Environmentally Friendly Cremation Through Gentle Water

At the Greater South Florida Chamber of Commerce, we are dedicated to providing the best business expos in South Florida.

1. Gentle Water.
2. Lan Fam Med.
3. Melissa Corichi Insurance Agent.
4. Co-Card Merchant Services.
5. Florida State Oriental Medical Association.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Greater South Florida Chamber Radio program with
your host to board president John Kroll of Kroll Realty.
Good morning, Welcome back to the show. It is Saturday,
in the first of February twenty twenty five. Are privileged
to be here at iHeartRadio in West Poone Beach, Florida

(00:21):
this morning, where we're now streaming an iHeart app In
studio with us is Dean Fisher from Gentle Water Cremation,
their corporate Trusty Ambassadors. They're from Mangonia Park here in
West Palm Beach, Florida.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Landmark. You're looking forward to be forty fifth in Congress.
What I'd like to do, Dean, is give you an
opportunity to explain to the listening audience this morning a
little bit about your operation. I don't want to call
it a niche market, but I didn't was not even
aware until last year that there was such a thing
as the ability to be cremated via water via being burned.

(00:52):
And one of the things that attracted me to your
model was the fact that it was environmentally friendly. It
was extremely compatible from a cost standpoint, but it just
seemed to be a lot cleaner and a lot more efficient.
I just don't like the thought of being burned, even
if I've perished. That's just me personally. But I know
you're an expert in this field because you've been a
funeral director for for many, many, many years. I want
to talk a little bit about your background, what it

(01:13):
is you're doing, what your company offers.

Speaker 3 (01:15):
Go ahead, sure, thank you for this opportunity. First of all, Rob, So,
my background is in mortuary science. I've been a funeral
director for forty one years. I had the opportunity to
work at the Mayo Clinic and run their donated body program,
and this is where water cremation started for me back
in two thousand and five. So I've been working with

(01:36):
the technology for quite a while. I got recruited to
UCLA in two thousand and eight and we took the
technology to UCLA and got a bill passed out in
California also just because of the environmental side of this.
But the way the actual process works is that we
use water and potassium, the same potassium that is in

(02:00):
the Earth's crust, but instead of two percent or two
and a half percent, we use five percent and we
allow that to move around the body there's small there's
a tray inside of there. The body would go on
to a tray and the fluid would move around it
and then that would dissolve the body over the course
of about a four hour timeframe. So it's much more

(02:22):
environmentally friendly than burning a body, which takes about twenty
eight gallons of gas is what the equivalent for that is.
So what happened was is back in twenty ten, Florida
pass their law to allow alkaline hydrolysis. But all of

(02:42):
these funeral homes here, a lot of them are corporate
funeral homes, and they all already have their million dollar
models set up, so nobody really took off and ran
with this at all. So when I retired in twenty twenty,
I found a couple partners that were willing to put
it in here. I've got also another machine and in
the Twin Cities area that's doing really well and people

(03:03):
are responding well. So we put the machine here about
a year ago and people are responding really well to it.
People understand it and they want to do what's best
for the environment. It's a much gentler process too, So
instead of being burned at sixteen hundred to two thousand degrees.
You know, this is heating up to about three hundred degrees,

(03:24):
so pacemakers can be left in. All of the prosthetics
in the body at the end of the cycle are
right there on the tray. Also, so you kind of
see what the patient went through in their lifetime, all
the pain and suffering they went through just to get
through it.

Speaker 2 (03:38):
And if memory sherves me correct, you you service the
entire state of Florida. Correct, that is correct.

Speaker 4 (03:43):
Yep.

Speaker 3 (03:44):
We'll go anywhere in the state of Florida that would
ask for our services.

Speaker 2 (03:49):
And as far as like so you being based in
West Palm Beach scenario, someone perished in Jacksonville, you would
transport the body. I presume that is correct.

Speaker 4 (03:57):
Yep.

Speaker 3 (03:57):
We're licensed funeral directors, so we get all the permitting
that's needed and we also get we file the death certificate.
That's all included in our packages.

Speaker 2 (04:06):
Okay. Another thing that impressed me. I remember doing some
interviews with your team last year. A lot of people
will offer financing, but they charge interest fees on it.
And if a memory serves me correct, you don't charge fees,
do you? Isn't it zero percent interest? If someone takes
a package through you to pay it off over time.

Speaker 3 (04:23):
Well, right, right, If somebody wants to prepay for their
funeral in advance, they can pay as they go, they
can pay monthly, they can pay in four payments, they
can pay in two payments, they can pay it all
at once. However they want to do it. We're open
to all of that.

Speaker 2 (04:38):
That's awesome that you're working with people. Obviously, with everything
going on in twenty twenty five, the climate and the
condition that's in a lot of people are impaeril. They're
worried about what's going to be the next move. But
obviously we're hoping that the economy improves and America improves
as a whole. So with that being said, I mean
another thing that people need to understand and listening audience,
at some point in time, everybody out there is going

(05:00):
to need a service similar to or what Dean and
his team offer, because you're either going to be buried,
you're either going to be cremated, or you can go
through this way. I'm doing it water cremation. So obviously,
when you have something that's a little cleaner, a little
more environmentally friendly, and it just for me it's just
a little bit neatter. I think that that attracts me.

(05:22):
I know that I had mentioned in the past I've
shared during interviews with your team. My father who passed
in twenty twenty at ninety seven years of age, best
friend might love him, miss him dearly, think of him daily,
ten fifteen times an hour. And I kid you not.
I remember him being cremated, and I remember the getting
the ashes in the urn and I was like, Oh,
it just just didn't settle well with me. I just

(05:43):
and that's another thing too, when instead of getting something
that looks like it's been burned and charcolate the earns,
they say it's white. It's much cleaner and it's easier
to store.

