Wisconsin growers donate over 700 Christmas trees through Trees for Troops

Thanks to the generosity of Christmas tree growers from around Wisconsin, there will be some holiday cheer for men and women serving in the military.

Earlier this month, members of the Wisconsin Christmas Tree Producers Association (WCTPA) donated more than 700 Christmas trees for the annual Trees for Troops program. Trees were delivered to four collection points: Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Stevens Point, Neenah and Hahn’s Christmas Tree Farm in Oregon, Wisconsin.

Volunteers helped unload the fresh-cut trees from flatbed trailers and transferred them to FedEx crews that will deliver them to 93 bases around the country for all branches of the military. Wisconsin bases include Sector Lake Michigan U.S. Coast Guard and Army base Fort McCoy.

Trees for Troops, a program of the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation, provides free, farm-grown Christmas Trees to United States armed forces members in all branches of the military and their families, through donations, sponsorships, grants and the work of many volunteers.

Peplin VFW Post 8280 Commander and veteran Patrick Pierce was among the volunteers unloading more than 300 donated trees at the High Ridge Acres collection site near Stevens Point, coordinated by John and Carol Iczkowski.

“A real Christmas tree from home reminds service personnel that people are thinking of them,” Pierce said. Following the loading, growers and local veterans from the Peplin Post shared a luncheon where veterans described the effort as “a good reminder of home.”

The trees collected in Stevens Point will head south to Fort Riley in Kansas and the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth, Texas.

Retired grower Paul Schroeder, who has led the collection site at Lambeau Field in Green Bay for more than 20 years, was pleased with the strong turnout and teamwork on Dec. 3 as evergreens poured into the site from growers across Northeast Wisconsin. Those trees will head to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas.

Hann’s Christmas Farm will send its trees two hours northwest to Fort McCoy near Tomah, Wisconsin. Schroeder’s Forevergreens location in Neenah is sending it’s donated trees to Fort. Sill in Oklahoma.

As one of the top Christmas tree-producing states, Wisconsin remains one of the top contributors to Trees for Troops nationally, said Sarah Glitto, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Christmas Tree Producers Association.

“Wisconsin growers have proudly participated since the program’s inception back in 2005,” said Glitto. “These trees are a connection to home and a meaningful way our growers say thank you.”

Contact Colleen Kottke at 920-517-2653 or [email protected]. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @ColleenKottke

This article originally appeared on Wisconsin State Farmer: Wisconsin growers donate over 700 Christmas trees through Trees for Troops

Reporting by Colleen Kottke, Wisconsin State Farmer / Wisconsin State Farmer

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