Prince Edward County Middle School (PECMS) students spoke with the manager of Bland Reid Funeral Home to learn more about future career options last week.

For PECMS’s weekly Future Fridays, community leaders interact with PECMS students about their careers. These talks promote school-community engagement and the value of education, inform students about requirements for entering professions, and provide students with networking opportunities in the local community.

Last week’s guest, Warren Reid, serves as the manager and funeral director apprentice of Bland Reid Funeral Home. Reid graduated from PECPS in 2007 and holds degrees in business and mortuary science. Students enjoyed talking with Reid and seeing the hearse and casket he brought with him.

Bland Reid Funeral Home operated in Farmville since 1936. According to its website, the funeral home is the oldest blackowned business in Farmville and the only black-owned funeral home in Buckingham County.