Speaker 3 (05:55):
Correct absolutely so, since since the fluid just moves around
on the body, the pure white kelcium phosphate or the
bone fragments that are left afterwards, right, those which will
end up into the urn, and you'll actually have about
twenty percent more ash at the end of the cycle. Also,
so there is actually more ash when we're done with it,

(06:16):
but it is pure white kelcium phosphate.

Speaker 2 (06:19):
That's interesting. You know, we got about three minutes left them.
Is there anything that you want to share with the
listening audience today that you want them to know about
your organization. We're going to be doing a series of
interviews with you over the next year. I just want
to give you an opportunity to take the flour for
a few minutes and share whatever it is that you'd
like to share.

Speaker 3 (06:35):
Well, I think it's important that they know that we
service the whole state, so no matter where you are
in the state of Florida, will come and find you.
And of course we have to charge some transportation fees
if you're outside of a fifty mile radio sub West
Palm Beach, but we will work with you even on that.
If that's something that's a deal breaker, we'll find a

(06:56):
way to get you over here, and we'll find a
way so that you can use our technology. I think
that's really important too.

Speaker 4 (07:02):
Our location.

Speaker 3 (07:03):
If anybody wants to ever come on over and have
a tour, we have an open door policy, so anybody
that wants to come, We're not trying to hide anything
or anything like that. We're at eleven twelve forty eighth
Street here, you know, just about a mile away from
where we're talking right now here in West Palm Beach.
So I just want to, you know, thank the public

(07:25):
for embracing us and finding us and and using us,
and and you know, this is a game changer. There's
no doubt about it. This is this will be the
future of funeral service someday, there's no doubt about it.

Speaker 2 (07:38):
Well, I know, I'm excited about the fact that on
the eighth and ninth of February, we hope to have
you at the Valentine's Day home show at the Boy
and Beach Mall. I know on the twelfth of February,
he'll be with us at the kne Center and Stuart
from Martin County Center of Anti Aging. On the twenty
first of February, they'll set the Savannah and Stuart part
of United Group of Companies. And then on the twenty

(07:58):
eighth of February, from three pm to seven pm, we're
doing a business expot here at iHeartRadio and they're going
to be one of the key sponsors. We'll be doing
our radio programs, be doing some podcasts, giving everybody an
opportunity to get up on stage talk a little bit
about who they are and what they do. And I
know the Dean's going to be one of the keynote speakers.
We're excited about that. So we're going to be signing

(08:18):
off this morning from West Palm Beach, Florida on February first,
twenty twenty five. One more time. Don't give everyone you're
putting the contact information, phone number, web address and let
them know how they can get a hold of you.

Speaker 3 (08:27):
Sure you can. You can find us at Gentlewater dot
com and our telephone number, and we also have brochures,
so if you want to learn more about it, we'll
send you out a brochure. Just fill out your contact
information off of our website. Our phone number is five
six one eight ninety nine zero zero zero eight.

Speaker 2 (08:46):
Thank you very much. Thank you. Any promotions that you're
running right now you want to share.

Speaker 3 (08:49):
No, not not any promotions, although if you do pre
need it in advance, we do offer ten percent off.
I guess that is a promotion.

Speaker 2 (08:57):
Well mention that and mentioned the radio program and you'll
get your ten percent off. I want to thank you again, Dean.
Have a wonderful weekend.

Speaker 3 (09:02):
Yeah, thank you, guys.

Speaker 2 (09:11):
Business owners.

Speaker 5 (09:12):
The Greater South Florida Chamber is now accepting memberships. As
an online member, your business can create pages posts and
comments that add an extra dimension to your online presence.
Direct mail, newspaper and business directories are also available. With
over one thousand current members and one hundred thousand within
the social network, the Greater South Florida Chamber can help

(09:33):
generate business that fits your budget. Call today nine five
four five eight oh eight eight oh two or visit
Greater South Florida Chamber dot com.

Speaker 2 (09:42):
Good morning, welcome back to the show. It is Saturday,
February first, twenty twenty five. We're privileged to be here
at iHeartRadio on West Palm Beach, Florida, where we're now
streaming on the iHeart app. Have with this corporate trustee,
Ambassador's landfem Med and it's doctor Gary fian Scarro. I
want doctor's are to tell me about lambfam and it's
newly introduced product, Prolebamax. Could you do that for.

Speaker 6 (10:05):
Us, Doctor I sure can. First of all, Rob, I
just want to thank you for having me on the
show and letting me tell your audience about Prolevimax and
Lambfam's newest product. First, Lambfam's mission is to stay focused
on development and offering products for diseases and conditions without

(10:32):
a cure or effective treatment exists. They're committed to this.
And even better is that all their ingredients are all natural.
They don't use anything artificial, and that's why I joined
them as their medical advisor. But prolevimax is very unique.

(10:53):
It's revolutionary in my mind, and extremely effective. Product it
addresses is chronic inflammation and pain without giving any side effects.
And as well, you know, as I talk to you
a little bit, chronic inflammation does create a series of

(11:14):
other diseases. So it's an amazing formula. They do it
with supplements, vitamins and with amino acids. So first, let
me just talk a little bit about the supplements boswilias, viratol, corcumen,
Macha which is a green tea, Gensen, pepperine. These are

(11:37):
all combined together. These are wonderful supplements. They're combined together
and they are done so in order to reduce and
remove existing inflammation in our bodies. Then for Levamaxico's one
step further, it actually increases antioxidants in our body. Antioxidants,

(12:01):
I'm sure some of your viewers know, helps to eradicate
free radicals. Free radicals are these bad cells that damage
our healthy cells. So you know, that's something we need
to look at. Free radicals have to be reduced and

(12:23):
when you reduce them, you get the reduction in the
inflammation and pain in your body as well. But the
final point I want to make with this is that
the amino acids are critical. Here. Amino acids help to
attack the root cause of the inflammation. What are they specifically?

