Ray Hood Associates

Ray Hood has been associated with funeral service since 1974. He qualified as an embalmer, winning the coveted ‘Trustees Award’ for the highest theoretical examination results in 1994, prior to going on to become a tutor with the ‘British Institute of Embalmers’. 
 
During a visit to the ‘Fountain National Academy’ in 1997’ he was invited to formally become an ‘International Honorary Member’ of ‘SIGMA PHI SIGMA’ an educational fraternity based at the University of Southern Illinois faculty of ‘Applied Sciences and Arts’, and is entitled to all the rights and privileges appertaining to lawful membership. 
 
He is a member of the ‘American Society of Embalmers’, and has been a member of the ‘European Association of Embalmers’ since its inception, being proud that his membership number is in single figures. Ray is also proud to have been appointed in 2008, as a ‘Goodwill Ambassador’ for the ‘Fountain national Academy’. 
 
Ray has been actively involved in disaster response throughout his career.
 
Ray gained his Post Graduate ‘Certificate in Teaching in Adult and Higher Education’ at the University of London, where he continues his association by basing his embalming tutorials and Modular Examinations at Birkbeck UOL. 
 
He has written for the BIFD journal and the Funeral Service Journal, and is a past ‘Technical Editor’ of the British Institute of Embalmers quarterly publication ‘The Embalmer’, where he continually promoted embalming education through his regular column 'Ray's Embalming Collegiate'.
 
He has also been actively involved in National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ’s), having been personally responsible for establishing the very first NVQ centre in England for funeral service whilst working in the ‘Learning and Development Centre at ‘City of Westminster College’ in London. 
 
His NVQ activities have also extended to areas outside of the funeral industry and include Training and Development and Management. Ray is also a qualified ‘Institute of Management’ and ‘Key Skills Assessor’, having been involved with several ‘Advanced Modern Apprenticeship’ schemes.