For the second year in a row, the Truckload Carriers Association will be sponsoring the Capitol Christmas Tree.
The Capitol Christmas Tree is being hauled from the Colville National Forest in Washington to the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., a 5,000+ mile trip.
TCA has announced they will sponsor two of the tree’s scheduled “whistle stops.”
“Trucking is an industry based on family and community, which is what ‘The People’s Tree’ is all about,” said Tom Kretsinger, Jr., president of American Central Transport, Inc., Liberty, Missouri, and the chairman of TCA. “We’re all proud to play a role in transporting this symbol of American ideals, so this project is a natural fit for us.”
The scheduled whistle stops will allow visitors to view the get a close look at both the tree and the Mack Pinnacle truck that is hauling the tree. In addition, visitors will be able to sign the banners that line the trailer that’s housing the tree.
Randall-Reilly and Red Eye Radio will be joining TCA in sponsoring the stops.
The first stop takes place in Dallas, Texas at the Victory Plaza area of the American Airlines Center, from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. CST.
The second stop will take place on November 20, in Nashville, Tennessee at the Macy’s parking lot of the CoolSprings Galleria, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. CST. The stop will also feature country singer and TCA Highway Angel spokesperson, Lindsay Lawler. Starbucks will also be giving out free coffee, hot chocolate and cider.
The TCA says that at both whistle stops, “trucking’s role in the transportation of the tree will be highlighted. Visitors can take home a free copy of Milemarkers and Memories, a first-person account of the trucking industry’s role in transporting the tree, as written by former U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, who drove the tree last year.”
“This is a great project, and we are proud to ‘Share Washington’s Good Nature’ with the rest of the U.S. The trucking system in our nation is the lifeline of our commerce, and hauling a tree across the country highlights how that work gets done every day. We have amazing drivers with us that are able to overcome all kinds of obstacles; they are my heroes today,” Jennifer Knutson, 2013 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree coordinator said.
The official tree lighting ceremony, officiated by House Speaker John Boehner, is scheduled for Tuesday, December 3, 2013. Lindsay Lawler will perform the official Capitol Christmas Tree song, “Standing Tall,” written for the 2012 lighting ceremony by herself and Warner Chappell writer Chris Roberts. After the lighting ceremony, the Capitol Christmas Tree will be lit nightly from dusk to 11 p.m. throughout the holiday season.