(12:48):
You know, there's six amino acids and prolevimax, five HTP rginine, glutamine,
serine one known as GABA, and colin. And these six
amino acids are actually neurotransmitters. They work between our brain
and our body. They communicate directly with your brain and

(13:12):
body to make the proteins that fight inflammation at the
same time stopping the making of proteins that can cause inflammation.
So rob the combo of these thirteen all natural ingredients
truly works to eliminate inflammation and pain in our bodies.

Speaker 2 (13:36):
Gary, that is extremely amazing and it's very very impressive.
Why must you have all those ingredients? And then curcumin,
as I know, is a very effective anti inflammatory product.

Speaker 6 (13:46):
Correct, Yes, Kurkuhman is one of the great anti inflammatory products.
But you know, we have a little bit of a
problem when we think of one ingredient, that single agent concept.
So that's why when they formulated perlevamax, they actually went

(14:09):
further and added several No one ingredient is going to
address what we call cytokines medically, and these are bad
proteins that give your body inflammation and pain. So Polivamax
actually does address these cytokines, combining over six amino acids

(14:32):
with six supplements one vitamin each working in their own
way to rid our bodies of these bad proteins. Polivamax
is the only all inclusive product on the market today.
The other issue that we have here is absorption courcuhmen.

(14:52):
Since you brought that one up. Cocuhmen is unfortunately fat absorbed.
Now in our system, taking it orally has to go
through the digestive system, which is predominantly water based, so
it's going to be poorly absorbed. However, if you add pipperine,

(15:15):
which landfam did in Prolebamax, you get kirkuhman to actually
be absorbed two thousand percent more. So they thought of
everything when they did this, because they formulated this for

(15:35):
maximum absorption to achieve maximum effectiveness of the medication.

Speaker 2 (15:45):
You know, Gary, has any clinical data shown how effective prolevamaxis?
I'm sure there is?

Speaker 6 (15:50):
Correct, Yes, yes, actually there's several. I'll cite one here
Doctor ken Orbeck publish the study using highly specific chronic
reactive protein levels now we abbreviated in the medical world

(16:11):
as HSCRP, and those levels are gotten through a simple
blood test and what the result says. If that level
is abnormally high, you've got increased inflammation going throughout your body.

Speaker 2 (16:28):
Lastly, Gary, if I need to get in touch with you,
how can I do that anytime?

Speaker 6 (16:33):
All you got to do is you can email us
at info at proliveamax dot com, or you can give
us a call three oh five, five oh four eight
five one four.

Speaker 2 (16:47):
Gary, You've got about thirty seconds up there. There any
promotions you're running in conjunction with the radio program.

Speaker 6 (16:54):
I believe where part of the golf outing that's going
to be going on. Correct and yeah, and we're looking
forward to that on April third. I already have some
relatives and friends from the New York area coming down.

Speaker 2 (17:10):
Love it, I love it. I heard it was so
called in New York the other day Gary that they
actually saw two lawyers with their hands in their own pocket.
Is that true?

Speaker 6 (17:21):
I'm sure that's true.

Speaker 2 (17:22):
All right, my friend. I want to thank you once again.
Congratulations to you and Fabio and everyone at LAFAM. Very
very impressive, wonderful product, pro Leavmax. Looking forward to working
with you throughout the course of the year in many
years to come.

Speaker 6 (17:35):
Thank you so much, absolutely, Rob, Thank you all right, bye.

Speaker 2 (17:43):
Business owners.

Speaker 5 (17:44):
The Greater South Florida Chamber is now accepting memberships. As
an online member, your business can create pages, posts, and
comments that add an extra dimension to your online presence.
Direct me own newspaper and business directories are also available.
With over one thousand current members and one hundred thousand
within the social network, the Greater South Florida Chamber can

(18:04):
help generate business that fits your budget. Call today nine
five four five eight oh eight eight oh two or
visit Greater South Florida Chamber dot com.

Speaker 2 (18:13):
Good morning, welcome back to the show. It's Saturday, February first,
twenty twenty five. We're privileged to be here in West
Palm Beach, florin at iHeartRadio, where we're now streaming on
the iHeart app have with this corporate trust. The Ambassador
Melissa Cricci with Melissa Crecci Insurance Solutions, talk a little
bit about what you do. Melissa.

Speaker 7 (18:32):
As an independent broker who specializes in Medicare, I mostly
work with clients who are new to Medicare due to age, retirement,
or disability. I host a free monthly educational workshop in
Jupiter for those who are new to Medicare or just
want a better understanding of it. We go over the
basics of Medicare, how amb work, as well as the
two programs for coverage. I spend most of my time

(18:55):
enrolling new Medicare beneficiaries into Medigap or Medicare Advantage plans.
There's also an enrollment period available right now to make
plan changes for Medicare Advantage clients. After the annual enrollment
period ends, we enter a period called the open Enrollment period.
This is a special election period that gives Medicare Advantage
beneficiaries the ability to make one plan change between January

(19:17):
first and March thirty first. This election period only applies
to Medicare Advantage beneficiaries. Part D recipients cannot make any
plan changes during this time.

Speaker 2 (19:28):
So what's the difference between Medicare advantage and Medicare supplement.

