3.1.7 Academic Memberships: 3.1.7.1 Student Membership: mortuary science students. offered to individuals only for the period of time they are attending mortuary school, as described in Student and Educator Membership in the Organizational Policies. 3.1.7.2 Educator Membership: offered to non-member educators, researchers, and academics engaged in the study, but not the practice of mortuary science. Article III, Sections 3.2.1 & 3.2.1.1 Rationale: The following changes will retain OGR’s distinction as representing independent funeral homes by restricting membership to independently owned funeral homes. The changes will remove membership eligibility from funeral homes owned by private equity firms as well as publicly-traded companies. 3.2 Eligibility 3.2.1 Regular, Affiliate and International Memberships. In order to be considered for membership in OGR, a firm shall have been in business for a period of not less than two (2) years. In the best interest of the provision of a quality service by members of OGR to the public we serve, the Board of Directors may, with the approval of two-thirds of those Board members present and voting, suspend the two-year requirement. 3.2.1.1 Membership in OGR, including foreign membership, shall generally be limited to firms that are not publicly held or whose management or control is not in or by a publicly held corporation or limited partnership entities which are independently owned. As used herein, “publicly held” means a corporation whose shares are listed on any recognized exchange or traded in the “over-the-counter” market. Entities that may be excluded from membership in OGR, at the sole discretion of the OGR Board of Directors, include: • Entities that are publicly held (i.e., firms in which interests are traded on an established securities market) or whose management or control is in or by such publicly held entities, or persons affiliated with such entities. •Entities in which management control is held by a private equity firm or firms (i.e., firms which, through their own capital or capital raised from investors, invests in companies not publicly held).
The Independent® | Winter 2014 15