11 minute read
Business
Wade Opens Funeral Business in D.C.
James Wright WI Staff Writer
Kendal Wade has become known in the Washington, D.C. area as a candidate for political office and law enforcement officer but recently became a funeral home owner in the District.
Wade practices mortuary science at the Kendal Wade Funeral Home & Cremation Services LLC and says serving customers has become a ministry for him.
Wade’s business launch comes at a bumpy time for African Americans in the funeral industry. According to a Sept. 14 Black Enterprise’s website postimg— “Black Morticians Dying at Record Numbers Because of COVID-19 Creating Voids in their Communities – about 130 morticians have died from the coronavirus.
Additionally, Black-owned funeral establishments in the District such as Hall Brothers Funeral Homes, Latney’s Funeral Home and Austin Royster Funeral Home have shut down. He said Black funeral home directors face problems similar to those confronting many African American entrepreneurs including access to capital and being affiliated with an unpopular industry “that no one wants to be seen with.”
“People need funeral homes but that doesn’t mean that they want to see one on their block,” he said. “They consider it an eyesore.”
Wade often encounters customers and competitors who cite his youth, 34, as a weakness in an industry where funeral home owners are often in their late 40s and older.
“I have had some people say to me you are too young to own a funeral home,” he said. “I will work to prove them wrong.”
Wade also has to compete against a national funeral home corporate entity, SCI Inc., that can offer their customers more. Wade said, when serving customers, he will focus on quality, not quantity.
“We look at our customers as people and not as numbers on a balance sheet,” he said.
Wade said despite the challenges, he will work hard to win the trust of his customers and “get more business the right way by being the best we can be.”
“At Kendal Wade Funeral Home, we promise to provide you with the highest level of compassionate care and respect,” Wade said on the company’s website. “Our very capable staff of professional person-
DC’s Temporary Ban on Debt Collection Has Ended: What That Means for You
DC’s COVID-related temporary law preventing new debt collection lawsuits has ended. If you owe money (for credit cards, stores or other lenders), you may start receiving calls and letters from debt collectors again. If you haven’t heard from debt collectors in a while, that does not mean that your debts have been forgiven.
But you have rights, and legal help can make a big difference for you. For example, Tzedek DC can help you avoid a default judgment, negotiate a payment plan you can afford, and maybe even get the debt reduced. Tzedek DC is a nonprofit organization headquartered at the University of the District of Columbia that offers free legal assistance for people with lower incomes who are facing debt-related problems. If you live in DC, we can help you deal with debt collectors, lawsuits, credit report problems, identity theft, and scams at no cost to you. For more information, call us at (202) 274-7386 or find out more at www.tzedekdc.org.
5 Staff of the Kendal Wade Funeral Home & Cremation Services LLC (from left to right on top) London Shepherd, Kendra Barnes, Lashawn Wade, Ann Taylor, Brenda Wade, Ocie Miller, Marques Dyer, Caleb Camara and seated left to right are Toria Walker and Kendal Wade. (Photo courtesy of Esinej Photography LLC)
nel and specialized scientists hold advanced degrees and experience in mortuary science, psychology, theology, cremation operations and public service, to ensure that every single step of this process is handled by a knowledgeable and compassionate expert.”
WADE’S JOURNEY AS A MORTICIAN
Wade said his family has been in the funeral industry for three generations. He said he has wanted to be in the mortuary business as a toddler and got the chance at the age of 17.
“I graduated from Largo High School in 2006 and went to work for Austin Royster shortly after that,” Wade said. “One of my duties was to bring dead bodies to the Howard University medical and dental schools for the professors and the students to work on.”
Wade said he attended the Commonwealth Institute of Funeral Services in Houston online and did his clinical work at B.K. Henry Funeral Chapel Inc. in the District. He received an associate’s degree in mortuary science from Commonwealth in 2020.
During the 2010s, Wade took some time off from the funeral business to work as a Prince George’s County Sheriff’s deputy. In 2018, he challenged his boss, Sheriff Melvin High, for re-election but lost in the Democratic Party primary.
After the campaign he left the sheriff’s department and resumed working in the funeral business in the District with the Terry A. Austin Funeral Home and B.K. Henry.
PATRONIZING WADE FUNERAL HOME
Wade operates out of a small office in Northwest. When people come to see him, he makes sure he knows what they want.
“I take the time to talk with the family or the person who is in charge of the burial,” Wade said. “I don’t do cookie-cutter funerals. Every funeral is individualized for the decedent and the family. Death is precious and the process should be conducted in decency and order.”
Wade said his business offers various services such as cremation, burial and cemetery services to his customers. Additionally, customers can buy a horse drawn carriage for their services, as well as funeral programs, a white dove release and memorial blankets.. He said payment for funerals must be upfront or at least 72 hours before the funeral begins.
“That’s how 99 percent of funeral homes operate,” Wade said.
Wade said the pandemic hasn’t been good for business because “conducting funerals is a personal business.”
“You have to reach out and touch people and you can’t do that at this time due to COVID restrictions,” he said. “We find ways to help people but we are in the people-helping business during one of the toughest times in their lives.”