Speaker 7 (19:32):
A Medicare supplement works in conjunction with original Medicare to
pick up the cost of original Medicare leaves you with. Generally,
you pay a monthly premium for your plan and it
picks up all Part A costs and the twenty percent
Part B does not cover after you meet your deductible.
Of course, another great feature of a Medicare supplement is
the network. Original Medicare is a nationwide network. With a supplement,

(19:54):
you can seek treatment anywhere in the country and you'll
be covered as long as the provider accepts Medicare. This
is because Medicare is your primary coverage and your supplement
is secondary. The bill goes to Medicare first, and then
Medicare sends the portion it doesn't cover to your supplement.
Because of this, you don't have to worry about which
carrier you go with. As long as your provider accepts Medicare,

(20:15):
they'll accept your supplement. A Medicare advantage plan tends to
pro rate out the deductibles and co insurance that Medicare
leaves you with into a schedule of benefits. For example,
on a Medicare advantage plan, your hospital copay is usually
about three hundred dollars a day for a week three
hundred times five is fifteen hundred dollars, which is pretty
close to the part a deductible original Medicare leaves you with.

(20:38):
The great thing about Medicare advantage is it bundles all
your benefits into one package and usually adds extra benefits
like dental, vision and hearing. In general, Medicare advantage is
HMO or PPO style plans, meaning they do have a
network of doctors. HMO plans are very strict about their network,
where PPO plans have internet a network benefits. Great thing

(21:00):
about Medicare advantage is there's usually no premium. This makes
it a great option for those living on a fixed
incomer strict budget.

Speaker 2 (21:08):
Who typically uses your service.

Speaker 7 (21:10):
Melissa, I have two main types of clients. The first
would be that turning sixty five crowd, or those who
have recently acquired Medicare Part B. These are people who
are new to the Medicare program and need help signing
up for it, understanding how it works, and finding healthcare coverage.
The other main type of client I get are those
who are either unhappy with their coverage or concerned with

(21:31):
the costs associated with their coverage. For those who are
new to Medicare, I have a special presentation that helps
break down the federal Medicare program and explain the differences
between Medicare Supplements or medigap plans and Medicare Advantage plans
or partsy. I offer this workshop for free the last
Saturday of every month in Jupiter at the coffeehouse I
Need Coffee on Indian Town Road. For those who have

(21:53):
coverage already, I help shop for better rates or better
premiums or better benefits and generate custom quotes based on needs.
With my Medicare Supplement clients, I'm able to help find
lower rates and assist them with the application and medical
underwriting process. I also help them renew their part decoverage
annually and make pharmacy and plan recommendations based on the
most up to date information available through medicare dot Gov.

(22:16):
With my Medicare Advantage clients, I mostly help them manage
out of pocket costs by quoting them hospital indemnity plans.

Speaker 2 (22:23):
What is a hospital indemnity quote?

Speaker 7 (22:25):
Hospital and demni plans are extra insurance you can carry
in conjunction with your Medicare advantage plan, it reimbursed you
for out of pocket expenses associated with your coverage. For instance,
most Medicare advantage plans have a two hundred to four
hundred dollars a day copay for hospitalization. A hospital and
DEMNY plan reimburse you for the hospital copay, so your

(22:47):
out of pocket costs ends up being nothing. Many of
these indemni plans have other benefits like er or urgent
care reimbursements MRI or outpatient surgery benefits, or even office
visit reimbursements. I sell two different indemnity plans with great benefits.
One of them is even guaranteed to be issued up
to age seventy four, meaning your health won't affect your

(23:07):
ability to get coverage. This type of coverage has a
premium associated with it, with monthly costs starting at around
thirty dollars and going up from there. These plans are
fully customizable and can be made to complement your plant
specific out of pockets. There's no enrollment season for indemnity plants.
You can purchase this coverage year round.

Speaker 2 (23:26):
What do you like about being an agent? Most Melissa so.

Speaker 7 (23:30):
Insurance can be very intimidating and overwhelming. I personally have
had many experiences with those feelings as an autoimmune patient.
I've had Crohn's disease for seventeen years. Finding and maintaining
good health care coverage was a challenge for me when
I was younger. I actually went without insurance for three years,
but I taught myself how to shop for and sign
up for an ACA Marketplace plan back in twenty twenty.

(23:53):
Finally getting good coverage and being able to see the
proper doctors changed my life in so many ways. I
love the feeling I get I'm able to empower someone
else by finding the right plan for them.

Speaker 2 (24:04):
What sets you apart from everyone else in the industry? Obviously,
I know that you're very effective. One of the things
that I like about you is you're very punctual. If
someone contacts you, you get back to them within a
matter of minutes, and you're always pleasant, and you really
seem to have the people's vested interest at heart, and
you don't instead of a cattle drive or I don't
like that, or scrap that, but you don't treat them

(24:27):
like a number. You're looking into people's livelihood because of
the fact that you really care about whether or not
they have proper coverage and that they're getting the most
out of their coverage. That's what I see from the
outside looking in. But I'm not well versed in the
industry like you are. What do you feel set you
apart from the industry nor so I.

Speaker 7 (24:46):
Feel like being an autoimmune patient, I really do have
a unique experience. I'm able to empathize with my clients
on a really personal level, and I just want to
help them feel secure. I also like to point out
to my clients that I'm still young, not like a
lot of other agents, being in my thirties. I plan
to be around for many years, assuring my clients I'll
be around to help them with their coverage in the

(25:08):
later years to come. Another thing that sets me apart
is my main focus is education. Like you were saying,
I spend a lot of time just going over information
and options with my clients. I really get to know
them on a personal level. Because I'm an independent broker,
I represent many different insurance companies. I show my clients

(25:29):
all their options in an unbiased manner, unlike captive agents
that work for one insurance company. I also consider things
like out of pocket expenses and drug costs, helping my
client research their costs and find alternative coverages for out
of pocket expenses. I always include a hospital in demnity
quote with my Medicare advantage sales for that reason.

Speaker 2 (25:49):
Is there anything else you sell that you'd like to
talk about?

