“Affordability”
When discussing the services offered by Tribute Funeral & Cremation Services, Dustin Dugger had just one word to describe the business.
It’s the business motto that has led to success in Washington County. Looking to carry over the momentum, Dugger and Elizabethton native Paul Dailey are co-owners of Tribute Funeral & Cremation Services that opened their doors to the public on Thursday, Sept. 15, at their location on West Elk Avenue in the shopping center beside Miso Restaurant.
The story of the business is a simple one, Dugger explained.
“Tribute Funeral & Cremation Services opened in Johnson City, near the Gray community, around a year and a half ago,” Dugger said. “We had a simple idea of offering low cost funerals to the public.”
Dugger added the business looked into the prices offered across the area and looked at the way to implement a new model to serve the public.
“We wanted to offer low cost services,” he said. “Our prices are half the cost compared to a traditional funeral home.”
After experiencing success across the county line, Dugger said he got together with Dailey, and the duo clicked when discussing the opportunity of opening a location in Elizabethton.
“He had the same dream as me,” Dugger said. “We talked about what we needed to do to open a location in Elizabethton and the opportunity presented itself.”
The current operation is inside a suite at the West Elk shopping center. Tribute Funeral & Cremation Services offer arrangements on site and will help families orchestrate services at the family’s church of preference, churches that have partnered with the business, or provide services at their Washington County location.
The Elizabethton office currently has four employees, Dugger added, while the Johnson City office has six. The low overhead allows the business to provide services at a cheaper rate, he added, and the community has shown their support so far.
“We did a Facebook campaign and people really showed their support,” he said. “Paul is such a well-known name in the community and a lot of people were happy to see him around.”
No stranger to the business, Dailey added that he is excited to be back in Elizabethton.
“I’m very passionate about the funeral business and to have the opportunity to come back to my hometown and serve the families that I had the honor to help many times over the past years,” he said. “It’s just a great honor for me to be here and we’re very excited about what we can offer to the community. Affordable funeral operations.”
Dailey also seconded the sentiments offered by Dugger.
“The support from the community has been tremendous,” he added. “Just from what we’ve seen through social media and just with talking to people in the public. Families that I’ve dealt with in the past are now reaching out to us. The support has been tremendous and we couldn’t be any happier.”
When discussing future plans, both Dailey and Dugger added Tribute Funeral & Cremation Services will be looking to expand to help service the needs of the community.
For more information on the business, visit their website at tribute-services.com or call 423-518-1556.