Before I proudly introduce representatives of our important, terrific staff please allow me to quickly introduce myself. I, Hatch Bailey, represent the fourth generation of my family in this, our family business, Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey. I am the Funeral Director in Charge, President of the Board and co-owner with my parents, Roberta Hatch Bailey and Arthur William (Bill) Bailey, Jr. Besides my parents and me, the other members of our Board of Directors are my brothers, Wesley (Wes) Wilkirson Bailey and Roy William Bailey. I'd like to further introduce myself by giving you a little history about myself. I'll tell you what I've been up to during my career, and share my vision with regards to serving or helping you, your family, and friends. I was born in May 1960. I graduated from Vanguard College Preparatory School, Baylor University, Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science, and Leadership Waco. I met Yvonne Mize the very first day of Baylor in August 1978, and we married in July of 1983. We have four sons, two of whom have worked at the Funeral Home during the summers. (Yvonne fell victim to Melanoma, or skin cancer, and died in June of 2007 after a courageous battle - faithfully walking with God throughout her/our journey, with dignity and grace. I was mighty proud of her - still am of course. I miss her so very much.) I am a deacon at The First Baptist Church of Waco - the church's first 3rd generation deacon. Yvonne's and my sons are the fifth generation of my family to be members of the church. I began working part time at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey (WHB) in 1979 soon after my father's parents died, only ten days apart. That experience had a major impact on my life. I began my full time career in 1982 after having graduated from Mortuary School. Over the years I have gladly volunteered many hours doing 'civic work' in an effort to be a good citizen, and am most proud of time spent trying to have an impact on children's education having served as President of two private Christian school Boards. I am equally proud to have served as President of the Baylor/Waco Foundation and the Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center Board of Visitors. Currently, I enjoy serving on the McLennan Community College (MCC) Foundation Board where I was a student in the summer of 1978. Through the years, I have served on some thirty various Boards, in the capacity of President many times. One of my biggest honors was having been elected as Community Advisor to The Junior League of Waco. Another great honor was having been elected to the Board of The International Order of The Golden Rule, an international association of independently owned funeral homes. I worked my way up the ladder to the Presidency, but ultimately turned down the opportunity. At first, I felt badly about saying no, but over time, became proud of my decision. It simply was a time when my family needed me - my time and presence - much more than the professional organization. And ever since, I have been very selective about which organizations I serve. My favorite organization to which I belong is called The Leaders Network. I was a charter member of the group of approximately forty funeral home owners from all over the United States, and we like to think of ourselves as the leaders in funeral service. It's a super group of professionals - many of whom I consider close friends. When I'm not working, I mostly enjoy family activities. My hobbies include the fine arts, fine dining, gemology, spectator sports, travel, and nature. My true desire is to help people in grief. My vision includes an effort we call 'Hand-in-Hand' in which a qualified grief counselor offers his services free of charge to anyone in grief no matter what caused the grief, as grief is caused by many things other than death. I foster a professionally trained approach to helping people when their loved ones die, but really, I just hire the most compassionate people I can find who are genuinely interested in caring for people in need of a compassionate hand in times of trouble - someone who really knows what they're doing. And then I see that they are continually trained professionally, and that they are fully equipped with all the necessary state of the art tools needed to be efficient in handling the business of serving people. But above all, I insist that all employees who represent my family are genuinely compassionate people. We don't discriminate against anyone whatsoever. I believe the Bible says to help people, period - not just certain kinds of people under certain conditions. Bottom line; my family and I can't help people enough by ourselves, so we actually hire others to help us. (That's why it's called a business.) But everyone we hire must be just right for our small family business, and they must want to help grieving people in just the right way, the WHB way! So that's what I'm all about! I would welcome any questions or comments you may have. If you took the time to read all of this, then I'm flattered and thank you. I just felt you deserve to know a little about me. After all, you did visit our website for information. I hope all of your questions will be answered in this website. If not, then please feel free to contact any one of us.