Speaker 7 (25:53):
So I also sell dental insurance. I can sell the
dental plans I offer to people of any age, but
I mostly sell them to Medicare supplement clients. These are
standalone plans that offer are up to a five thousand
dollars benefit. They include all your preventative services as well
as basic and major work such as fillings and crowns.
I have a very popular plan that I actually carry

(26:13):
for myself called the Pinnacle Plan. This coverage has no
waiting periods. Unlike most dental insurance, its maximum benefit doubles
yearly for the first three years, as well as increases
how much it covers. The first year you have it,
it may only cover fifty percent of the cost of
your basic work and twenty five percent of the cost
of your major work. The second year, it covers sixty percent.

(26:36):
The third year, the benefit reaches five thousand dollars. And
covers eighty percent. This is a great plan for someone
who needs a lot of dental work. I personally am
getting six crowns when my benefit reaches five thousand dollars
next year, and since then all my preventative cleanings and
X rays have been covered at one hundred percent.

Speaker 2 (26:53):
Now, do you have any final words to leave us
with this morning?

Speaker 7 (26:57):
I just want to mention my monthly educational seminar again.
It's the last Saturday of every month in Jupiter. At
the cafe I need coffee. I teach a medicare workshop
that's free and open to the public. Although I prefer
you RSVP. The seminard's geared towards people who are new
to medicare, although we cover a lot so anyone can attend.

Speaker 2 (27:16):
Go ahead and give everyone your pertinent contact information. Let
them know how they can get a hold of you
to set up a consultation if they choose to do
as such before we sign off this morning.

Speaker 7 (27:24):
So my name is Melissa Criici. That's c is in
Charlie r I c is in Charlie.

Speaker 8 (27:31):
Hi.

Speaker 7 (27:32):
Just add an at gmail dot com to send me
an email. My phone number is five six one two
eight seven zero four zero six.

Speaker 2 (27:41):
Want to thank you for being with us and you
have a wonderful weekend. Thank you.

Speaker 7 (27:50):
Hey, this is Melissa Cricci. I'm a licensed and insured
local insurance agent. So one thing worth mentioning is the
annual enrollment period for Medicare Advantage did end back in December,
which is known as plan changing season for those on
a Medicare advantage plan. But I do like to remind
all my clients that you have the Open Enrollment Period

(28:12):
or OEP available to make one plan change up until
March thirty first. So if you're unhappy with your current coverage,
give me a call. Can reach me at five six
' one two eight seven zero four zero six call
their text.

Speaker 2 (28:29):
Good morning, Welcome back to the show. It is the
first of February. It is twenty twenty five, and we
are privileged to be here this morning in West Palm Beach,
Florida at iHeartRadio, where we're now streaming on the iHeart app.
Have with us longtime corporate trustee Ambassador Tom Bognam from
co Card Merchant Services. They are the preferred merchant provider
for the Greater Soft Florida Chamber of Commerce Center network

(28:51):
Tom's been at this for a number of years. He's
as well versed, and this is anybody I have ever seen.
I know that there's been some changes in the industry Tom,
with technic over the last twelve to thirty six months,
probably more so than people have seen in a number
of years. Things are getting quite sophisticated with technology, which
is rough for me because you know, the only thing

(29:12):
other than eighth grade that was hard on me, Tom,
was the eighth grade, And you and I both know that.
All kidding aside, what I'd like for you to do
is elaborate on that. I want you to share with
the listening audience a little bit about the new technology
that's come out, some of the things that are happening
within your industry, and the things that you're offering, some

(29:32):
of the promotions you're doing, not just for our members
or our network, for anybody who's listening to this program
on iHeartRadio throughout the state. Go ahead, well.

Speaker 8 (29:42):
With credit card merchant services and processing and all that
sort of thing. You know, ten fifteen years, people are
still using cash, People were still using a regular credit card,
and slowly but surely people started switching over to let's
call the debit cards. You know, the debit card is
really cash because when you're paying with that, it's really

(30:05):
the same as writing out a check because it's just
coming right out of your checking account. That being said,
when the credit card companies, mainly via the MasterCard, came
out with that, you know, what they instituted was that
it would work just like a credit card, which means
it's supposed to be cash. But if somebody writes a
check to you at your business, you're not really paying

(30:26):
any fees to take that check. Whereas when Visa MasterCard
set that up, they started charging the same rates as
they do with a regular credit card. That being said,
that means that merchants are paying two and a half
three percent to take cash by way of a plastic
card from their customers. Our program eliminates that by doing

(30:49):
what's called cascount, which is that flips it over and
puts the puts the charge on the card that's being used.
So businesses that might be paying anywhere from two hundred
to five hundred up to one thousand dollars a month
and credit card pies to now run their business and
eliminate paying all those fears.

Speaker 2 (31:10):
You know what, are you seeing out there right now
that you feel is eminent that you would want to
share with the listening audience this morning.

Speaker 8 (31:19):
I don't quite understand what do you mean, rob By
what so as.

Speaker 2 (31:23):
Far as industry standards, the dues and the don'ts, if
you will to stare people in the right direction, what
should they be looking for as far as what they
want within their merchant processing, what's the proper rate they
should be looking for in addressing, and what would be
the one or two things that you would suggest that
people not do that a lot of people might make
as a common mistake.

Speaker 8 (31:44):
One of the most common mistakes right now in the
marketplace is people who have a credit card processing system
and just through a letter ride, so to speak. They're
just used to doing with the way they've always done things,
which is just taking credit cards and getting paid for
merchants for business for merchandise, and it just gets to

(32:05):
be a comfort zone where people just let it go
the way it's been going for the last five to
ten years without even researching or seeing whether they can
possibly save some money, maybe have a better system. As
well as all of the technology that's out there for
helping promote their business. So that's one of the things
that we offer, and we're running a special on that today,

(32:29):
and that is that we'd like to come out and
do what's called the confidential account analysis, take a look
at where the business is at for a particular merchant,
see if that's a comfortable zone for them or and
or see if there's a way that they can do
it in a better way at a lot less expense.

