SIDNEY, Mich. — The next Christmas tree that will call the nation's capital home this winter has been picked and its coming from West Michigan.
Dale Haney, the White House superintendent of grounds, arrived at Korson's Tree Farms outside Sidney on Tuesday to formally select the official White House Christmas tree for 2025.
The Montcalm County farm won the honor by being named grand champion in a recent National Christmas Tree Association competition this summer.
Rex and Jessica Korson, the husband and wife co-owners of the farm, say the honor of providing the Christmas tree for the White House is a testament to the hard work of their staff.
"I can't say enough about our employees," said Jessica. "They're just amazing and just the hard work that they put in day after day after day. It's just, I mean, they are family to us."
"The dedication that they put in and the hard work and the attention to detail, we obviously have a passion for what we do, and our guys, they have that same passion," said Rex. "We work, obviously in some pretty extreme weather conditions, and they just fight right through it and keep doing their thing."
"We're really fortunate, and to be able to have a group of guys work for us that we do."
The decision on which tree will go to D.C. was ultimately up to Haney. He selected a 22-year-old Concolor Fur that stands well above the desired 20 feet. Known for its unique citrus smell, the Korson's said the tree's coloring was a major reason for the selection.
"A tree that had that kind of nice, darker green color, and not so much the silvery, the blue," said Rex. "So I think the color, the taper of the tree, the overall nice uniformity of the tree over the some of the key factors and why they selected the tree that they did."
"I will admit that the two that I had picked were not the ones that got selected," said Rex.
The winner was fitted with a patriotic bow of red, white, and blue, marking it as the official tree ahead of its cutting in November.
Many neighbors and supporters attended the ceremonies to celebrate the Korsons.
"You can't go, really, anywhere without people just that you don't know, saying, 'oh my gosh, we're so excited that, you know, Michigan's going back, and especially our little area,'" said Jessica. "We're just a teeny, tiny, little town, and we're going to represent in the White House. It's, it's pretty, pretty amazing honor."
For the farm, this year's honor is the result of years of attempts. It was the sixth time they entered the National Christmas Tree Association's National Tree Contest since 2009. In 2015, the Korsons were named a reserve grand champion.
This will be the first time a Michigan farm will supply the official White House Christmas tree since 1985.
The tree will stay rooted at the farm until the week before Thanksgiving, when it will be cut down and shipped to Washington D.C. On the Monday before Thanksgiving, November 24, the Korsons will present the tree on a horse drawn carriage to First Lady Melania Trump. It will then be displayed in the White House through the holiday season.
"The honor of presenting the official White House Christmas tree, it's going in the Blue Room, is it's pretty amazing," said Rex.
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