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Indiana Christmas tree farm hosts Trees for Troops event

Service members stationed overseas this holiday season will receive a homegrown Christmas tree thanks to Trees for Troops program, a partnership between FedEx, the Christmas Spirit Foundation, and Christmas tree farmers across the U.S.

Tom Dull, the co-owner of Dull’s Tree Farm, says his family has participated in the program for 14 years because it’s a way to give back.

He recalls hearing about the impact the trees have on service members who are unable to be home around the holidays…

“A few years ago I was a church and a young man came up to me and he stuck out his hand and said thank you and I said what for,” Dull says. “He said he was in Afghanistan when a FedEx truck delivered a Christmas tree from our farm…it brought it home for us to know that we really do make a difference.”

Audio: Tom Dull, Dull’s Tree Farm 

More than 50 volunteers gathered to process Christmas trees at the central Indiana tree farm Tuesday. The trees, donated by members of the Indiana Christmas Tree Growers Association, will be delivered to service members in Guam and Puerto Rico.

Scott Taylor is a 767 pilot with FedEx.

Taylor tells Brownfield he enjoys delivering the trees because he has been on the receiving end of a tree when he was stationed overseas.

“When you’re overseas like that, there’s a sense of disconnection from your home and way of life,” he says. “A Christmas tree has a way of allowing you to recall those fond memories of back home.”

Audio: Scott Taylor, FedEx

Bruce Kettler, the director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, volunteered at the event.

“It’s certainly one way to be able to show that the people in agriculture want to stay involved and remember service members this time of year,” he says.

Audio: Bruce Kettler, Indiana State Department of Agriculture 

Trees for Troops has several delivery locations across the U.S. There are delivery locations in Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

More than 17,000 Christmas trees will be delivered to 65 military bases in late November and early December.