BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. – New York National Guard Airmen and Soldiers volunteered their time to fill up a delivery truck with donated Christmas trees bound for military families on Monday, at the Ellms Family Farm here.
This is the 13th year that the National Guard troops turned out alongside veterans and Patriot Guard Riders to assist Ellms in the nationwide Trees for Troops initiative. Some three dozen volunteers were on hand to support the packing of trees with donated decorations and loading them for shipment.
"Having that little slice of home is a great reminder of how much the homefront cares," said Chip Ellms, owner of the tree farm and coordinator of the event.
Approximately 150 trees donated by 15 local tree farms in Upstate New York were loaded onto a FedEx truck headed to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where they will be distributed to military families.
The Ellms family grows almost 800 trees per acre on 50 acres on the farm north of Albany. The operation stated in 1983 and has grown to become a year-around agro-tourism attraction.
The Ellms trees added to more than 200,000 trees donated since 2005 by the national program of the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation. The program, in partnership with FedEx, delivers farm-grown trees to U.S. military personnel and their families from all branches stationed at more than 60 bases around the globe.
Many of the National Guard volunteers have previously deployed during the holidays and spoke about the impact that this kind of event can have on a deployed Soldier or Airman. Other volunteers have also been the family member missing their loved one.
Airman 1st Class John Lawlor, a medical technician assigned to the 139th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, part of the 109th Airlift Wing at Stratton Air National Guard Base in Scotia, New York, knows first-hand what it's like to be without a family member on Christmas.
"My whole life, my father has been away every year so it hits close to home for me; people truly do care," he said.
Lawlor's father, Chief Master Sgt. John Lawlor, is also assigned to the 109th Airlift Wing, and has deployed annually as part of the support of Operation Deep Freeze to Antarctica; the mission coincides with the holiday season every year.
Among the other volunteers was Edward Czuchrey, a Patriot Guard Rider and retired Air Force master sergeant.
"I think it's a wonderful thing these folks do for the veterans; we do anything we can to help," Czuchrey said.
The trees were packed with holiday decorations and cards made by children from the local Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake elementary and middle schools.