Wahmhoff Farms Nursery in Gobles will welcome volunteers, veterans, and dignitaries on December 2 to load up FedEx trucks with hundreds of Christmas trees to be sent out to families living on military bases around the country as part of this year’s Trees for the Troops program.

The farm’s Betsy Wahmhoff-Perales tells us this is the 19th year they’ve taken part in Trees for the Troops. So far, she knows of about 70 volunteers who plan to come and help load up the trees this year.

“I think we’ve got about 300 trees that are going to get loaded here at the farm, give or take,” Wahmhoff-Parales said. “We get consumer donations too, customers that buy trees that want to send them to the troops, so there’s some last-minute additions.”

Wahmhoff-Perales says the trees leaving Wahmhoff Farms this year will go to Columbus Air Force Base in Missouri and Ft. Knox in Kentucky. She says it feels great to take part in the program every winter.

“It’s very hectic and very wonderful. There’s just a lot of smiling faces. It’s the coolest thing. It’s like our favorite event of the year.”

Special guests for the December load-up event will include state Representative Pauline Wendzel, representatives of Senator Debbie Stabenow and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and possibly, state Senator Aric Nesbitt.

Last year, Trees for the Troops nationally passed the 300,000 mark in the number of Christmas trees they’ve given to military personnel since starting in 2005. Wahmhoff-Perales says she’s glad to have contributed.

Anyone who wants to help out on the big day can just show up at the farm at 10 a.m.