WI @JamesDCWrighter
D.C.-Supported Capital Funding Program Mystifies Black Business Leaders
James Wright WI Staff Writer
The District’s Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking program to procure more capital for Black enterprises is robust but Black business leaders say they know little about it.
DISB Commissioner Karima M. Woods recently talked about the DC BizCAP Program to the Informer.
While many entrepreneurs look to the D.C. Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD) to deal with issues regarding capital, Woods wants them to know DISB can help, too.
WOODS EXPLAINS DC BIZCAP
5 Karima M. Woods is the commissioner of the D.C. Department of Insurance, Securities & Banking. (WI File Photo)
Woods said DC BizCAP received its funding through the U.S. Department of Treasury under the State Small Business Credit Initiative, founded as a part of the Small Business Jobs Acts of 2010.
“Through this Act, DISB received $13 million in funding to create this program,” Woods said. “To administer the funds, DISB partners with private lenders to provide loan enhancements for small businesses that need additional support to obtain loans from private lending institutions.”
Woods said in fiscal year 2021, DC BizCAP provided $1,355,000 in support of five small businesses.
Woods knows minority businesses have problems accessing capital from traditional lenders such as banks. She said the Loan Participation Program (LPP) “is fully inclusive and provides subsidized interest rates to minority, Certified Business Enterprise and woman-owned businesses.”
“With this subsidy, DISB is able to reduce the interest charged on the loan support by half the rate the lender is charging,” she said.
A Jan. 22, 2018 article on Forbes Magazine’s website— “Why Minorities Have So Much Trouble Accessing Small Business Loans”— said minorities generally have lower net worth and/or lack of access. The article said banks are traditionally biased against applicants with less money to spare, partially because such applicants probably cannot offer collateral.
Woods said DC BizCAP doesn’t have a collateral requirement.
“Keep in mind, however, that the support offered through DC BizCAP is not a direct loan,” she said. “DISB partners with local lenders to provide loan enhancements. Consequently, while the department does not require collateral, in many cases, the lender may.”
Woods said a business doesn’t need to be in operation a set number of years to qualify for the program.
Essentially, Woods said, DC BizCAP has been designed to help entrepreneurs obtain new sources of capital in conjunction with traditional lenders such as banks.
“Under the rules and regulations of the program small business borrowers can use DC BizCAP funding to provide the additional support needed to obtain approvals from commercial lenders,” she said. “We offer collateral, will participate in loan requests and in some cases can
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October is Estate Planning Month/ Who Do You Love?
Aimee D. Griffin, Esq.
I often say that Estate Planning is not as much about you but about the people you love. I know that the conversation isn’t easy. I know that we don’t like to think about what happens if we are not here. I know thinking about our incapacity is truly scary. I know that selecting someone else to raise our minor children is painful. I also know that failing to plan really impacts the people we love. In most cases, it hurts the people we love more than it will hurt us.
In the United States about 50% of all people have a Last Will and Testament. About 30% of Black people have a Last Will and Testament. The statistic means that most people are trusting the government to decide what should happen through guardianship or probate. Estate planning takes the action of making plans for your life and your legacy.
We have many current examples of inadequate planning and the impact. We look at Prince, Aretha Franklin, Martin Luther King, Jr., and most recently the comedienne, AJ Johnson. The pain that the family endures is beyond measure. The litigation costs, the embarrassment and the degradation of the unpreparedness is unimaginable. Solely for lack of effective planning.
If I don’t plan, I leave my family to accept the governmental structure of who should get my stuff. In some situations, that is not a problem. If I am not married and have one child the stuff will eventually all go in the right direction. However, the detour of the courthouse is often a costly detour. The route that navigates through the clerk, judge and Register of Wills office require approvals of how your stuff will be managed and by whom. Not to mention there are court costs, filing fees and in some jurisdictions a bond is required. There are financial and time costs to not planning.
The humanity cost is when there is someone appointed to make decisions regarding your care and the distribution of your assets is delegated to a hired hand. The hand may be very professional. The hand may be very strategic. However, the hand may not know any of the people involved. Caring for the considerations of a person requires more than professionalism and strategy.
I am currently serving a family where the hired person sold the family home. It was a professional act but it cost the family years of memories. It cost the family more than $30,000 in unnecessary fees. But it was in the purview of the responsibility of the professional hand that was appointed to serve.
Estate planning is an opportunity to identify who will support you if you need help with your finances or your health decision making. Would you want someone who doesn’t know you to make those decisions for you?
Estate planning is an opportunity to identify who will receive the treasures that you have worked hard for during your life or received as an inheritance during your life. Would you want someone who doesn’t know you to make that decision for you?
Estate planning is an opportunity to be a blessing to the charitable organizations that have been a blessing to you, your family and your community. No court or hired hand can make the decision to support anyone besides your next of kin if you don’t make the plan.
Make a commitment this month to review the estate plan you created. Does it still reflect the values, passions and love that you currently hold? Does it take advantage of the legal opportunities through tax savings and probate avoidance available? Do the people you appoint still have the capacity in your heart and life to serve? Are your heirs still able and willing to receive that which you have for them?
Do you have a plan? If not, now is the time. There are amazing estate planning attorneys in your community. Reach out to a professional to show your loved ones that you care.
