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Acquisition Integration & New Hires Powered Pinnacle in 2018

Pinnacle Funeral Service • Feb 12, 2019

For 2018, the main story behind Pinnacle’s growth and ongoing success had largely to do with integration of acquisitions and new recruits.


On an acquisition front, Pinnacle closed three acquisitions in the fourth quarter of 2017. “We want to grow, but we also want to be sensitive to all the requirements that a new firm demands. We accomplished this in 2018,” Pinnacle Controller Melissa Howsare said.


“Pinnacle is here for the long term. Strategic growth through acquisitions will happen, it just can’t be pushed. It makes more sense to buy the right firm, not just any firm. Growing a great company is a marathon not a sprint,” Howsare added.

Hiring Smart, Hiring Focused

In addition to the growth, Pinnacle understood they needed an expanded management team. Scouting and selecting especially talented personnel, Howsare recognized areas of the business that could benefit immediately.


“I always knew that our growth strategy would require that we broaden and diversify our team,” Howsare said. “Solid day-to-day operations and processes are important aspects of delivering a high-quality experience for families.”


Howsare decided to reach out to veteran operations specialist Shannon Bischoff and the fit could not have been better. It also came at the right time, as managerial demands were beginning to multiply.


Bischoff is a highly experienced industry insider with knack a for extracting efficiencies, solving problems big and small, and bringing processes, people and vendor products together in a unified manner. She has the right combination of accounting and field operations experience.


Along with her husband and two young children, Bischoff makes her home in Iowa, so a move to Georgia, where Pinnacle is headquartered, was not in the cards.


“It was most important that we get the right person,” Howsare said, “and she has already made a positive impact.”


Howsare and Bischoff had worked together at Foundation Partners Group, and each had an enduring appreciation of the other’s skills, work ethic and personality.

Powerful Partnerships

In other personnel changes that helped Pinnacle’s bottom line, leadership struck important partnerships with four talented funeral directors in Fort Wayne, IN.


Jarod Steffen, Mark Scheidt, Britton Claghorn and Lucas Glessner became entrepreneurial partners in Pinnacle’s FairHaven brand funeral home in Fort Wayne, IN.


Again, experience and a determined vision of family-centered funeral care made this a mutually beneficial arrangement. All agreed that returning local care and attention to the Fort Wayne market, which is predominantly serviced by large corporate providers, would strengthen their appeal to families.

In other news, Pinnacle Funeral Services also moved its headquarters from midtown Atlanta to Peachtree Corners.

To learn more about Pinnacle Funeral Service and available opportunities, including enhanced partnerships, valuations, and acquisitions, we invited you to contact us by phone or email.

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