Delaware State News June 28, 2010 Page 21

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CHAMBER CONNECTION

Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce

This is it — the last week for the 145th Legislative Session. One thing we can all be certain of is that there will be a great deal of legislation going through both the House and Senate chambers during these fi nal days, and that legislators will be working extremely long hours to get to the morning of July 1.

It is no surprise that, again this year, the top priority for legislators will be to pass a balanced budget. As you have seen in the news, the revenue numbers being reported are fl at which means there are some very tough decisions to be made. There will be cuts and there will be decreases in some pro-grams and funding avenues.

The CDCC will continue to track legisla-tion and will continue to send out Legisla-tive Alerts and Calls to Action when merit-ed. For those readers that are not Chamber members, let me tell you a little about our Legislative Alerts and Calls to Action.

When the CDCC fi nds out that a bill is being proposed that will have an impact on the business community, be it a positive or negative impact, the CDCC sends out a Leg-islative Alert or Call to Action to its mem-bers. The alert outlines the bill and its effect on the business community. Alerts are used when the bill has not yet appeared on the agenda for the House or Senate. A Call to Action is sent to prompt our members to take action by contacting their legislators. To make that process easy and effective, we also supply all contact information to our members.

By sending out Legislative Alerts and Calls to Action we not only keep our mem-bers informed, but we also provide needed information to our legislators. Often times we fi nd that our legislators are not always aware of the impact a bill may have on the business community, so by engaging our members, we are providing them with the

Chamber at forefront of legislative happenings

See Chamber — Page 23

By Jamie-Leigh BissettDelaware State News

DOVER — Christine Blackmon felt a huge sense of relief when her husband, Maj. Franklin C. Blackmon Jr., returned home from Iraq in late September 2009, after being deployed for nearly a year.

That feeling didn’t last long, however.Two weeks after reuniting with his wife

and two kids — Curtis, 5, and Sophia, 2 — and avoiding any serious injury in a war that has taken the lives of nearly 4,500 American soldiers, Maj. Blackmon died suddenly of bacterial meningitis on Oct. 15, just a month shy of his 36th birthday.

“We were more in tuned (with death) than most families our age were. I was as prepared for a tragedy as you can be,” Mrs. Blackmon said. “You prepare for things, you talk about it, you think about it, but it actually happening is totally different.”

She said her husband got off the plane from Iraq not feeling very well, and con-tinued to suffer from horrible headaches and fl u-like symptoms in the weeks that followed, but neither had any idea he had meningitis until it was too late.

Tragedy can’t deter entrepreneur spirit

Sophia Blackmon, 2, gives her fa-ther, Maj. Franklin C. Blackmon Jr., a big hug after he returned from a year

long deployment to Iraq in September 2009. Maj. Blackmon died two weeks later from bacterial meningitis.

Submitted photo

See Blackmon — Page 22

Delaware Casket Co. in Camden offers everything for the departed

By Jamie-Leigh BissettDelaware State News

DOVER — Christine Blackmon knows from personal experience that losing a loved one can be emotionally taxing.

That is why she hopes her new busi-ness, Delaware Casket Co., will alleviate the likelihood that it has to be a fi nancial burden as well.

“It goes without saying that funerals are stressful and expensive. At a time when our brains are the absolute fuzziest ... we aren’t thinking about shopping around for the best prices from different funeral homes,” she said.

“With our new storefront, our goal is to help people reduce some of the stress and cost of a funeral. We will be giving people an opportunity to get the same quality cas-kets for themselves, or their loved-ones, while saving hundreds and often thousands of dollars.”

Mrs. Blackmon said her store is able to offer quality caskets at a lower price for two main reasons: there is no mark up, and the caskets are being imported directly from China.

“(My business partner) has been to

China, and has inspected the manufactur-ing site and provided input. As far as quality goes, it’s as good as you can get,” she said.

Mrs. Blackmon said she understands

that her business could be seen as a com-petitor to area funeral homes, especially since she is selling the same products for less. However, she said she believes there is room for both.

“I’m in no way bad mouthing funeral homes. I pay extra for someone to cut my grass just so I don’t have to do it. There is always a need for convenience. I just want to offer a choice,” she said.

Mrs. Blackmon added that in the future, she plans to talk to local funeral homes to see if they’d be interested in purchasing caskets directly from her.

In addition to caskets, she said Delaware Casket Co., located at the Longacre Shop-ping Center south of Camden, will even-tually sell pet memorabilia, carry a line of gravesite decorations, memorial pendants, and a variety of other items that will allow customers to honor their loved ones.

“Everyday I go home and have another idea of something I want the store to carry,”Mrs. Blackmon said.

She said the company will not only sell the items, it will also deliver the caskets to the funeral home, or a place of residence the next day, and will allow customers to pick out a casket ahead of time and either have the company store it for them for a monthly fee, or, as part of its layaway plan, purchase a casket and be issued a proof of purchase certifi cate, which can be brought

Funeral items in retail setting no parlor trick

Jamie-Leigh Bissett/Delaware State NewsChristine Blackmon recently opened the Delaware Casket Co. in the Lon-gacre Shopping Center just south of Camden.

See Caskets — Page 22