Oceanside CA— Connected Women of Influence, the local association for women owners, executives and professionals, has named Debra Allen their 2019 San Diego Lifetime Legacy Award recipient. This award recognizes a woman who has demonstrated superior leadership over several years and has a significant track record of long-term achievements and accomplishments in business.
She received the honor during a recent Women of Influence Awards luncheon at the Hilton San Diego Mission Valley where she was chosen from four finalists. With more than 35 years of experience in all aspects of funeral service, Allen has an unparalleled passion for providing care to California families during their time of need.
Allen has been the general manager at Eternal Hills Memorial Park for 16 years. She is responsible for growing top-line revenue for the facility, leads a staff of 65 and ensures the mortuary and its grounds are maintained and efficiently serve more than 800 families each year in North San Diego County. She received her mortuary science degree in 1980 from Cypress College of Mortuary Science. Since then, she has shown her insatiable desire to master all aspects of the profession by earning numerous certifications. Currently, she is licensed as an embalmer, funeral director, cemetery and crematory manager and cemetery broker.
Under Allen’s leadership, the size of Eternal Hills’ park has increased by 17 acres, offering the cemetery an additional 50-year lifespan. Over the past three years, Allen worked conjointly with the city and various government agencies to develop a new five-acre section named Freedom View with a mausoleum, several cremation gardens and a beautiful water feature.
Outside of her professional life, she serves on the board of directors for the Joe and Mary Mottino YMCA of Oceanside and has been a board member of KOCT -North San Diego County’s Community PEG Channel- since 2008. She is also a board member of the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Oceanside Charitable Foundation. She has lived in Oceanside since 2002.
Eternal Hills is part of Dignity Memorial, North America’s largest provider of funeral, cremation and cemetery services operating in 41 states and seven Canadian provinces. In Orange and San Diego Counties, more than 600 employees conduct 5,000 funerals and 4,000 cemetery services each year.