Why I partnered
Q & A with Steve & Nanci Trevino, Ponderosa Valley Funeral Services
Unlike many of today’s most experienced funeral directors, Steve Trevino didn’t grow up in a family of funeral directors. As a teenager he mowed lawns and parked cars at the funeral home of family friends and was moved by the grief-stricken families he watched enter the building. When these families came out, however, they were “changed”, and Steve wanted to know more about a profession that could have such a profoundly positive impact on families in need. That exploration led him to mortuary school and a 44-year career in funeral service. In 2003, Steve and his wife, Nanci, founded Ponderosa Valley Funeral Services in his hometown of Parker, Colorado, where Nanci joined him as a funeral director and administrator. In 2019, Steve and Nanci partnered with Foundation Partners Group to grow the business and devote more time to personally supporting and caring for families.
Why was it the right time to sell your business?
STEVE: The biggest trigger for us was when our two sons decided to attend the United States Air Force Academy and we knew they were not going to follow in Mom and Dad’s footsteps. They asked us if they should come back and I said, you have the whole world in front of you, go follow your dreams. Knowing they were not coming into the business, we started to think about alternative succession plans. We wanted to spend more time with grand kids and travel and that motivated us to accelerate the transition.
NANCI: A friend of ours was in mergers & acquisitions so we reached out to him for help in finding the right buyer. Together we began the research process and worked through things like, what to do next? And what will our roles be after sell? He advised us to make sure that this is what we want to do; there would be no turning back. We had been approached by several companies and private individuals, but our friend helped us find the perfect match. When Foundation Partners came to the table, we found they were a great fit for what we wanted.
What was most important to you when looking for a partner?
STEVE: Early in my career, I spent 16 years working for a large corporation and I wanted something a little different. Foundation Partners is a smaller company, and our interactions with them were more personal and meaningful, which made the transition easier.
NANCI: The most important thing to me was making a smooth transition to a company that would carry on our legacy. We remain active members of our community and conduct many services in our own church. And our high level of preneed sales meant families placed their trust in us. We wanted to make sure that our legacy of good customer service and the ministry of our business would continue.
How was the transition process?
STEVE: For me the transition was exhilarating! We never did this before, and Foundation Partners made our transition from business owners to more active ministers to our community so much easier.
NANCI: The transaction and integration process took a lot of work, but in hindsight it went very smoothly. The Foundation Partners team always treated us with respect and the communication between our broker, Foundation Partners and ourselves was very good throughout the process. Foundation Partners is a very generous company that really recognizes and appreciates its employees.
How has your role changed?
STEVE: The core reason I entered the funeral profession was to help families, but as an owner you have do it all; the day-to-day operations can become overwhelming, and you sometimes forget why you’re there in the first place. This partnership has allowed us to step back from day-to-day operations to focus on serving families and community outreach. And we have more time to spend with our own family. I just love it and now it’s great. It’s been fun telling the transition story to peers and friends in the community.
NANCI: Initially, we were still here full-time and carried on many of our duties. As the business has expanded, I’ve pulled back some to focus on preneed sales. I still meet with families on occasion and assist at funeral services, as needed, but I’ve had more time to mentor the staff and I am confident we have the best people in each job and that they will maintain our high level of customer service, our integrity and our reputation in the community.
What are the benefits of being part of a larger organization?
ANCI: The tech and marketing support we receive from Foundation Partners headquarters has been a huge benefit. As any small business owner knows, marketing your business can mean staying up all night trying to learn about marketing and doing it all yourself; there’s a huge learning curve just to keep up. The support we receive from the home office in marketing, SEO, social media, etc. has been tremendous. And then there’s the accounting support. It’s so great to have taxes and payroll off my plate so I can devote more time to the families we serve.
Contact Us
If you’re thinking about succession planning, now is the perfect time to arrange a complementary, confidential financial analysis with Foundation Partners.
Foundation Partners Group
369 N. New York Avenue
Winter Park, FL 32789
For general inquiries, please call:
Phone: (888) 788-7526
Fax: (407) 583-4735