interested in helping festival attendees get more comfortable with talking about death. The festival also provides sponsors with a potential opportunity to work with members of the baby boomer generation. Baby boomers are between the ages of 53 and 71 and control 70 percent of disposable income in the United States, representing a $3.2 trillion market, Rubin said.
This event could help get the word out for companies that provide services people don't like to talk about.
"We are the largest and oldest company offering cremation services but a lot of people have never heard of us," said Ken Gonzales, the Albuquerque field manager for The Neptune Society. "We're hoping to get brand recognition and this is a great way to get our name and branding out there."
Gonzales declined to disclose how much The Neptune Society, which is based in Plantation, Florida, spent on its sponsorship of the festival.
Speakers will discuss and answer questions on funeral planning and cremation, talking to doctors about death and financial planning services. There will also be themed events and excursions, such as a yoga class, a ghost tour, tours of local cemeteries and showings of the films "Harold and Maude" and "The Seventh Seal."
Many people don't want to think about what will happen to their body, family and business when they die. That may be one reason why only 30 percent of family-owned businesses succeed past the second generation, according to the Family Firm Institute.
The Before I Die Albuquerque Festival , which will run from Oct. 20 to 25, is sponsored by several local companies and aims to get people talking about end-of-life issues through discussions, events and art.
"We all feel invincible and like it's not going to happen to me, but when it inevitably does there needs to be some kind of plan," said Jim Plitz, an estate planning attorney at Morris Hall. "Businesspeople do what they do really well ... run their business. [To make a succession plan] you actually have to take a step back and stop doing your day-to-day job and that's hard because other things keep popping up. Leaving the company is 10 or 20 years down the road so it's easy to keep putting off."
Morris Hall, an estate planning law firm based in Phoenix, is sponsoring Before I Die. Plitz could not disclose their sponsorship costs for the festival.
Whether a death is unexpected or anticipated, its impact can be devastating to a business if the owners, executives or employees have not planned ahead. Financial strains and business struggles can be avoided if business owners learn about funeral or cremation costs and devise a succession plan ahead of time, said Gail Rubin, the coordinator of Before I Die.
"When you have executives or employees who haven't planned ahead, it's the same issues that happen in a family," Rubin said. "Businesses can fail because owners don't have a succession plan or insurance coverage ... This event will be lighthearted but provide a space to plan ahead so when someone dies there has been an opportunity to say goodbye well."
Rubin has partnered with local businesses and organizations that are interested in helping festival attendees get more comfortable with talking about death. The festival also provides sponsors with a potential opportunity to work with members of the baby boomer generation. Baby boomers are between the ages of 53 and 71 and control 70 percent of disposable income in the United States, representing a $3.2 trillion market, Rubin said.
This event could help get the word out for companies that provide services people don't like to talk about.
"We are the largest and oldest company offering cremation services but a lot of people have never heard of us," said Ken Gonzales, the Albuquerque field manager for The Neptune Society. "We're hoping to get brand recognition and this is a great way to get our name and branding out there."
Gonzales declined to disclose how much The Neptune Society, which is based in Plantation, Florida, spent on its sponsorship of the festival.
Speakers will discuss and answer questions on funeral planning and cremation, talking to doctors about death and financial planning services. There will also be themed events and excursions, such as a yoga class, a ghost tour, tours of local cemeteries and showings of the films "Harold and Maude" and "The Seventh Seal."