Posted: 11.14.2011

Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch and Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) Secretary Ben Brancel will attend the harvesting of the official White House Christmas Tree on Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. at Schroeder’s Forevergreens in Neshkoro of Marquette County.

The tree will be presented to First Lady Michelle Obama on November 25, 2011 and displayed in the White House Blue Room this holiday season. Schroeder’s Forevergreens was the Grand Champion Winner of the 2011 National Christmas Tree Association national tree contest. Winners of the national tree contest have provided the official White House Christmas Tree since 1966.

Wisconsin Christmas tree growers produce over 1.8 million trees each year on 36,000 acres. Sue and Tom Schroeder, owners of Schroeder’s Forevergreens, have been growing several species of trees for decades on about 150 acres. To enter the national tree contest, the Schroeders first had to win their state/regional competitions. 2011 was the fourth year the Schroeders had entered a tree in the national tree contest, and the first year they have won. A 19-foot-tall balsam fir planted 18 years ago was handpicked by White House Superintendent of Grounds Dale Haney and Jim Adams with the National Park Service.

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