About Us
ABOUT US
Our History
Monarch Resources was founded by Tom and Sandy McGrew in 1980. We began as a medical supply company but expanded solely into the funeral home and mortuary supply market in 1990.
Monarch Resources now delivers or ships to almost 2000 customers from coast to coast from an in-stock inventory at our warehouse in Arlington, Texas, of more than 2400 individual items directly related to the funeral industry.
Monarch is particularly proud of the fact that this inventory allows us to ship stock items on the day the order is received or within 24 hours at the latest.
Our Monarch Advertising Division opened in 1992 and specializes in promotional products, apparel and executive gifts.
Our Mission
Monarch Resources has as its sole purpose the objective of meeting the supply needs of our customers and the families they serve.
Because we live out this philosophy on a daily basis, we have come to consider it an honor to be even a very small, behind-the-scenes part of the work of your funeral home, mortuary service, crematory or cemetery.
Our Culture
OUR WONDERFUL TEAM
Sandy McGrew
After Tom’s retirement in 2019, Sandy took over the reins as President and CEO of Monarch Resources and Monarch Advertising. Among her many duties and responsibilities, Sandy especially enjoys oversight of training opportunities for and mentorship of our employees.
She supports a variety of Fine Arts groups and charities in Arlington and Fort Worth and sings in the Chancel Choir of New World United Methodist Church. She loves spending time with her family, including 3 granddaughters of whom she is quite proud. They are awesome and often her inspiration.
Alan McGrew
Alan recently rejoined Monarch Resources as the Vice President of Operations & Sales. Alan started at a very young age working at Monarch Resources for his parents, who founded the business in 1980. Over the last 25+ years, Alan has worked on the funeral home side of the profession where he further developed his passion for funeral service. Over this time, Alan gained valuable experience in corporate acquisitions, operations for special projects and managing vendor relations. This experience turned into managing multiple funeral homes and cemeteries, and he was ultimately named a Regional Manager of Operations. Over the last 13 years, Alan worked as a Senior Account Manager & Trainer for Graystone Associates, which provides training and consulting to family funeral homes throughout the country, specializing in strategic advice, data analytics and professional development.
Alan’s diverse experience has given him a unique perspective and valuable expertise that we are excited to add to the Monarch Resources team! Alan has a huge appreciation for what is needed to provide flawless service and tremendous value to families being served. This profession has become a major passion of Alan’s. He loves helping funeral home owners and staff to ensure they have everything they need to serve their families at the highest level. It has also given him a huge advantage when it comes to helping funeral home owners and operators find ways to improve customer experiences, reduce costs and grow profitability.
Alan truly believes that, at Monarch Resources, we are a partner to funeral professionals, as we are all trying to help families at their worst time. Indeed, even a vendor can play a small role in the effort to help families heal, and this mission is very important to everyone at Monarch Resources.
Virginia Watts
Virginia has worked part time at Monarch since retiring from education. She stays busy assisting in many areas of the company. She especially likes helping customers placing their orders. She enjoys working with the good people of Monarch. On days off Virginia likes family, gardening, watching TV, or just being outdoors.
Teresa Schrack
Teresa Schrack is the head of our Bookkeeping Department. She joined our company in 2013 and brought with her 38 years of excellent bookkeeping experience. You will find her to be extremely helpful with any of your questions regarding your account, but do not be surprised if she answers the phone and takes an order or is out in the warehouse pulling an order. She loves digging in and helping customers as well as her team members. Teresa and her husband are active in their church and enjoy traveling and gardening. Teresa has 5 grandsons ranging in age from 11-26 years old.
Tim Houston
Tim joined our company in a full-time role in January 2016, and quickly embraced the Monarch philosophy of customer care. Tim has also proudly served his country for 15 years and fulfilled his dream of being in the Army. In all his endeavors, Tim has developed a strong sense of caring and enjoys helping others. His focus now, is on our customers and building a relationship with them of trust and service with integrity. Tim goes beyond the sale itself to making sure our customers have what they need and when they need it to care for the families they serve. Tim has two daughters. 2 sons and is a soon to be grandpappy, yep he has his hands full! When he is not working, he loves spending time with his family.
Karen Richardson
Karen joined Monarch Resources in 2020 and serves part time on the accounting team. Karen is always eager to help customers with their orders and to assist staff members where needed. She is the mother of two grown children and Nana to two wonderful grandchildren. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, shopping with her daughter, playing with their golden doodle Toby, cheering on the Texas Rangers and working jigsaw puzzles.
Chris Small
Jessica Escamilla
Jessica joined the Monarch team in 2020. Jessica is the warehouse manager. She oversees shipping and receiving operations and takes care of our walk-in customers. Jessica was in the Army and proudly served her country for 18 years. While serving in the Army she oversaw logistics operations and ordered supplies for her Unit both stateside and on several deployments. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Logistics. She loves taking care of our customers and helping out her teammates. She enjoys helping anyone who walks through our doors. She has fully embraced the Monarch philosophy and loves being a part of the Monarch Family. Jessica was married for 14 years before her husband passed away in 2022. She has one daughter and 3 bonus children. When not at work Jessica enjoys riding her motorcycle, camping, spending time with friends and family, traveling, and trying new foods and restaurants.
Karlee Freeman
Karlee joined the team in 2022 with a background in graphic design and digital media. She is an Alumni of the University of Texas at Arlington and brings her creative spark with her to everything she does. Her background in fine arts helps to promote Monarch Advertising and Monarch Resources through Facebook content, website management, promotional products and graphic design. She strives to help customers achieve their brand goals every step of the way. Karlee and her husband have bought their first house together and, they are working hard to make it the home of their dreams.
Cliff Harris
Cliff joined Monarch Resources in October 2024 and serves as our new purchasing manager. When he is not ordering products, you will find him giving a helping hand in the warehouse for whatever projects are needed. Cliff is the father of 3 sons who always keep him busy when not at work. He enjoys coaching his sons in youth sports, traveling, and hanging out with friends.
Tom McGrew
Though retired since 2019, Tom’s heart remains with all the friends he made in his many years as a supplier to so many funeral homes, mortuary and crematory services around the country and through his dedication to many volunteer organizations at both the state and national levels. Tom’s other passion was service to and through the Sunrise Rotary Club of Arlington. He is proud to have been a Past President and to have been awarded the distinction of a Lifetime Membership.
