Ohio Christmas Tree Farm Association creates Operation Evergreen to support our troops

ENGLEWOOD — For more than 25 years Christmas tree farms in Ohio have been giving back to the men and women serving in our armed forces.

Operation Evergreen was developed by the Ohio Christmas Tree Farm Association.

Lyndon Anderson is one of the members of the association, but before he became a tree farmer he served in the Air Force for 28 years. The first time he heard of a program like this he was in Qatar.

“I was deployed to Al Udeid Air Base in the middle east,” Anderson said.

“I was in a command position there. I was informed that we were receiving a shipment of Christmas trees. I was absolutely thrilled. I just couldn’t believe that was happening.”

Something as simple as a Christmas tree can go a long way. Anderson said working so many hours in a day, it’s hard to even take time to think about the holidays. But he said it’s always kind of in the back of your mind and can be difficult from a morale standpoint.

But for many of the men and women those trees served as a big boost of cheer around the holidays.

“Everybody applauded, it was a big hooray,” Anderson said.

“People just loved the idea. When the trees finally got there it was just a rallying point for people because it was a symbol of Christmas, it was a symbol of the holidays.”

Now Anderson operates the Advent Christmas Tree Farm in Englewood. He’s one of the many that donates to this cause. This year the Ohio Christmas Tree Association is donating more than 100 trees packed with decorations and letters of gratitude to military bases.

“It’s tremendous to be able to even now in this setting to be a spokesperson for the Ohio State Christmas Tree Association because it is they who do such a tremendous job of making sure that this works for our troops.”

The trees have already been picked up and dropped off at the central location. The hope is they’ll bring some cheer to the men and women serving the country and away from their friends and families.

For more information on the OCTA or Operation Evergreen you can visit http://ohiochristmastree.org/.

Cox Media Group