Everybody's Business: Service offers lifestory video

Nov. 22--CAROLINA BEACH -- A chance encounter eight years ago led a lifelong salesman to embark on a new business venture designed to help give peace of mind through recording life stories.

Scott Betz, who had been working in the insurance industry, made a pit stop at a convenience store in Wilmington where he met a woman with her small child. The toddler, he learned, never had a chance to meet her father, who had died fighting in Iraq. Betz went home but kept replaying the conversation, wondering if there was a solution.

"That young lady [the mom] just changed me," Betz said. "At first, I was uncomfortable, but then I knew I had to try to do something about it.

Betz set about coming up with a system that would allow people to make videos that he could store in perpetuity to show to family members after one's death. From that meeting -- and Betz' search for a solution -- the company My Life Marker was born. The goal of the company is to allow people the opportunity to share their stories for future generations, and Betz said it gives people a chance to say share whatever is importantt to them.

"It wasn't an easy process even if it sounds easy," Betz said. "There are legal issues you don't think about, but when you're taking people stories, you have to consider. The biggest question we had from people is how they would know we'd be around."

Betz set out with a small staff with the initial plan to have people record their own videos and then send them to My Life Marker for safe-keeping, but that model turned out not to work as well as Betz had hoped. He eventually turned to the idea of the company creating the videos and storing them as a one-stop service.

"It's about sitting down with them face to face and talking them through the process," Betz said. "It takes a while for people to get comfortable."

He visits with My Life Marker clients and talks to them in an initial interview that lasts about an hour. During that interview, Betz asks people to recount various points of their lives, such as talking about school or their best friends from childhood.

"[Most people] talk aboug God, family, business and community," he said. "Sometimes they're talking [in the video] to some people that they love, but we remind them that they also may be talking to their children's children who don't know them."

My Life Marker sends everyone paperwork to keep with other important documents. When the client dies, that paperwork will give information on how to retrieve the recording.

"Once we get contacted, we start verifying things," he said. "We'll notify [the family members] when we get confirmation of the death. Then we'll go ahead and release the video. We try to cover all the bases so that it maintains the integrity of the system."

Although anyone can purchase a life story video, Betz said he encourages people not to wait until they are terminally ill to think about doing it. Most of My Life Marker's clients are 55-70 years old.

"You should do it when you're healthy and happy," Betz said. "That way you're really telling your story at a time when things are going well."

Currently My Life Marker will store videos for active duty military members for free although the service member must produce these videos. My Life Marker services are available online at www.MyLifeMarker.com or by calling (910) 368-9523.

In other business news:

-- The Sanford Sears Hometown Store, 2534 Lee Avenue, is supporting Make-A-Wish this holiday season. Participate in the "Season of Wishes" by donating in increments of $2, $5 or $10. Customers also can participate in other special in-store purchases. All customer donations will be sent to Make-a-Wish.

-- Pinehurst Surgical Clinic, located at 5 First Village Dr. in Pinehurst, is launching a solar energy system, consisting of almost 600 solar panels, that will provide electricity free of noise, pollution and radiation with a number of environmental and economic benefits.

-- The Allstate Corporation recently recognized local insurance agents who are exceeding expectations. The Charlotte Holt Agency, 2817 S. Horner Blvd., received the Premier Agency Designation and Honor Ring while the Tyner Insurance Agency, 315 N. Horner Blvd., received the Premier Agency Designation.

-- St. Joseph of the Pines, which provides a range of services for aging, contributed $2.84 million to the Southern Pines community. The money covered a range of services, including medical and dental care for low-income residents.

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