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The Team Behind the Team
Family Choice Funerals & Cremation just didn’t happen…our brand was created with experienced funeral, business and hospitality executives. The G2 Funeral Group brings the families that our team serves professional leadership that is unique to the funeral industry. After all, “It’s your family, your choice...our experience and value.”
 | Steve Zittle, President/Chief Executive Officer
Email: stevez@g2funeralgroup.com
Office Phone: 757-366-9260
Mobile Phone: 757-353-1416
Steve is a native of Baltimore, Maryland and has been in the funeral service industry since 1991. He has an Associate’s Degree in Mortuary Science from Catonsville Community College and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Ashford University, and is a licensed funeral director and embalmer in Virginia and North Carolina. In addition to his duties with G2 Funeral Group and Family Choice Funerals & Cremations, he was an adjunct instructor in the Mortuary Science program at Tidewater Community College in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Steve’s experience includes working in large, medium, and small funeral homes. He has been blessed to learn from some of the best and brightest of our industry, and has proven adept at applying those principles to the development of the Family Choice model and TouchPoints Operating Platform. His areas of expertise include the operation and marketing of funeral homes, and implementing the changes necessary to be successful despite changing market conditions. Using a fresh, common-sense approach has allowed him to understand consumer attitudes. It is his goal to help funeral service providers become more relevant in the minds of the public.
He and his wife, Kristi have thirteen children and two grandsons and enjoy rooting for the Baltimore Ravens. |
Jeff Harbeson, Chief Development Officer
Email: jeff@theharbesongroup.com
Office Phone: 540-589-7821
Jeff Harbeson is one of the Founders of the Family Choice Funerals & Cremations™ brand and a former Batesville Casket Company sales executive. As part of the Family Choice model, Jeff developed a proprietary funeral home operating system, TouchPoints™, which is the only Six Sigma based funeral home operating platform in the United States.
Jeff brings his innovative development of partnerships, products and services to our team. Combined with his 20 years of service which includes Operation Desert Storm, Jeff exemplifies “a dream is only a vision without execution.” As the Founder & CEO of The Harbeson Group, he believes that families should be provided information to make educated funeral decisions. |  |
 | Chris Tharp, Chief Funeral Executive
Chris Tharp is one of the Founders of the Family Choice Funerals & Cremations brand. As a native of Bedford, VA where he graduated from Liberty High School, he also has an undergraduate degree from the University of Richmond and graduate degrees from Brown University and the University of Virginia. With his distinguished education and background in Education, Chris is an asset to our team.
A third generation funeral director, Chris is the owner of Tharp Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc., with four locations serving central Virginia.
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J. Edward Watson, Chief Strategy Officer
Mr. Watson is one of the Founders of the Family Choice Funerals & Cremations brand. With over 40 years of executive and entrepreneurial experience within the insurance, marketing & advertising and lodging industries. Over his career he has been involved in all aspects of new business formation as a founder and chief executive of multi state organizations with associates numbering from 25-500. In addition, he has served on various industry boards.
The highlight of his 10 year insurance career with Mutual of Omaha occurred when he was selected as the youngest associate general agent in the country and lead a 60 agent team to national recognition as one of the company’s top agencies. During the development, ownership and operations part of his hospitality career, Mr. Watson worked with institutional, public and private investors, lenders, third party managers and numerous brands including Marriott, Hilton, Radisson, Holiday Inn, Comfort Inn, Days Inn and Econo Lodge. Before entering the development, ownership and operating side of the hotel business, Mr. Watson had a distinguished 7 year career in marketing and advertising where the agency he founded participated in the travel and lodging industry along with other industries such as manufacturing, banking, healthcare, automotive and national associations. Mr. Watson was educated at the University of Miami (FL). Mr. Watson is the Founder & CEO of Pharos Hospitality.
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