(32:50):
So what we are doing we're offering today is besides
offering a free terminal to anybody that signs up, for
the first five people to call in today, give me
a call and just schedule an appointment to come out
and do take a look at what they're doing and
do a review what we call the confidential account analysis.
We're offering one hundred dollars cash. So have us come out,

(33:11):
take a look at what they're doing, see if we
can help, and first five we'll get one hundred dollars.

Speaker 2 (33:17):
That's amazing.

Speaker 9 (33:17):
I like that. You know.

Speaker 2 (33:19):
I know another program it's been around a number of years,
Tom touch on the program where you can pass the
fee along to the client rather than paying the merchant
processing fee on your own.

Speaker 8 (33:32):
Well that's what the term is called cash discount. But
if you think, I think all the way back to
even ten years ago, gas stations service stations started doing that.
You'd see a big banner out front and it would
say four cents a discount for cash. And now if
you drive past BP gas stations and you know all
the other gas stations, you see up on their sign

(33:54):
where they post the price of gas. I think right
now it's like two ninety three around three dollars gallon,
and right alongside that up on the sinus says cash prices.
So that's the cash price. If you stop and use
your credit card, it's going to add another three and
a half percent, which means that if you buy ten
dollars worth of gas, it's going to cost you ten
dollars plus thirty five or forty cents. And that's called

(34:17):
cash discount. And we do that and it's got to
be very prominent and popular in the marketplace. So as
I said, you know, if you figure three percent average
on credit card fees and somebody does thirty thousand dollars
in a month instead of paying out nine hundred dollars
out of their pocket for the transactions that they do,
that money goest gets added added to the sale is

(34:39):
what it is. It's added to the sale and the
buyer pays it on their on their card.

Speaker 2 (34:44):
I know that we're looking forward to having you out
at all the upcoming events in February, but I know
the most important I'm excited about having you out at
the expo We're doing at iHeartRadio on Friday, February twenty
eighth from three until seven pm. Tom have a table there.
You can come right up to them and meet him
in person. I want to thank you for your time
this morning. Tom. You and your family have a wonderful
weekend and have a great day, sir. Thank you.

Speaker 8 (35:08):
Don't forget the jots down my phone number nine four
five by three A nine three one, give us a call.

Speaker 2 (35:17):
Thank you Tom.

Speaker 7 (35:18):
Thanks.

Speaker 4 (35:19):
Dig Co Card is your full service solution for your
credit card and payment processing needs, offering state of the
art processing solutions, payment gateways, and point of sale systems
that are proven across many industries to meet the needs
of big and small business. We offer a full service

(35:41):
point of sale system at wholesale pricing for restaurants, salons,
and retailers, available in both tablet and windows based solutions.
With no cost processing and free equipment. At co Card.
We know that your business is not a one size
fits all. That's why we provide personal and local service
for you and your business with twenty three years experience.

(36:03):
Contact us today at nine five four five five three
eighty nine thirty one for a confidential, virtual, or personal
visit to your location. That's nine five four five five
three eighty nine thirty one, Or visit us online at
cocard Merchant Services dot net co Card Merchant Services dot
net co card where plastic is fantastic.

Speaker 2 (36:25):
Good morning, Welcome back to the show. It's Saturday, February first,
twenty twenty five. We're privileged to be here at iHeartRadio
in West Palm Beach, Florida, where we're now streaming on
the iHeart app. Have with us Megan Barber, who's a
corporate Trustee member and she has a very very interesting company.
What I'd like for you to do, Megan, is give
out your pertin to contact information, give out the web
address and phone number, and then I want you to

(36:47):
pronounce the name of your company because I want everyone
to catch this. This is very unique, that's very effective,
and she has something that a lot of people want,
but they don't know how would I guess for lack
of better grammar, really, I wouldn't know how to go
about obtaining it. And she's well versed in this industry.
Go ahead.

Speaker 9 (37:05):
The company is Grant and Funding Solutions Company or GASCO
for short, and so our web address is www dot
Gasco ga ssco dot com and you can reach us
on our main line at nine five four eight two

(37:25):
four two zero sixty six, or you can email me
at any time at Megan m A G h A
n at gasco dot com meccan.

Speaker 2 (37:36):
How did you get into doing what you do?

Speaker 9 (37:40):
I started working for a special district. Under so special
districts our government entities. They typically go under the governor
of that state, so they don't fall under the city
or the county. I worked for them. We didn't have
enough funding for our capital improvement plan also called a
CAT for a SIP plan, and we had to find

(38:02):
the funding and so I started really lobbying and getting
appropriations from the governor Governor Destantas, and from there it
still wasn't enough to cover the capital improvement project we
were looking to fund, so naturally we went trying to
pursue grants and I ended up being very successful, so

(38:26):
successful getting grants that other municipalities asked for my health
and so I helped other municipalities and government entities in
the area to write their grants and to help with
getting appropriations for them. And then from there I started
Gasco and everything just fell in line. We started doing

(38:49):
other municipalities, and we started doing other states for Florida, California, Texas,
and Pennsylvania. And then we got in writing a for
profit grants, so Small Business Innovative Research also called SBIR grants,
and then moved into the nonprofit sector and started writing

(39:09):
grants for them. So we've been doing it for about
eight years now, but of course I started long before that,
and it's hard to find somebody in the industry that
has been doing it for so long. So we also
teach classes and do workshops to help not just grant
writers but nonprofits or other entities write their own grants.

