National Guard volunteers join veterans, volunteers for Trees for Troops loadout this morning

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New York Air National Guard Senior Master Sgt. Jeffrey Hanna, assigned to the 109th Airlift Wing lifts a Christmas Tree up to FedEx driver Don Pelletier at Ellms Tree Farm, Dec. 9, 2019.

BALLSTON SPA, NY (11/30/2020) (readMedia)-- Volunteers from the New York Army and Air National Guard join with Capital District area veterans at Ellms Tree Farm helping load about 125 Christmas trees Monday, November 30.

This marks 16 years of military members volunteering their time to assist in the loading of trees destined for fellow service members and their families around the country and around the world.

WHO: Soldiers and Airmen from the New York National Guard volunteer their time from work to assist other veterans with the loadout of holiday trees at Ellms Tree Farm for Trees for Troops.

WHAT: Loading of about 125 Christmas Trees on Fed Ex trucks for the 2020 "Trees for Troops" Program

WHEN: 11:30 a.m. Monday, November 30.

WHERE: Ellms Family Tree Farm, 468 Charlton Road, Ballston Spa, N.Y., 12020

Coverage Opportunity:

Video and images of the volunteers loading trees into the FedEx truck. There will be opportunities to speak with Sally and Chip Ellms, local veterans and National Guard volunteers.

Additional Information:

This year marks the 16th season that Trees for Troops will be loaded at Ellms Tree Farm. Pickup for an estimated 4,500 trees begins nationwide on November 30 with delivery of trees to 79 total military installations between November 30 and December 11.

DUE TO COVID-19 SOCIAL DISTANCING MEASURES, ALL PARTICIPANTS ARE ASKED TO WEAR MASKS.

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 in its initial year, as well as an overseas shipment to the Middle East that year. More information is also available at www.TreesforTroops.org.

Volunteers from the National Guard have supported the loading of trees to mark their individual support of the program for fellow Soldiers and Airmen serving overseas.

Members of the Air National Guard's 109th Airlift Wing in Scotia are deployed over the holidays every year in support of Operation Deep Freeze, the National Science Foundation support to research in Antarctica. Other members of the New York Army National Guard from the Capital District return from overseas service in Kuwait this fall.

The National Guard volunteers are joined by local veterans groups and members of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA).

Each year, thousands of trees are donated by Christmas Tree growers and consumers. FedEx and its team members generously provide shipping to bases in the U.S. and overseas, through FedEx Express air operations and the FedEx Freight trucking network.

Trees for Troops delivered 243,955 trees to servicemen and women over the last 15 years. More than 800 different real Christmas tree growers have contributed trees in those 15 years.

For more information about the program, contact Sally Ellms at 518-339-6333 or sallydellms@gmail.com.