Dover AFB families given free Christmas trees from 84 Lumber

To celebrate the holiday season, 84 Lumber, the nation’s largest privately held building materials supplier, brought an early Christmas gift to Dover Air Force Base families with a private event held Nov. 20 at Major George S. Welch Elementary School/Air Base Middle School. The company provided special holiday treats and music, and had Santa Claus make an appearance for the schoolchildren attending the special whistle-stop event featuring the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. The company also donated 84 Christmas trees to Dover Air Force Base families.

“84 Lumber is proud to sponsor the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree that brings so many people joy throughout the holidays,” said Amy Smiley, 84 Lumber vice president of marketing. “We’re excited to welcome the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree to Dover Air Force Base, an area where we have strong connections to the community.” The company has multiple locations in Delaware, including Newark, Claymont, Selbyville, Clarksville, Milford and Dover.

“We extend special thanks to all of you for your service – that includes not only those in uniform, but partners, spouses, and, most of all, the children,” said Smiley. “At 84, we have hundreds of associates across the country who have a military background. These military veterans are men and women who have served in multiple branches of the military and who now serve in multiple ways throughout our organization.”

This year’s special tree will have traveled over 4,200 miles from the Tongass National Forest in Alaska – America’s largest national forest – to reach the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., for the 2024 holiday season. It is expected to generate widespread enthusiasm in all the communities it visits.

Every year since 1970, the U.S. Forest Service, in cooperation with the U.S. Architect of the Capitol Office, has selected a tree from one of the 154 forests it manages. The program is made possible with the help of many individuals, nonprofits and private-sector businesses, along with cash and in-kind contributions from companies large and small, as well as volunteers locally and across the nation. This is only the second time the tree has come from Alaska, America’s largest state. The U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree program creates the opportunity to spotlight public lands with billions of trees across diverse ecosystems.

Learn more at uscapitolchristmastree.com.