Speaker 2 (39:31):
That's very interesting. I know that there's a lot of
people in our network that are going to be excited
about the fact you're going to be coming out to
some of the upcoming events. We're hoping to have you
out on Friday, the thirty first at Lakeworth Towers, and
then I'd love to have you at the Valentine's Day
Home show and the Point and Maul on Friday, excuse me,
Saturday the eighth and Sunday the ninth of February. And
then we have a big event that we're doing obviously

(39:52):
here at iHeartRadio on the twenty eighth of February from
three pm to seven pm. We're doing the nextpo here
and have some other dates. I think I've forwarded you
the calendar of events. And obviously we want to make
sure that we get your information properly filtered to our
network because there's so many people within our network or
people in the listing audience who may be part of

(40:12):
the network because they're listeners to the radio programs that
could benefit from your services. Now don't want to be
redund and I know I'd asked this to you in
a prior interview. Touch on the process, how it works,
any restrictions, Is there anything that you can't do for individuals?
Go ahead.

Speaker 9 (40:31):
Now for individuals affected during disasters, we actually help those
individuals for free. I just met with the CFO of
the State of Florida their office recently because there's so
many different funding opportunities out there for individuals, especially in
Florida affected by disasters, to help rebuild their home, not

(40:56):
just to rebuild, to harden their home. There's a lot
of funding out there, and a lot of the times
one entity, let's say the Governor's office or because the
CFO works for the governor, didn't realize that the Department
of Emergency Management also has additional funding out there. So
we do help those individuals for free. That's part of
our just initiative and helping the community. But there's also

(41:20):
ways that we can help for profit businesses and other
entities harden their infrastructure, especially during a disaster. There's no
one that we exclude, obviously individuals. We don't give individuals grants.
You have to have a business, an LLC and nonprofit something,
but we do help them in the event of an
disaster for free. So there's nothing we typically exclude. We

(41:45):
just kind of vet all of our potential clients to
see if we can help them. Sometimes if they just
have a marketing firm.

Speaker 10 (41:52):
There's not many.

Speaker 9 (41:53):
Grants out there available for things like that, but we
don't turn away anyone and we will help you get
the funding that you need, even if it's not through us.

Speaker 2 (42:05):
That's very important, very very important. Forty five seconds left.
I want you to give out your pertinent contact information,
let people know how can get ahold of you till
we have you on next segment and then once again
she'll be at at all the upcoming events. And then
I know you have your event that you're doing in
Delray and April, touch on that too as well.

Speaker 9 (42:21):
Go ahead April fifteenth, we will be teaching workshop at
the Civic Center in Delray on Job Road. We'll be
teaching you how to write your own brand to giving
you lots of grants to apply for a big pocket
of stuff that you'll get. You can find us at
www dot gasco dot com and you can actually see

(42:42):
the workshop information from there and find my contact information
there as well.

Speaker 2 (42:47):
Megan want to thank you for being with us. Thank
you so much. Have a wonderful weekend and we're looking
forward to having you at all the upcoming events.

Speaker 9 (42:54):
Sounds good, Thanks Rob.

Speaker 2 (42:56):
Thank you.

Speaker 11 (43:02):
At Grant and Funding Solutions Company, we specialize in providing
comprehensive grant writing and funding solutions tailored specifically to the
needs of public entities, nonprofits and businesses across various industries.
We focus on simplifying the grant application process, securing critical funding,
and guiding clients from start to finish. For more information,
you could call nine five four seven zero seven seven

(43:24):
four zero four or visit online at www dot ga
f sco dot com. We post free information on our
website about grant opportunities, as well as free guidance for
individuals who have been affected by recent hurricanes. Once again,
that's nine five four seven zero seven seven four zero
four or online at www dot ga f sco dot com.

(43:45):
Grant and Funding Solutions Company, driving funding forward, securing grants today,
building tomorrow.

Speaker 2 (43:51):
Good morning, welcome back to the show. It's Saturday, February first,
twenty twenty five. We're privileged to be here at iHeartRadio
in West Palm Beach, Florida. We're now streaming on the
iHeart app. Instud with me this morning is the host
of her weekly radio programs. Board President John Kroll from
Crow Really Toy or Mother As we roll with Kroll
with us this morning is Cynthia hayes Hurst and she

(44:11):
is a board certified acupuncturist and she is located in
Fort Pierce, Florida. Now, folks, the phone number if you
want to reach out to f SOOMA is eight hundred
five seven eight four eight sixty five, and the website
is Fasoma fsoma dot org. What you do is select
find an acupuncturist and a your ZIP code on the
information page and someone local to you will pop up. Now,

(44:35):
I also want to highlight the benefits of acupuncture and
community outreach efforts. I'm really excited about working with FSOMA Advocacy.
It's off to an exciting start. In twenty twenty five.
We're currently planning our their annual Acued Day in Tallahassee
and provide acupuncture demos for the legislators and the public

(44:56):
in Tallahassee. That's on the eleventh of March tw twenty
twenty five. It's the largest event and it's an annual
outreach program and they'll be highlighting FSMOA and Eastern Medicine
on the radio iHeartRadio monthly to improve the public awareness
of many different ways to use it and improve our
daily health. And we're also excited about the fact that

(45:16):
they're the host company. They are the sponsor for our
March twentieth event at the Haverdel Fen Center from ten
am until two pm. So many different things going on
within your organization. There's so many Florida residents who need
to see in acupunctures for so many different reasons, whether
they're suffering with pain, trying to find relief. You know,

(45:37):
there's a number of things that could be PTSD, overwhelming pain, anxiety, grief,
sleep issues, digestive orders, all different cases. What I want
you to do is take a few minutes this morning,
talk a little bit about your background, talk a little
about the organization, share with the listening audience, anything else
that's going on within the organization that you want. And

(46:00):
then obviously we're excited about having you out at the
Cane Center with us on the twelfth of February. Hope
to have you at the Savannah on the twenty first
of February, and we're looking forward to having your team
with us at the expo. We're doing the twenty eighth
of February right here at iHeartRadio on Friday the twenty eighth,
from three pm to seven pm.

