Client/Buchanan Group Innovations:

• In the 1880s, Frank Flanner was the first licensed embalmer in Indiana.
  
  
• In the 1920s Flanner & Buchanan Mortuary built the first crematory in Indiana.
  
  
• In the 1950s Floral Park Cemetery built the first garden crypt community mausoleum in Indianapolis.
  
  
• Buchanan Group was formed in 1987 to sell pre-need funerals using insurance as a financing vehicle. Today, Buchanan Group provides management, consulting, marketing and sales services for numerous funeral homes and cemeteries.
  
  
• First Combination in Indianapolis. Washington Park East Cemetery opens a Mortuary on the grounds of the Cemetery in 1989. Today, Washington Park East serves more families than any other cemetery in the state.
  
  
• The 114-acre Hamilton Memorial Park Cemetery & Funeral Center was the first new cemetery in Hamilton County, Indiana, in recent memory. Opened in 1997, this cemetery features indoor crypts, a chapel plus funeral services facilities.
  
  
• A Family Center at Washington Park North Cemetery & Funeral Center gives families a one-stop location for funeral, burial and an after-service receptions. The Family Center is also used for civic meetings, art showings, seminars, family celebrations and other events. The Funeral Home and Family Center opened in 1995.
  
  
• With an eye towards keeping our client cemeteries relevant well into the future, Links were among the first in the country to install family history computer kiosks. Family Legacies^TM, a computer program developed by Buchanan Group, now serves cemeteries in Indiana, Michigan, Florida and Arizona. This program makes a cemetery the permanent keeper of family history.
  
  
• In June 2001 the country's first Community Life Center opened at Washington Park East Cemetery. This 20,000 sq. ft. center serves as a venue for large-scale funeral, community and civic events. It features a 60-foot tall memorial tower and a garden for funerals and weddings. The Center has a large retail area where gifts celebrating all types of interpersonal relationships are available. Weddings fill every weekend, scheduled months in advance. The Community Life Center has become the center for civic events of all kinds.
  
  
• Trinity Memorial Gardens in Tampa, Florida is one of the state's most beautiful and well-maintained combinations. Sales levels for this new property are well above national averages.