Inverness funeral director celebrates winning award for fifth year in a row
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A HIGHLAND funeral director is celebrating again after winning a national industry award for the fifth successive year.
A team from John Fraser & Son accepted the prize of North of Scotland Regional Funeral Planner of the Year from Golden Charter in a London award ceremony.
The firm’s owner, Vicki Fraser, said: "It is a huge achievement for John Fraser & Son to build on our success of previous years, especially as in addition to winning our regional award we were again placed in the UK top three, up against over 3000 independent funeral firms nationwide.
"It’s a great achievement for any firm to win this award once, but maintaining our position as regional award winners for five years in a row proves that our team is consistently delivering a first class service to families in the north at their time of need – which is exactly what we are here to do.
"But this is not just my award; it’s an award for the whole of our team across Inverness and Dingwall."
The first woman and youngest person in the Highlands to achieve a diploma in funeral direction Vicki Fraser is the fourth generation proprietor of the family firm, which began operating way back in 1884.
Ms Fraser took over the business from her late father, Ian, in 2014.
She has caught the public eye on a few occasions, notably in 2008 when she committed unclaimed ashes from long-ago to the waters of Loch Ness.
"It was a beautiful, dignified and peaceful ceremony, with a piper playing a fitting lament," she said.
Ms Fraser accepted the award from Richard Auchincloss, the national sales manager of Golden Charter, owned by the Association of Independent Funeral Directors, the largest independent funeral plan provider in Britain.
The award was for recording the highest ratio of pre-paid funeral plans to the volume of funerals conducted.
Ms Fraser said: "We are delighted to be at the forefront of funeral planning in the north of Scotland.
"Far from shying away from the topic, we are finding that making funeral arrangements in advance is something that more and more people are keen to do, and we are always available to have a chat with anyone who wants to find out more.
"We’re happy to visit families at home or welcome them into our Inverness or Dingwall offices to explain more about what we can offer.
"Very often people tell us that as soon as they have made arrangements for their funeral to be taken care of they feel peace of mind, knowing that it’s one less thing for their families and loved ones to worry about."