Speaker 10 (46:17):
Go ahead, Thank you, Rob, I appreciate the introduction. I
am an Advocacy chair for Florida State We're in a
medical association, so all the opportunities that we have coming up,
I'm going to be at most of those events I have.
Tallahassee is our biggest outreach of the year. This is

(46:39):
a way to bring public awareness to legislation into the
opportunities that acupuncture has for Florida residents. They are able
to find an acupuncturist and get help even before they
are having a serious malfunction in their body. They can
get support and benefit from it. So a lot of
times people will will realize there's something going on, but

(47:02):
maybe their lab work is still good. Maybe they aren't
having a significant change where it shows up that their
primary care appointment that they are persisting in something's not
quite right in my system. I know my body, this
is what's going on with it. Something's not quite right.
Who else could I go to? And acupuncturists would be
a great resource for those people when they're kind of

(47:24):
in between. They haven't gotten enough going on to show
a red flag for Western medicine or our modern primary care,
but they have something enough overry that an acupuncturists would
be able to hopefully avert a crisis and help them
help them with some daily activities, nutrition, and therapy to

(47:48):
do better so that they hopefully don't end up having
a worsening of condition that will end up with them
having a lot more quality time in primary care and
possibly long term consequences. So it is a good adjunct
to use with your with your regular physicians. If you
already are seeing primary care, you should be. You should

(48:10):
also have you know, any other modalities that you need
to support your health. Sometimes people are in between offices
and they have something come up and they feel like
their only choices are going to be the walk in clinic,
and sometimes we do refer people to the walk in clinic.
If they can't get into their primary care, we'll refer
them to the emergency room. But a lot of times

(48:30):
there's a lot of things that you can do for
yourself every day that are going to avert a crisis
and improve things. And acupuncturists can send you in the
right direction when you kind of feel like you haven't
quite found your direction. But we always refer out to
to other healthcare providers. A lot of people will call
and they will say, well, I don't want to do this,

(48:50):
or I don't want to do that that's fine, but
there's a time and place for both modern medicine and
ancient medicine, and they work side to see well together
as an integrative therapy to provide you with a well
rounded treatment plan that's based on us an individual.

Speaker 2 (49:09):
That's very, very important and very informative. It's got to
be rewarding to do the type of work that you do,
because I know that a lot of times, and we
only have a few minutes, but I know a lot
of times people it'll be there at their wits end.
They've tried everything else and then well, I'm going to
try acupuncture, whereas they probably should have tried it first.
I know that I had bad knees, have had for

(49:31):
a number of years, and literally that was the only
thing that helped me on my right knee, was to
actually go in and have an acupuncture's work on my
knee because didn't there was nothing I could do because
I don't have a meniscus slept in either knee, and
I've had it my acl blown two different times. It
was really, really tough, and obviously your organization is held

(49:52):
in high esteem. Memory shoves me correct. I believe there's
thirty five thousand people statewide, Is that right, that's correct.

Speaker 10 (50:00):
Yes, we have thirty five thousand people in Florida. There's
I'm sorry, three thousand, five hundred in Florida, thirty five
thousand nationwide and different places. How different acupuncture physicians will
practice different things. Some people like the bodywork, the tweena
and massage and alignment to kinds of things. Some people

(50:22):
like to use herbs, some people like to use nutrition.
We do use laboratory testing and imaging to see what's
going on with the patient as well, but it depends
on who you go to what their particular niche is.
Mine's cardiopulmonary. So I love hearts and lungs and physical
medicine because what makes hearts and lungs work better is movement.

(50:45):
So I like to focus on things that are going
to be long term supporting your longevity and well being.
And I've seen it work for people, so I get encouraged.
I will be speaking in London actually as the International
Traditional and Modern Medice and Conference in London in March
on the twelfth of March this year, talking about cardiac

(51:06):
COPD that's interesting and using Chinese medicine to help along
with your regular Western Medicine treatment.

Speaker 2 (51:14):
Well, I'm excited about having you and your team out
at all the upcoming events. There's that signal from headquarters.
We got about a minute left. I know that you'll
be the host organization for that big event we're doing
on March twentieth at the Habit Del Fence Center and
Fort Pierce. They're gonna have multiple tables, They're gonna have
multiple people there that are doing different things, and they'll

(51:34):
be doing some presentations. Very excited about that. What I
want you to do before we sign off this morning,
give out the contact information for the organization again, and
then your information until we have you on next segment.
And I thank you for your time this morning. Thank you.

Speaker 10 (51:49):
The contact information for FASOMA is to find your acventures
at ACUPUNCTUREFLA dot com and the phone number is one
eight hundred. It's five seven eight four eight sixty five.
Thanks for having me. That's a wonderful day.

Speaker 2 (52:04):
Thank you. You have a great weekend as well. Thank you. Doctor.

Speaker 12 (52:14):
Are you suffering from stress, poor digestion, or lack of sleep?
Acupuncture can help. Board certified practitioners from the Florida State
Oriental Medical Association are ready to help you lead a healthier,
happier life, experience relaxation, focus, and increased energy after a treatment.
Call eight hundred five seven eight forty eight sixty five.
That's eight hundred five seven eight forty eight sixty five,
or visit f soma dot org slash acupuncture, Got pain,

(52:36):
Get acupuncture, Live a Better life Today eight hundred five
eight seven forty eight sixty five or online at fsoma
dot org slash acupuncture.

Speaker 1 (52:44):
You've been listening to the Greater South Florida Chamber Radio
program with your host to board president John Kroll of
Kroll Realty