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| Students loading Trees for Troops Christmas trees at The Rocks |
Rocks
Estate manager Nigel Manley is the chairman of the Christmas Spirit Foundation
and had the chance to discuss Trees for Troops with New Hampshire Governor
Maggie Hassan when she cut the first Christmas tree of the season at a New
Hampshire tree farm in November. Manley met with the governor again when he presented
her with the State House Christmas Tree in early December.
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| Nigel Manley discusses Trees for Troops with NH Gov. Hassan |
The Rocks
donated 54 trees to Trees for Troops this year. As has become a holiday tradition,
students from the nearby Bethlehem Elementary School came to The Rocks to help
load 450 Christmas trees, donated by farms in Vermont and New Hampshire, onto
FedEx trucks to be delivered to military families.
Highlights
of the Trees for Troops program nationally in 2013 include:
* Extensive
local media coverage and record numbers of volunteers for the kickoff of the program at Dull’s Tree Farm in Thorntown, Indiana
* Coordinated Trees for Troops weekend
pickup events at over 80 locations across the country
* Broad media coverage at the local
and national levels, including a story that aired in December on NBC Nightly News (see the clip here)
*
A $6,000 donation from a foundation led by ex-Detroit Lions All-Pro football
player Herman Moore * A high level of donations, demonstrating wide spread support for Trees for Troops
“These and other events demonstrate
the value of Trees for Troops, not just to the families we serve, but also the
industry as a whole,” Manley says.
Since its inception in 2005, Trees
for Troops has delivered over 139,000 farm fresh Christmas trees to military
personnel and their families.
