About Us

OVERVIEW

Why Raven Plume?

Because of its black plumage, its eerie croaking call, and the fact that it prefers to eat the decaying flesh of already dead animals, the raven is often associated with death and bad luck. However, its symbolism is complex. As a talking bird, the raven also represents prophecy and insight.

Throughout folklore, ravens often act as spirit guides of souls from the living world to the realm of the dead. French anthropologist Claude Lévi=Strauss offered the theory that suggests the raven obtained mythic status because it was a mediator animal between life and death.

A plume of smoke, dust, fire or water is a large quantity of it that rises into the air in a column. Although an undesirable event in our profession, especially with respect to cremation, we include it not to normalize it, but to remind us of the ever present risk inherent with the lack of strong policies, procedures, and operational best practices.

A plume is also a large, soft bird’s feather. In most mythologies and folklores, the feather is associated with the purity of the heart and soul.

Our Mission

Raven Plume Consulting aims to Change the Way People Think About Funeral Service by sharing our knowledge, expertise, and revolutionary approaches to improving operations, marketing, and promoting a more positive perception of our profession in the eyes of the public.

Through outreach and transparency, we work to educate our professional peers, our clients, and the public about funeral service, its indispensability, its history, cultural significance, and best practices.

Values

Compassion

We care about and serve the diverse people we connect with everyday, central to our purpose.Our clients, our peers, and the public.

We Build Trust

We create an environment of trust through transparency, honesty, and open, genuine communication. We always give benefit of the doubt first.

We Embrace the Power of Listening

To remain relevant and humble, we remain open minded and curious. Although our value is in advice and expertise, we acknowledge we wouldn’t have any if we didn’t listen and learn to those that know more than we do.

We Never Assume

We acknowledge that assumptions are rarely true (unless you know the whole story) and instead we find the courage to ask questions first. Assuming leads to false perceptions that can be perceived as truth, and because we fight this every day as a profession for us to make uninformed assumptions would be the height of affected superiority.

We Aim High

We aim high, and continue to raise the bar. We would rather aim for success versus perfection, and believe that a lofty goal can be reached only through continual effort, motivation, and sometimes multiple failures. “High expectations are the key to everything.” Sam Walton.

We Work Together for the Good of the Profession

Humility and selfless determination make for a better result. True teamwork and collaboration will result in endless successes. “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” Harry Truman.

Meet our Founder

Larry Stuart, Jr.

Founder and Principal

Funeral Service and Cremation Expert, Thought Leader, Consultant, Innovator, Entrepreneur, Author, Public Speaker, Trainer, Traveler, Foodie, and Dog Lover.

Throughout my experience as a cremation consultant and previously as the President of a cremation equipment company, I have seen, from a unique point of view, how funeral service has struggled to evolve, especially in the eyes of the public. To broaden our purpose, we have expanded Cremation Strategies & Consulting and are now Raven Plume Consulting. It is our goal to change the way people think of funeral service and to help funeral service professionals succeed.

Always looking for the next best thing, I completed digital marketing and automation course to increase the effectiveness of my own marketing strategies and in the process developed strategies to apply to funeral service professionals. This process confirmed what I suspected for a long time. We are marketing to the wrong folks! This new mindset allows us to share updated yet proven strategies and implement custom digital marketing solutions for our clients.

I have written feature articles, eBooks, contributed to textbooks, trained and certified thousands of funeral and cremation professionals, developed continuing education and cremation curriculum for national, state, and provincial regulatory bodies and associations, and I’ve keynoted and presented at many professional events. I am a Certified Celebrant and am fortunate to have the ability to spend my time making a difference and success in this goal.

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Meet the Team

Benjamin Schmidt

Funeral Director & Embalming Consultant

Licensed Funeral Director, Professor, Author, Inventor, Embalming and Reconstruction Expert, and Influencer

Full Bio