Trees for Troops Bring Holiday Spirit to the 174th Fighter Wing Published Dec. 16, 2009 By Ms. Terri Scanlin 174 FW, Family Program Coordinator Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, Syracuse, NY -- This holiday season, FedEx Freight delivered 25 fresh Christmas Trees to families of base personnel at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base. Celebrating its fifth year, Trees for Troops is a program sponsored by the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation and FedEx Corp. "This was the first year we were able to participate in the Trees for Troops program," says Terri Scanlin, Wing Family Program Coordinator. "It was wonderful to be able to give 25 of our families a real tree for Christmas this year, especially when so many of them could not otherwise afford one. Many thanks to the Christmas Spirit Foundation, The National Christmas Tree Association and FedEx for making this possible." This holiday season, Trees for Troops is expected to collect and deliver more than 15,000 Real Christmas Trees from 29 states to military families across the United States, as well as to service members serving overseas. "Our military and their families have been providing a real service to our country," says Mark Steelhammer, president of the National Christmas Tree Association and a Christmas Tree farmer from Rochester, Wash. "And, as Christmas Tree farmers, we want them to be able to experience a traditional Christmas with a Real Tree, especially if a family member is currently serving overseas." The Trees for Troops program was launched in 2005, and with the help of FedEx Corp., delivered more than 4,300 Christmas Trees to five U.S. military bases, as well as an overseas shipment to the Middle East. Since then, the program has delivered 50,000 trees to more than 50 U.S. military bases and to units in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Middle East and the 5th Fleet in the Gulf. "Trees for Troops was a huge success," says Christmas SPIRIT Foundation chairman Nigel Manley, a Christmas Tree grower in Bethlehem, N.H. "It really resonated with our industry and the military." About the Christmas Spirit Foundation The Christmas SPIRIT Foundation - based in Chesterfield, Mo, is a not-for-profit foundation that advances the Christmas spirit for children, families and the environment. Trees for Troops is just one of its projects. For more details, go to www.ChristmasSpiritFoundation.org or follow the program on Twitter at www.twitter.com/trees4troops. About the National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA) NCTA is the professional organization representing nearly 5,000 farms and retailers engaged in growing and selling Real Christmas Trees to nearly 30 million consumers. Based in Chesterfield, Mo., NCTA's mission is to promote the use of Real Christmas Trees and support the industry that provides them. For more information, go to www.realchristmastrees.org. About FedEx FedEx Corp. provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. Consistently ranked among the world's most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 290,000 employees and contractors to remain "absolutely, positively" focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. For more information, visit www.news.fedex.com.