Worlein Funeral Home has once again proven it’s a business worth looking up to.

For the third straight year, the funeral home has been one of nine in the state and 160 in the nation to receive the Pursuit of Excellence recognition, a distinction determined by the National Funeral Directors Association.

“The real reward is doing the work,” said Funeral Home Director and Owner Paul Worlein, who was among thousands of funeral home professionals who traveled to North Carolina this fall to attend the annual NFDA convention.

Worlein, who has worked with the business for the past 30 years, attributed the success of the company to the hard work of employees, who he said have each taken it upon themselves to meet individual goals.

The business, established in 1946, has served the Austin community for three generations and, in 1990, branched out to serve the Blooming Prairie area.

While the Worlein family has always taken pride in the funeral home, Worlein said the recent awards have given employees special goals to shoot for, which have helped those involved to move forward as a business.

The Pursuit of Excellence recognition grades a funeral home on six different categories, ranging from its involvement in the community to its programs for bereaved families.

Mary Kittelson, community director for Worlein, said the funeral home has worked to incorporate a number of services for families, including information on grieving. In that sense, the funeral home has become more than just a place that holds funerals, but rather a center that provides what’s necessary for families dealing with grief.

The same approach has been taken to community involvement, said Funeral Home Director Jim Stough.

Last year, Worlein donated 3,000 bottles of hand sanitizer during the height of flu season to area businesses and educational facilities. The funeral home also hosted a bus tour to Fort Snelling cemetery for those who were interested in the site or had loved ones buried there. This year, it opened its doors to roughly 175 Austin students for tours and lessons.

It’s that type of effort to reach out to the community that Kittelson said has become a goal of Worlein Funeral Home. Regardless of whether or not it will run for the award again, she said it’s something the business will keep up in the future, for the sake of the community.