- Oregon Association of Nurseries

(AURORA, ORE.)- In an effort to thank the troops serving in the Middle East this holiday season, members of the Oregon Association of Nurseries’ Christmas Tree Chapter have made a donation of 1,000 Christmas trees and tree stands. The trees are destined to the children of U.S. military service personnel based at Ft. Hood, Texas, as part of “Operation Thank You.” Ft. Hood is the largest military base in the U.S.

This donation was made a possible by the following Oregon tree growers: Brooks Tree Farm in Brooks, Helmig Tree Farms in Molalla, Highland Farm of Oregon in Beavercreek, Holiday Tree Farms in Corvallis, Holiday Specialtrees in Woodburn, Noble Mountain Tree Farm in Salem, Silver Mountain Christmas Trees in Sublimity and Yule Tree Farms in Aurora.

The 5- to 6-foot, fresh-cut, Oregon Douglas fir Christmas trees are being shipped to the U.S. Army base at Fort Hood for distribution to the children of moms and dads who are serving overseas. Central Refrigerated Carriers of Salt Lake City has donated the transportation of the trees via a 53-foot refrigerated truck. VanCinco Plastics, manufacturer of water reservoir Christmas tree stands, is arranging the delivery of the trees stands from their facility in Houston directly to Ft. Hood. “We talked at the chapter level that we ought to do some good will for our troops, which is why we’re calling this ‘Operation Thank You,’” said Joe Sharp, owner of Yule Tree Farms. “Christmas is a sensitive time when families are apart, and we wanted to make their Christmases a little brighter.”

I’ve included every company name because the companies involved need some good publicity for their absolute gracious act. Perhaps the greatest venture of Christmas is the good will of the American people. There will be many companies, I presume, that will give a similar gift to either our soldiers and/or their families. I suggest you do the same.

One of the best sites I’ve found to send presents directly to our soldiers is Books for Soldiers. You are not limited to giving books. Soldiers request certain items (CDs, Books and DVDs mostly) and you ship the items directly to the division or soldier. I have personally set aside some of my Christmas money I usually spend on my family to send a care package to our soldiers. I feel it’s the least I can do.